To Life Being Full
by WritersBlock039
Summary: Following their war against Project Cadmus, Oliver and Kara's relationship has grown stronger. But now, two months later, they have to defend their cities from harm while also working through problems in their own personal lives. In other words, business as usual. Rewrite of Arrow Season 6 and Supergirl Season 3 to include Kariver. Book Three of The Unmatched Records.
1. Prologue

**Since all the Arrowverse shows have their sort of "openings," I thought I'd do a take on them as the prologue. :)**

* * *

" _My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in hell, I returned with only one goal – to save my city. Five months ago, a man tried to ruin everything I had worked towards. He took everyone I loved and put them back in hell to try and make me suffer. I would have lost them if an ally I put all my trust into didn't save their lives. Three months later, it was my turn to return the favor. Today, I fight my war on two fronts. By day, I lead Star City as its mayor with the support of the girl I owe everything to. But by night, we are someone else. We are something else. I am the Green Arrow. She is Supergirl."_

" _My name is Kara Zor-El. I'm from Krypton. I'm a refugee on this planet. I was sent to Earth to protect my cousin, but my pod got knocked off course, and by the time I got here, my cousin had already grown up and become Superman. I hid who I really was until one day when an accident forced me to reveal myself to the world. To most people on this Earth, known in the multiverse as Earth-38, I'm a reporter at CatCo Worldwide Media. But in secret, I work with my adoptive sister for the D.E.O. to protect my city from alien life and anyone else that mean to cause it harm. On the Earth known as Earth-1, by day I support the man I love in his job as mayor and protect his son, as I know his mother would have wanted me to do. But by night, whenever he needs my help, I work with his team to save his city and ensure no poison ruins the work he has done. I am Supergirl. He is the Green Arrow."_

* * *

 **A/N: They seemed fitting. :)**

 **So this book will follow the current seasons of Arrow (S6) and Supergirl (S3) and will _try_ to stay with the timeline. No promises that it won't be at least slightly wonky, because it more than likely will be, because . . . well, they're weird.**

 **So, the Supergirl episode "Girl of Steel" will be first!**


	2. Supergirl - Girl of Steel - Part One

**A flashback to start, then Kara and company save the day, Lena meets someone no one in the Supergirl fandom likes, and said someone already establishes he's a douche at the end.**

 **Enjoy part one of "Girl of Steel!"**

* * *

 _ **Then**_

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"The last time I said goodbye to a boyfriend, I was saying goodbye for good," Kara mused as she and Oliver walked through a grassy field not far outside of National City.

"You're not going to lose me," Oliver promised, squeezing her hand.

"I know," Kara smiled, reaching up to kiss him.

Oliver kissed her back, smiling and resting his forehead against hers. The rest of the Earth-1 visitors had returned to their universe the previous day, allowing Oliver and Kara to have a day to themselves. All of them had agreed the couple deserved that before Oliver had to return to his universe and get back to his duties as mayor in Star City.

That didn't mean the two had to like it. On the contrary – they absolutely hated the idea of having to be three dozen Earths apart. But they both had extrapolators now, fine tuned to each other's as well so they could hop right to where the other extrapolator was if need be. Cisco really was a genius.

"I don't want you to go," Kara admitted quietly.

"I don't want to, either," Oliver smiled sadly, brushing her hair away from her face. "But I promise, as soon as I get the time, I'm coming back."

"Not if I come to you first," Kara couldn't help but smile.

"You're on, angel," Oliver chuckled, kissing her forehead.

Kara closed her eyes, enjoying just being there alone with Oliver, the grass rustling around them, and she made the choice she had been debating since they had arrived. She reached to her neck and removed the chain she wore. "Take this," she whispered, pressing it into his hand.

Oliver's eyes widened, looking down at the ring she had given him. "Kara," he began.

"No," Kara shook her head. "You helped save me from every bad thing that could have happened. My life, my identity as Supergirl, my life at CatCo, my family . . . all of it could have been destroyed. Please, Oliver . . . if anyone deserves this, it's you." Oliver swallowed, then nodded, placing the chain and ring around his own neck, Kara smiling softly as he put it on. "We'll come back to each other. We always will."

Oliver could only nod in silent agreement, then reached into his jacket. "Now I'm glad I decided to make this."

Kara blinked as he took a black leather cord from his pocket, and she gasped when she saw it was one of his green arrowheads converted into a pendant. "Oliver!"

"Slade and Malcolm might have helped," he told her as she picked it up, eyes wide. "We're not leaving each other completely."

Kara smiled brightly, placing the cord around her neck, happy to have a weight of some kind where her father's ring used to be. "Never," she agreed.

Oliver smiled at her, then took a deep breath and pulled out the extrapolator Cisco had given him. He pressed the center button, watching as a breach sprang to life in front of him. He turned back to Kara, seeing tears already starting to gather in her eyes. "I'll see you again," he promised.

"You better," she managed to smile.

"I will," he promised, kissing her deeply. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," Kara responded quietly.

He kissed her forehead again before reluctantly stepping away. Kara released his hand, taking a deep breath as he walked to the breach. She gave him a wave, which he returned before walking through. The breach snapped shut behind him, and it was just Kara alone in the field.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the sun, basking in its rays. She was alone now, that she acknowledged, reaching up to touch the pendant Oliver had given her. She examined it again, noting how the green arrowhead was polished until it shone like an emerald. To some people, it might have seemed like a cheap thing to give. But Oliver had made it for her, with the help of two men who could be her surrogate older brothers.

She wasn't entirely alone any longer.

The wail of sirens carried to her ears, and Kara turned, smiling as she looked at her city glittering. The sooner she continued on with her life, the sooner that meant she could see Oliver again, she decided, and with a grin, she took off running, unbuttoning her shirt as she went. She leapt into the sky, the wind blowing her hair behind her, and she laughed in pure glee, flying to save the day, one thought on her mind.

 _Here's to life being full._

* * *

 _ **Now - 2**_ _ **Months Later**_

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

 _To life being full indeed,_ Kara smiled softly as she opened her eyes. She hovered above National City, just . . . flying. If she hadn't had the adventures she had had months before, she would probably be straining her ears trying to find every single minor crime she could. She didn't have to worry about that now. Through the comms device she wore, she could hear her newest friends working on stopping a bank robbery, and she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Even when they were here just to celebrate with her, they found work to do.

Typical vigilantes.

Something _did_ catch her attention, though, and she straightened in midair. Multiple sirens, all sounding like they were heading the same way. She smirked and took off. "Guys," she called. "Police chase on the highway. Sounds like our kind of job."

She heard four responses and grinned, flying faster. People in National City just never seemed to learn.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

On the highway, three police cars were wailing after a large semi, which never stopped. Alex leaned out the window of the car in the lead, took aim, and started firing at the truck. Her fiancée caught sight of something Alex didn't and hastily leaned over, grabbing her arm. "Look out!"

Alex ducked back into the car as the passenger in the truck returned fire towards her. He then fired at the highway, and fire flared up, sending the two cars behind them halts. Maggie swallowed, then sped up to try and catch up to the truck.

All of a sudden, the truck slowed down, and both Maggie and Alex slammed forward when they hit the truck. However, they didn't stop – they followed the truck along now. "They're dragging us!" Maggie realized, eyes wide.

The back of the truck opened, and Alex blanched when she saw the large gun aimed at them. "Oh, no."

The man started firing, but Kara dropped down in front of them, right in front of the bullets. They bounced off her harmlessly, and Kara smirked before driving her fist into the barrel of the machine. It crunched with a shower of sparks, and the man stared at her in shock before running to climb onto a set of crates, onto the top of the truck.

Kara was about to follow him when she heard a familiar zipping sound and two sets of feet landing with thuds. She chuckled and hopped into the air before landing down on the hood of Maggie's car, separating it from the truck. It skidded to a stop, and Kara hopped down onto the asphalt, watching the truck continue. "Aren't you going after them?" Alex panted, looking out the window.

Kara tilted her head, hearing the sound of motorcycles approaching. "Nah," she grinned. "I took care of the hard part."

Two motorcycles roared past, making Maggie yelp. "Oh, my God!"

"They're crazy," Alex shook her head.

"Yeah," Kara grinned. "But I love them."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Laurel Lance_**

The man emerged onto the roof of the truck, only to find himself facing a masked, hooded man in green, his bow at his side like a staff. He turned around to find a man in black leathers behind him, a bow in his left hand, a sword in his right, his head covered by a black veil of some kind. He growled and pulled out an electric stick, turning it on, hoping to turn the two archers away. However, that just made them charge him.

The man swung back, but the two archers nimbly ducked around him, letting him swing and miss. The next time he tried to hit one of them, it was the man in black. He caught the stick on his sword, but for some reason, the shock didn't affect him. The man stared at him in shock, then the man in black placed his bow on top of the stick and wrenched it away from him. The man in green kicked him from behind, and the man fell off the truck, landing with a thud on an SUV they passed.

The two archers watched, then the man in black turned to the man in green. "They don't seem to learn, do they?" he asked, switching off his voice modulator.

"You'd think they would," the man in green admitted, turning around to see where they were headed. He stopped abruptly, eyes wide. "Stop the truck!" he yelled.

The roar of motorcycles increased, and a female voice in his ear answered, "I'm on it!"

One motorcycle zoomed past them on the right, doing a wheelie in front of the car the truck was heading for. The woman in black riding it stepped off, planted herself in front of the truck, and screamed, making the two inside the car flinch and cover their ears. The sonic scream hit the truck, making it squeal, starting to stop. It was enough time for Kara to land in front of the truck and make it stop entirely.

The teenage boy in the back seat gawked at the woman in black as she turned to him, her blonde hair over one shoulder, her green eyes looking at him in concern. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he stammered, watching as Kara jogged over. The other motorcycle stopped, and he looked over, seeing the man riding it was in black and blue heavy duty padded armor, his mask split down the front – one side orange, the other black. "You guys are the best," he marveled, seeing the two archers jump from the top of the truck.

"Don't you forget," Kara winked, making him laugh before she grinned and leapt into the sky, flying off.

The woman in black winked at him as well before heading back to her motorcycle, pulling it up. The man in black joined her on the back of it, the man in green getting behind the man in the mask. Alex and Maggie ran up and gave them quick salutes, which the archers returned before they drove off.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Cool car chase," Winn smiled as Kara walked down from where she flew into the D.E.O. "Very fast, very furious."

"And no surprise, you guys got the biggest heist of the night," Felicity added.

"Of course they do," Rene grumbled as Oliver and Malcolm walked in, followed by Slade and Laurel. "They got Supergirl, they're gonna get the biggest no matter what happens."

"Thanks, Rene," Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Any luck IDing the one that got away?" Kara asked.

"Still running facial recognition," Felicity answered. "So far, nothing."

"Anything else we can go on?" J'onn asked.

"I passed the SUV he landed on," Slade answered, walking over to a sample tray and taking off one of his gloves. "Blood's his."

"I'll get that to Alex's lab," Curtis volunteered. "Maybe his DNA's already in the database."

"Well, that's new," Winn wrinkled his nose. "And gross."

"Should've made sure he couldn't get away," Oliver sighed.

"You and Malcolm disarmed him _by yourselves_ and knocked him almost one hundred yards into the roof of that SUV," Alex pointed out as she walked up. "Not to mention saving my fiancée and I."

"It was a good hit," Kara rubbed his shoulder.

"Yeah, and that truck was full of aluminum tubing," Winn added.

"Right, which doesn't really seem like much," Felicity continued.

"Until you use it to build an illegal nuclear centrifuge."

"Wow," Dig winced.

"No kidding they got the biggest heist," Dinah laughed.

"This is a big win, you five," J'onn nodded to Kara, Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel.

"Which is what I like to hear," Kara beamed at her boyfriend.

Oliver sighed, putting his arm around her. "Why can't I argue with you when you give me those eyes?"

"No one can argue with her when she's got those eyes, Hoss," Rene snorted.

"Oh, and so you know," Alex leaned towards them. "Tomorrow, Maggie and I are gonna go do the tasting for the wedding. Three hours of hors d'ouevres, and nothing but hors d'oeurves. Potstickers, oyster shooters, pigs in blankets . . . did I mention the potstickers?"

"Some of us might need to head back to Star City before then," Dig shook his head. "Not best to go a full day without vigilantes making an appearance."

"But I can stick around," Oliver nodded, looking at Kara.

"Yeah, we'll be there," Kara smiled at Alex.

"Good," Alex smiled. "But we would appreciate if those who can come . . . maybe also meet up at the bar beforehand, too?"

"Ooo, now that might convince me," Rene remarked.

Dinah chuckled. "We'll see."

"OK," Alex grinned.

Kara grinned back at her before she and Oliver left. "Oh, it is so good to see her being little miss sunshine," Winn sighed in relief.

"You mean she wasn't?" Dinah asked in surprise.

"Well, for a while after Mon-El, it was like we started delving into the dark days," Winn nodded.

"Are you exaggerating?" Felicity frowned.

"She missed pizza night once."

" . . . that's bad," Dig admitted, and even those who had known Kara the least nodded in agreement. They knew for Kara Danvers of all people to pass on pizza, it had to be bad.

"Grief doesn't have a deadline," J'onn defended her.

"I know, but, I mean," Winn struggled with what to say. "She went from being Little Miss Sunshine to . . . well, Alex, basically."

"What?" Alex did a double take, making Malcolm and Slade laugh. "I'm not like that!"

"Oh, come on, Alex," J'onn shook his head. "Your unrelenting seriousness is one of your best qualities."

"I'm not like that!" Alex sputtered, looking around as the Earth-1 vigilantes left to change out of their uniforms. "I'm not!"

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

All Lena wanted to do was get out of this board meeting, go back to L-Corp, and do her job. But here she was, stuck with the businessmen of National City, listening to Morgan Edge drawl on and on. "People like to argue that capitalists are only concerned with themselves," he was currently saying. "The truth is, without big business, this city would still be in ruin from those Daxamites." Lena looked down the table to see James looked just as exasperated as she was to be here. "But look at us now," Edge turned to them. "Bustling. I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back. And let's not forget to glad-hand the mayor as well," he gestured. "Without him, none of this could have happened, either."

"It's you, Morgan," the mayor shook his head. "It's all of you. In six months, you've done the impossible."

"Let's not forget Supergirl," Lena spoke up, at the same time as James. They both looked at each other, then James gave her the go-ahead. Lena smirked and continued to speak. "Literally none of the heavy lifting could've been done without her."

"Yes, of course," the mayor nodded. "Which is why I'm excited about the unveiling of the Girl of Steel statue at the waterfront."

"Mayor, it's gonna take a lot more than a pretty statue to bring people down to that slum of waterfront," Edge snorted.

"I am still working on the zoning commission, Morgan," the mayor frowned.

"You'd do better to explain how my development will revitalize that neighborhood. Starting with moving out homelessness, crime . . . moving in opportunity and an expanded tax base."

"They've all heard your sales pitch, Morgan," James just barely held himself back from rolling his eyes. He did not keep his exasperation or distaste out of his voice, though. "We all have."

"Yes, I'm sure that everybody here has had a chance to read CatCo's inflammatory articles about that sales pitch," Edge sneered. "Articles that have become increasingly biased ever since you took over babysitting Cat Grant's mouthpiece."

"Your development would level the whole area," Lena came to James's defense. "Force people from their homes, just to build high-rises for the wealthy."

"Lena, are you spouting the CatCo company line?" Edge raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He chuckled. "Ah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised . . . considering all the good press they've been giving you lately."

"She's earned that good press by donating millions of dollars to the rebuilding efforts," James defended her.

Edge chuckled darkly. "That's funny . . . because _I_ thought it was restitution for what her brother did . . . or was it her mother? Or was it Lena, seeing as how she is the one who brought the aliens here in the first place." He walked to her, scowling. "Little bit of business advice, Lena . . . guilt is _not_ a good business strategy."

"No?" she asked shortly.

"No."

"Neither is exploitation," she glared at him.

"I just want a fair hearing, that's all," Edge held out his hands. "I hate to think that any of you here were unfair, hmm? Now, my people have put together a tremendous spread, just in the office next door. Why don't we all adjourn over there and take a sample of that? Mr. Olsen, you're welcome to join us as well. You know, we can disagree, but still break bread together."

Lena stood, fuming. "You know, Edge? You are _not_ as powerful as you think you are."

"Oh, no?" Edge raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "Then what are we doing in my office?"

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

James chuckled as he and Kara headed for the main office, watching Cat drive into reporters asking her questions. "I knew Miss Grant was meant for great things, but National City is gonna miss her."

"Best Press Secretary since Robert Gibbs," Kara giggled.

"Yeah, she makes Gibbs look like a hall monitor," James agreed.

"With Miss Grant in D.C. and Snapper on sabbatical, it's going to be oddly congenial around here," Kara remarked.

"Well, we will do our best," James vowed, walking into his office and clapping. "OK, guys, look alive! All right, we're about a week away from locking up this issue, so I need to know what's going on. What's up with sports?"

He tossed a baseball on his desk to his sports correspondent, who took it and announced, "As of last night, the Metropolis Monarchs officially have the _worst_ record in baseball."

James grimaced slightly as the ball was tossed back to him, and he pointed to another reporter. "Crime?"

"There's not much to cover," she shook her head.

"Crime's been down 65% over the past six months," the first reporter added.

"Supergirl and those new vigilante friends of hers have turned the entire city around pretty much single-handedly," the second reporter nodded, making Kara look down to hide a smile.

"Which brings me to my next point," James looked at Kara. "How are you doing on that exclusive with Supergirl?"

"Oh, uh," Kara fiddled with her glasses. "I have been getting bits and pieces from her, but she has promised to get back to me tonight about a one-on-one conversation about the invasion."

"The statue dedication is this weekend," James reminded her.

"I'll get the exclusive," she promised, nodding reassuringly.

James relaxed slightly. "Well, you have your assignments, right?" he looked around. "Let's get to work, thanks." Kara stood up, about to leave, when James called her name. She turned around as he walked up. "Are you sure that you're OK to write this, or is this going to bring up some old stuff?"

"I'll be OK," Kara promised. And really . . . she would be. "Maybe if this had been when I was in that downhill spiral, I would try to avoid it. But I've gotten past it. I can write this."

James smiled. "Oliver's really done you well, hasn't he?"

"He says that's his job as my boyfriend," Kara blushed.

James chuckled, then their attention was caught by a screen broadcasting breaking news. "There's still more I can do and touch people's lives," Edge was saying.

James groaned, walking over to turn up the volume. "What is this blowhard up to now?"

"In that vein, I'd like to announce a bold new direction for my company," Edge continued before seeming to glare right into the lens as he declared smugly, "I'm buying CatCo."

James and Kara stared in shock at the monitor before looking at each other in disbelief.

* * *

 **A/N: I don't think any sane person likes Morgan Edge. Certainly not me.**

 **Hopefully the next part will be up later today!**


	3. Girl of Steel - Part Two

**Morgan Edge is still a douche, and there's some nice fluffy Kariver moments for everyone to enjoy.**

* * *

 _ **Lena Luthor**_

Lena shook her head as she watched Edge's announcement from her office. "In the last few years, the press in this town has swung wildly to one side," the man was saying.

She turned when she heard a knock on her door, and sat up when Kara entered. "Hey," she greeted. "I hate that sentient bottle of cheap cologne. Did you know?"

"No," Kara shook her head with a sigh. "James was blindsided, too. He thinks it's his fault for getting in Edge's face."

"Only he would spend that kind of money on a grudge," Lena grumbled as Kara sat down. "Do you think the shareholders will listen to Cat?"

"Well, Cat had to put her shares in a blind trust when she became Press Secretary," Kara shrugged as Lena went to pour them drinks. "But I did some digging. Edge has been quietly buying up shares until today, when he put a tender offer to the majority shareholders."

"Hey, no more free press," Lena said with mock cheer, rolling her eyes as she offered a glass to Kara.

"You've invested in his portfolio, though," Kara pointed out. "Do you think if you talked to him, you might be more persuasive?"

"Edge doesn't respect any opinions that aren't his own," Lena rolled her eyes. "Especially not a woman's."

"Lena, you helped me save the world," Kara pointed out. "You were the one to help my boyfriend and my three overprotective, surrogate vigilante siblings break me out of Cadmus. How hard could one stubborn sexist be?"

Lena laughed. "All right, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Kara said gratefully.

A news report on Lena's tablet caught their eye, and they turned to see the reporter speaking. _" . . . breaking news this morning. There are reports of a burglary in Old Town. We'll bring you the latest – "_

Lena raised an eyebrow when Kara fidgeted slightly, but didn't leave. "You're not ditching plans, I see," she teased.

"Oliver's team has decided to call themselves the designated vigilantes of National City while he's in town," she sighed, making Lena laugh. Yes, that probably was what his team would do. "They're all here for the statue dedication. Quentin's coming with Thea, and they're bringing William the day of."

"Good for them," Lena smiled. "They're looking out for you. That's important."

"I know," Kara smiled. "Doesn't mean I can't feel slightly annoyed they're taking my job."

That just made Lena laugh. "Brunch some time soon?"

"I'll text you when I can," Kara promised, and Lena waved as she left.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"And look who showed up," Winn smirked when Oliver and Kara walked into the bar, followed by the three people they were not surprised they came with.

"Did you think I'd miss this?" Kara smiled, taking the club soda James slid her way.

"Actually, that might have been directed at you three," James pointed at Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel.

"We can still kick your ass, you know," Malcolm warned him.

James winced at that, making Alex pat his shoulder sympathetically. "Oh, the article's halfway done," Kara added. "It'll be ready for the issue."

"Good," James smiled. "Thank you for doing that."

"Of course," Kara nodded. "Now that I'm over the invasion, it was easy to write."

"Man, you have no idea how much we appreciate you getting this girl back," Winn pointed at Kara.

"I was not that bad!" Kara complained.

"Yes, you were," Alex, J'onn, Maggie, James, and Winn all said at the same time.

"That is not friendship," Kara pouted.

Oliver chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "It's not friendship if they were concerned about you?"

Kara sighed. "I hate you."

"No, you don't," Slade chuckled.

She stuck her tongue out at him, making Oliver and Malcolm laugh. Alex smiled fondly and left to choose a song from the jukebox. Maggie followed after her, and Alex smiled at her. "Even with she was with Mon-El, she was never like this," she told her. "I'm so happy this is my sister now."

"We all are," Maggie patted her arm. "Come on, it's time for that tasting." Alex's smile froze, and Maggie paused. "You don't wanna go to that tasting, do you?" Alex just looked down, biting her lip. "What's going on with you?" Maggie demanded. "Why are you suddenly so down on this wedding?"

"No," Alex stammered. "I'm not down on it! I just . . . " She swallowed. "I don't know."

Maggie scowled. "Well, when you figure it out, let me know."

Alex watched her storm off and sighed, about to pick her song when she heard a triumphant cry from the table. She hurried back over as Winn looked up from his phone. "I think we may have tracked down the merc!" he said gleefully. "I just got an alert from the D.E.O."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"You were able to trace the merc with his blood?" Kara asked as the group entered the D.E.O.

"Meet Robert DuBois," Winn nodded, pulling him up on the big screens. "Goes by Bloodsport."

"That's cheery," Laurel wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah, not any sport I've ever heard of," Winn agreed.

"What do we know about him?" J'onn asked.

"Oh, you remember those bombings at City Hall a few years ago?" Winn raised an eyebrow. "That was him, and he's been AWOL ever since."

"His file says he's ex-military," Oliver noted.

"Where was he last stationed?" Alex asked.

"Fort Harrison," Winn answered. "Like, twenty minutes outside the city."

"He worked security detail," Slade narrowed his eye. "He'd have knowledge of all the ins and outs of the base. He could sneak on, locate weapons, technology, anything he wanted to."

"Call his CO," Kara suggested. "See what they know about him."

"OK," Winn nodded, reaching for his tablet, only to straighten when it beeped rapidly. "Whoa, whoa!"

"What?" Laurel asked.

"OK, the base server is down," he said, making Kara stiffen. "This system is scrambled. Somebody hacked it."

Kara turned to Oliver and the others. "Are you – ?"

"Right behind you," Oliver nodded, he and the others running to get their gear.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen_**

The two motorcycles arrived as Kara landed at the base. Laurel immediately ran to a soldier lying on the ground, checking for a pulse. She looked up and shook her head, making Oliver tighten his grip on his bow. "Can you see anything?" he asked.

Kara squinted, looking towards the base, only to shake her head. "Lead," she said.

"Stick together," Oliver ordered, and nodding, Kara led the way into the base.

The five of them walked together, looking around the entire time, making sure all their backs were covered.

A laser fired from nowhere, and Kara yelped as it hit her in the stomach, sending her backwards. "Supergirl!" Oliver shouted, Malcolm and Slade instantly spinning and drawing their weapons.

Laurel turned when two soldiers with machine guns ran into the room. "No, stop!" she shouted.

The laser fired again, hitting the two soldiers and downing them. Laurel scowled and turned back, screaming in the direction of the laser. Kara scrambled to her feet and shot her heat vision in the same direction. Together, their powers shorted out the shield of a hovering spacecraft. "What the hell?" Malcolm narrowed his eyes.

"Help me!" a soldier cried from behind, and the five of them turned at the same time. "Please, help me!"

The squeaking of a door made them whip back around, watching the exit door swing shut. Slade cursed, and he sprinted towards the door, Malcolm on his heels. Kara led the way to the soldier's side. "It's OK," she assured him, rolling him onto his side. "I'm here. I'm here." She looked down, using her x-ray vision, then smiled. "You have no internal injuries. You're gonna be OK."

Oliver looked up when Slade and Malcolm reentered, then sighed when they shook their heads.

Their guy had gotten away again.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Right," Kara walked back into her apartment, seeing Oliver on the couch. "Article is dropped off to James in time for the deadline." She sighed in relief, dropping her purse on the table and rubbing the back of her neck. "Thank God he didn't use the signal watch."

"Signal watch?" Oliver echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, my cousin gave him a watch he could use to signal when he needed help," Kara nodded, dropping onto the couch next to him, curling into him. "Sometimes, back when I was still upset about Mon-El, he would use it to make sure I got articles written. I reminded him it was for emergencies only; he said those moments felt like emergencies, when he had to be my boss and tell me to do my job. I countered and told him I _was_ doing my job – as Supergirl."

"You really put Kara Danvers on hold to be Supergirl?" Oliver frowned.

"Yeah," Kara sighed. "I was in a bad place after Mon-El left. So bad that I thought all that made me . . . well, _me_. . . was Supergirl. I nearly quit CatCo, too."

Oliver shook his head. "I can't imagine who you would be if you were just Supergirl and not Kara."

"You don't want to know," Kara sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"No, I don't," Oliver shook his head, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"And just when exactly were you gonna notify us that you had a Daxamite warship in your possession?" J'onn snarled angrily, making the three vigilantes turn in surprise, seeing the Martian storm into the D.E.O., speaking into his phone. "Alien artifacts are the D.E.O.'s purview! You can rest assure I will talk to the President, General Lane, and if anything happens as a result of your overreach, you mark my word, she'll have your stars!"

Winn whistled, impressed. "Respect!"

"Whilst I appreciate the nod of confidence, Agent Schott, do you have any words that might actually help me?" J'onn grumbled.

"Words, no," Winn shook his head. "Pictures, definitely. I had the military supplier that DuBois robbed inventory what was taken. It turns out it was not just aluminum rods."

Laurel narrowed her eyes. "That's a high pressure regulator."

"So the aluminum rods were just a cover," Malcolm deduced.

"That was his real target," J'onn nodded.

"What would DuBois need it for?" Alex asked as she walked in.

"Well, he also stole the cloaking device from the Daxamite ship," Winn told her.

"And how exactly do those two things go together?" J'onn frowned.

"With the regulator, he could stabilize the internal pressure of an F-18 or a B-52 to withstand the force emitted by a cloaking shield," Alex answered.

"Able to retrofit it into a fully cloaked aircraft," Winn blanched. "Our equipment would not be able to detect that!"

"Could Supergirl's x-ray vision pick it up?" Slade asked.

"No," Winn shook his head.

"So what you're saying is he could drop a nuke from the sky, and nobody in National City would even know he was overhead until it's too late?" Malcolm clarified.

"Basically," Winn nodded miserably.

"Wonderful," Laurel sighed.

"Agent Schott, I want every flight in and out of National City scanned for munitions," J'onn ordered. "Air _and_ space."

"Yes, sir," he nodded, moving to his computers.

"Alex, put your team on tactical alert," J'onn ordered. "I know you three aren't D.E.O. operatives, but can you notify Supergirl and Oliver?"

All four nodded, accepting their jobs.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Morgan Edge_**

Lena stepped into the doorway of Edge's office and immediately stopped the golf ball rolling towards her with the toe of her heel. "Lena!" Edge raised an eyebrow, lining up another putt. "Twice in my office in as many days. People are gonna start talking!"

"Morgan, you have all the charisma of a Michael Douglas movie from the '90s," Lena rolled her eyes.

"You didn't come all this way just to flatter me, did you?" Edge straightened.

"I came because I have a proposition."

"Oh, good!" he grinned. "I do like propositions."

"Now, you know I don't agree with your waterfront development," Lena walked further in. "But you _are_ still the best developer in National City."

He frowned. "Let me get you a drink before that compliment leaves a bad taste in your mouth."

Lena scowled at him. "Your work is why I have invested in your portfolio, and why I intend to invest more."

Edge narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess. You want me to stay away from CatCo."

"Oh, come on, Morgan," Lena shook her head. "CatCo isn't good business for you, and you know it. There's a city out there that needs to be rebuilt. That's what you're good at. Focus on that."

"You know, you can take the Luthor logo off your name, but people still aren't gonna trust you," Edge informed her coldly. "And that's a really easy sentiment to reinforce once I have CatCo's editorial under my control. People love to believe what they read."

"Using CatCo to defame your enemies and promote your own agenda?" Lena asked in disbelief. "That's _despicable."_

"Oh, no," Edge chuckled. "That's good business."

Lena shook her head in disgust. "I'll see myself out."

Edge moved to pour himself a drink as Lena left, then turned when a shadowy figure entered his office. "You ready?"

"We are," Bloodsport confirmed. "They'll literally never see it coming."

"That's the idea," Edge smirked, taking a drink.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"The President did not place any listening devices in the speakers, the microwave, or his toaster, or his shoes, or anywhere else on his premises or person. Now sadly, I think we are so inured to the pathological lying of the speaker that we just don't think anything he says is crazy anymore."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Cat's latest broadcast. "Cat Grant. Why aren't there more reporters like her?"

"I know," Kara laughed as she typed on her laptop. "Pull her out of CatCo, she's still the amazing Cat Grant everyone knows and loves."

Oliver watched her for a few seconds, then asked, "Why did you not want to be Kara Danvers?"

"What?" she looked up in surprise.

"Why?" he repeated. "You love what you do. Why did you just . . . stop for a while?"

Kara stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed and mumbled, "Because Kara Danvers sucked."

Oliver blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Kara Danvers sucked," Kara repeated, rubbing her face. "And Supergirl was great. She saved the world. So I chose to be her instead of the sad girl whose boyfriend was gone. I didn't like that girl at all."

"Kara," Oliver sighed, walking over to her.

"I would have been a wreck at work if I was that girl," Kara continued, tears in her eyes, looking away from Oliver as he crouched at her side. "I'd have been broken. I didn't want to be her, because that's what humans do. I thought I was better than that. Clark said it himself. The decision I made? He couldn't have made that sacrifice. Me? I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't. I still think I will always make the decision I made. I told myself I wasn't human. I told myself I tried to be, but I wasn't. I said Kara Danvers was a mistake." She sniffed, rubbing at her nose. "And those days were some of the worst of my life."

"Kara Danvers is _not_ a mistake," Oliver promised her, reaching up and wiping away the tears that were falling. "Kara Danvers is my favorite person. You might have been Supergirl during the Dominators invasion and when you came to Lian Yu, but how you helped us? That was Kara Danvers. She has saved me more times than Supergirl ever could." Kara smiled weakly at him. "Remember that if you think about getting rid of her," he requested.

Kara's smile was stronger this time, and she nodded, closing her eyes when Oliver kissed her forehead. There was a knock at the door, and Kara cleared her throat, turning. "Come in!"

The door opened, and Slade stepped inside. "Hey, kid," he greeted. "Little one."

"Slade," Oliver nodded, Kara blushing slightly at the nickname. "What's up?"

"Bloodsport has the capability to cloak a nuke," he answered bluntly.

"You're kidding," Oliver did a double take as Kara blanched.

"Unfortunately not," Slade shook his head. "We think that he's going to hit the statue unveiling at the waterfront. J'onn's given the order for everyone to be there."

"We will," Kara nodded.

"I'll tell everyone when they breach over," Oliver nodded. "This guy's not gonna get away with something like that."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, Morgan Edge is a douche. No one will convince me otherwise.**

 **Last part should be up tonight!**


	4. Girl of Steel - Part Three

**The statue is unveiled, Morgan Edge is _still_ a douche, and for those of you who haven't seen the show, meet the newest member of the main cast!**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara smiled, watching the crowd gather for the unveiling of the statue. She stood high on the rooftops in her suit, ready to fly down when Lena cued her. She had already found Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel in the crowd, as well as Alex and Maggie. A quick head tilt, and her smile widened when she found Oliver speaking with Thea and William not that far away. Oh, how she wished she could be down there with them, but she could quite possibly have to save the city first. She did make a mental note to buy ice cream for William later, though.

She heard J'onn land on the roof behind her and turned. "No sign of Bloodsport," she reported.

"It's quiet up here," J'onn remarked. "You know, I rarely flew on Mars. It was for battle, not pleasure. When I first came to Earth, I spent hours up in the sky. It's the only place I could feel empty." He turned to her. "I'm glad you've stopped feeling that way."

"When I was?" Kara turned to him. "I thought that I tried to be Kara Danvers for fifteen years, but that I wasn't supposed to be her, that I wasn't supposed to be human."

"But you have a human heart now," J'onn told her. "It ached. It scarred. But it kept on beating. If you try and cut it out, you would lose something essential."

"I thought, how could I help people if I'm broken?" Kara mused.

"You are _not_ broken," J'onn told her firmly, putting his arm around her shoulders. "You're the strongest person I know. You saved me, remember? You taught me that my loss made me stronger. That was Kara Danvers, not Supergirl."

"Oliver told me the same thing today," Kara smiled fondly, tears forming in her eyes.

J'onn chuckled. "It'd be a shame if your cousin decided to not like him. He's made you happier than I've ever seen you."

"He has," Kara nodded before turning to him. "Do you still dream about them? Your family?"

"Sometimes," J'onn nodded.

Kara took a deep breath. "Past couple of months, when I dream . . . I see Mon-El with my mom. I keep seeing those I've lost." She looked at him. "Why am I still dreaming of Mon-El when I love Oliver?"

"He was the first person you lost when you loved him," J'onn answered simply. "When those you cared about are lost, you never stop remembering them. Do you still love him?"

"No," Kara answered after a moment. "It's Oliver, J'onn. You know that."

"I do," J'onn confirmed. "And you know that, too. So stop worrying about it. It's natural to mourn those you've lost. Let that be how you think of Mon-El. Not as the man you loved, but as a man you lost."

Kara nodded thoughtfully, turning back to the crowd as J'onn patted her shoulder.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Oh, this is nice," Felicity smiled as she watched everyone mill about. "Well, except for the possibility of a nuke hitting us."

"Don't say that out loud," Dig sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Right. Oops."

"I mean, come on, they can't just drop a nuke on us, can they?" Rene asked.

"They said this cloaking device could make that a possibility," Dinah pointed out.

"Great, something to add to my hate list," Quentin grumbled. "Cloaked nukes."

"It's even less of a joy when you saw the shield in action," Laurel muttered. "Kara couldn't even see it."

"Eek," Curtis wrinkled his nose.

"Great," Dig sighed. "This'll be fun."

"You guys really are pessimists, aren't you?" Winn's voice came over the comms.

"You want to say that to our faces next time?" Slade growled. There was silence on the other end. "Thought not."

"Way to terrify tech support, Wilson," Malcolm snorted.

"You know what, wizard?"

" _Magician!"_

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex couldn't help but chuckle fondly. "Children."

"Heard that, Danvers!" came from both.

"Danvers?" Maggie said. "Are you on separate comms? Got something that needs your attention."

"I'm here," Alex confirmed. "East side. You?"

"West," Maggie answered. "All clear. About last night . . . "

Alex closed her eyes. "Uh, this is neither the time nor the place to talk about what I think you wanna talk about."

"Do you not wanna marry me?" Maggie asked anyway.

Alex stopped, turning to look at Maggie through the crowd. _"Of course_ I do. Look, I . . . I wanna be your wife. I wanna have a dog, I wanna have a house, all of it. I just . . . I just don't want a big wedding."

"Why?" Alex bit her lip and looked away in embarrassment. "Talk to me, please. You have to tell me what's going on."

Alex closed her eyes. "Because my dad won't be there," she admitted. "He can't come. He can't walk me down the aisle."

Maggie sighed. "You could've told me that."

"I didn't wanna make a big deal out of it," Alex rushed to explain. "You're already dealing with family issues that I can't imagine. So I just . . . I hoped that I would just let it go."

Maggie shook her head. "Look, I've had more practice at choosing my family because I've had to. And I think, if you take a deep breath, you're gonna find your way out of this. There's so many people who love you. Just think about how they're gonna make our day good, and tell me how I can help."

"OK," Alex agreed, nodding. "I can do that."

"OK," Maggie smiled at her. "I love you."

"You, too," Alex smiled. "Forever."

"You two are one of my favorite couples," Winn sighed.

Maggie groaned. "Winn, shut up!"

"Winn, get off the comms!" Alex growled in annoyance.

She heard a chuckle behind her and turned to see Oliver, Thea, and William walk up. "Winn being annoying?" Oliver asked.

"Just a bit," Alex sighed before smiling at the others. "Thanks for coming, guys."

"Oh, like we'd miss this," Thea nodded to where the statue was covered.  
"Is Kara coming?" William asked.

"Eventually," Alex winked. "As, well . . . you know."

William nodded, understanding, then Thea yelped when someone crashed into her. "Thea!" Oliver straightened.

"Oh, sorry!" the teenage girl running threw over her shoulder.

"Watch out there!" Alex called.

"Ruby!" a dark-haired woman shouted, stopping by the group. "Rubes! Come here, baby. Come here." The girl came back sheepishly, and the woman cleared her throat. "I don't think that was an apology."

The girl gave Thea a nervous smile. "I'm very sorry for bumping into you."

"Totally OK," Thea smiled. "Thank you for apologizing."

"Can I go now, Mom?" the girl, Ruby, asked eagerly. "I want to get up close!"

The woman nodded, letting her go. "Just don't get so far ahead I can't see you, OK?"

Ruby nodded and ran off. "Dad?" William looked up at Oliver, a hopeful look in his eye.

Oliver chuckled. "Same to you. Make sure we can see you."

William grinned and nodded as well, running after Ruby. "She's fun," Alex grinned, pointing after her.

"Thanks," the woman sighed. "Just trying to enjoy the microsecond I have left before she's a teenager."

"Those were the good old days," Thea snickered.

"I know, right?" the woman smiled, waving. "Bye."

"Bye," the three waved after her.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

William made it up to the front just behind the girl, bouncing impatiently. He was excited for the ceremony, yes, but he was also ready for it to be over as well. He definitely liked Supergirl, but he liked Kara much better. He smiled at the girl and quickly introduced himself. "I'm William."

"Ruby," she answered with a smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen of National City," the announcer said, and both turned back to the stage, Ruby's mother coming up behind her and putting her hands on her shoulders. "Please welcome the chairwoman and CEO of L-Corp, Lena Luthor!"

William grinned and clapped loudly as the black-haired woman walked up to the podium. She gave him a quick smile, then turned to the crowd. "Now, I know you all didn't come here to see me," she said. "So, I'll start with the good stuff, and then I'll say just a few very brief words. My fellow citizens of National City . . . the Girl of Steel!"

The curtain behind her fell, and William applauded with everyone else when the statue was revealed.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara stepped forward with interest, having refrained from using her x-ray vision to see what the statue looked like. "There you are," J'onn told her proudly.

Kara smiled softly, then heard Felicity say in her ear, "In person is better."

"Felicity!" Dig sighed.

"What? She is!"

"Don't say it when anyone can hear you!"

"She's not wrong, though," Oliver said smugly, making Kara blush.

J'onn chuckled. "Keep him."

Kara could only nod, listening to Lena continue. "I am so honored to be able to present this statue of our hometown hero. Some of you must be thinking 'I know, it's a cold day in hell, a Luthor praising a Kryptonian.' But ever since I came here, she has been an inspiration to me. She's been a mentor, and most importantly, she's been a friend."

"Now would be a good time for you to get down there and join the crowd," J'onn prompted.

Kara nodded, took a deep breath, and prepared to fly into the air – when there was a loud explosion and the ground shook violently.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

Oliver and Thea burst into action, running towards the waterfront as people started screaming, Alex right behind them with her gun drawn. "Guessing that was the nuke!" Thea shouted.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

Kara and J'onn landed in the center of the chaos, looking around. "Schott, did you see where that missile came from?" J'onn snapped.

"We have no heat signature, OK?" Winn babbled. "There's no atmospheric disruption, there's no electromagnetic trail. Alex, have you seen anything?"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Negative visual contact," Alex answered, helping people up and run, Oliver and Thea still searching through the crowd as the rest of Team Arrow tried to help. "It came out of nowhere!"

"Let's go!" Maggie shouted.

"Keep moving!" Dig joined in.

"OK, you know what?" Winn said. "We're pulling up every security feed within a two-mile radius. There's got to be an origin point for whatever just hit the waterfront!"

"William?" Oliver shouted, looking through the people running.

"William!" Thea joined in.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara took a deep breath. "J'onn, can you locate DuBois telepathically?"

"I'll try," J'onn answered, looking around, his eyes glowing red. A few seconds later, he growled in annoyance. "I can't sense DuBois' mind."

"How could we have not seen it?" Felicity asked. "How could that cloaking device have cloaked a missile if it's cloaking its point of origin?"

Kara paused, taking that into consideration, then slowly turned out to the water. "Because the pressure regulator wasn't meant for high altitude," she said. "It was meant for _low_ altitude."

"You mean these psychos are underwater?!" Rene asked in disbelief.

A missile hit again, this time hard enough to make a huge crack appear in the pavement. Kara shot into the air, heading for the waterfront. "I cannot track that explosion to the source, you guys," Winn said in exasperation. "The radar is not picking up any underwater signals."

"I'll clear that building," J'onn said. "Danvers, Sawyer, Queen, everyone, stay on the waterfront. Supergirl, find that submarine!"

Kara closed her eyes, sorting through different sounds. She found the screaming civilians, police sirens, the ocean bubbling . . . and hearts beating underneath.

She opened her eyes and dove for the water, plunging into it.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

Dinah, Rene, and Curtis ducked as Kara flew right over their heads and into the water, creating a massive splash. "OK, please tell me breathing underwater is one of her superpowers," Curtis stammered.

"It's not!" Alex blanched.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

William stumbled around the crowd, trying to find Oliver and Thea. "Dad?" he shouted. "Aunt Thea?" He heard Ruby's hysterical cries from nearby and turned, trying to find her. "Ruby?" he shouted. "Ruby!"

"William?" she spun around, eyes wide.

"Ruby!" he ran over to her. "Come on, let's go! Come on!"

She grabbed his hand, and William started to tug them away from the waterfront.

Just as they had passed the stage, the ground shuddered again, even worse than before, and the two collapsed to the ground. Something creaked nearby, and William's eyes widened when he saw the steel beams starting to fall.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver groaned as he got to his feet, wincing. "Thea?" he called.

"Here!" she coughed, dusting off her leggings. "I'm here!"

A terrified scream a moment later caught their attention. _"Ruby!"_

Oliver blanched, and Thea turned to him with wide eyes. "William followed her!"

Oliver burst through the crowd, Thea running after him, to find the dark-haired woman running to where a steel beam had collapsed . . . with William and Ruby trapped underneath it. "William!" he shouted, running over.

"Dad!" William coughed, struggling under the beam.

"Mom," Ruby sobbed.

"Oh, my God," Thea clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Help!" the dark-haired woman cried, looking around, in complete hysterics. "Somebody, help me!"

"Hang on," Oliver swallowed, grabbing onto the beam. "Hold on, you two!" He turned to the woman, who was still sobbing. "Hey, listen to me," he told her, and she turned to him, eyes wide and red. "What's your name?"

"Sam," she managed to get out. "It's Sam."

"Sam," he nodded. "We're gonna get them out, OK?"

"Guys, by the stage," Thea looked around as she ran to the other side of the beam. "We need all hands on deck here, now!"

"Come on," Oliver got a firm grip with both hands.

"Oh, my God!" Felicity's shriek came from behind.

Oliver barely reacted as Slade appeared at his side, Malcolm on Slade's other. Dinah appeared on Sam's other side as Rene, Curtis, Dig, Laurel, and Quentin joined Thea. "All right," he grimaced, Sam taking a shaky breath. "One, two, three!"

All of them lifted in unison, and Oliver heard the creak of metal. It was slow going at first, with the metal barely budging, then suddenly the beam lifted all the way. Dig and Rene grunted in surprise, but they hastily scooted back, the beam dropping behind the two kids. "Ruby!" Sam released her grip immediately.

"Mom," Ruby sobbed, launching at her.

"Dad," William scrambled up, hugging him tightly.

"Oh, thank God," Oliver clung to him, feeling him shake. "Thank _God."_ He pulled back slightly, looking him over. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," he nodded jerkily. "I'm fine."

"Guys," Laurel said quietly, standing up, looking out towards the water. "She's still down there."

Oliver froze, turning to look towards the water. "Oh, no," Felicity whimpered, all of Team Arrow looking away from the metal . . . even as Sam couldn't look away from the dents where she'd been tightly holding on.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex ran to the rail by the waterfront, Maggie behind her. "Supergirl?" she called desperately. "Supergirl!" When she didn't get an immediate response, she closed her eyes. "Kara, answer me," she begged, not hearing more people run up behind her. "Kara!"

"Kara?" Oliver shouted.

"Come on, little one," Slade growled under his breath.

"Kara?" William's voice cracked slightly. "Kara, please!"

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Kara, please!"

Kara's eyes snapped open, and she looked around to try and regain her bearings. She sped towards the submarine, catching the next missile before it shot out. She shoved it back into the submarine, making it rock. She then dove under the sub, planted her hands on the bottom of it, and lifted.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Over there!" Dinah pointed suddenly.

Everyone straightened when the water rippled, then a huge submarine broke the surface of the water, soaring into the air. "Atta girl!" Malcolm grinned as Oliver blew out his breath in relief, grinning widely.

"She's OK," William smiled up at his father.

"Yeah," Oliver squeezed his shoulder, smiling at Kara, who was panting as she caught her breath. "She's OK."

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

They were waiting back at the D.E.O. for Kara and J'onn to take out Bloodsport when a rush of wind made them turn. "Kara!" William immediately wriggled out of Oliver's grasp and ran for the alien.

"William," she smiled tiredly and dropped to her knees, hugging him when he reached her. "I heard what happened. Are you OK?" she looked him over.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm OK."

"Thank God you both are," Oliver walked up.

Kara smiled at him, kissing him when he reached her. "Not even an underwater submarine is gonna keep me away from you two."

William beamed happily as she gave him a one-armed hug. "Can we get that ice cream now?"

Kara burst out laughing as Oliver rolled his eyes fondly. "What am I going to do with both of you?" he sighed in mock disappointment.

"Love us to death," Kara teased.

"Probably," he admitted with a chuckle, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara knocked on Lena's door after the ice cream run, entering when Lena called for her to enter. "Hey!" Lena smiled at her.

"Hey," Kara smiled, walking up. "So . . . the waterfront, huh?"

"Well, Supergirl got her man," Lena smirked, making Kara nod. "And now we have to discuss ours." Kara sobered as Lena leaned against her desk. "I spoke to Edge."

"Please tell me you convinced him not to buy CatCo," Kara begged.

"Well, you can't convince a bully like that of anything," Lena sighed.

"So, what, CatCo's gone?" she asked nervously.

"No," Lena looked down nervously. _"I_ bought it."

Kara's jaw dropped. "You're kidding," she stammered, starting to grin. "Are you kidding?"

"Pretty badass, right?" Lena grinned, and Kara laughed gleefully. "I'm just trying in my own small way to be more like Supergirl."

"Oh, Lena!" Kara cheered, giving her a hug.

"And I was hoping maybe you could break the story?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Are you kidding?" Kara repeated. "Of course! This is . . . this is _awesome!_ This is – "

"Super?" Lena suggested, making Kara giggle hysterically. "Now, I know nothing about running a media empire, and I trust you, so . . . good to work with your best friend?"

"Oh, yes, please," Kara grinned, high fiving her.

Their happy moment was broken with Edge stormed in angrily. "You're more of a lunatic than your brother is!"

"Excuse me?" Kara glared at him.

"I could ruin you," Edge snarled.

"You are _dangerously_ close to being thrown out by security," Lena growled.

"You know what?" Kara narrowed her eyes. "I'm gonna go and let you handle . . . _this,"_ she wrinkled her nose at Edge, walking past him. The moment she was out the door, she whipped off her glasses and pulled out her phone, calling the first number on speed dial. "Hey, if you're all available?"

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Morgan Edge_**

"You are gonna regret, _so_ regret, the day you screwed me," Edge snarled at Lena, who simply gave him one of her best bitch faces. "I sure hope you enjoyed yourself because now you have all of my attention."

"Oh, Edge," she blinked at him innocently. "Like every woman who's ever had all of your attention . . . I couldn't care less."

Edge glared at her, then the sound of rustling blinds made them turn. "Miss Luthor," Supergirl greeted as she landed on the balcony. "You through with him?"

"He's all yours," Lena grinned smugly, stepping back.

Edge narrowed his eyes at Supergirl. "What do you think you're gonna do?"

She just smirked.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Morgan Edge_**

Edge landed on hands and knees as Kara deposited him on top of a shipping container. "The attack on the waterfront," she told him. "I know it was you, to clear the way for your development. You're the only person who had anything to gain from it."

"Yeah?" Edge growled, getting to his feet. "Well, you can't prove anything."

"Not yet," she acknowledged. "But I see you, Edge." She walked forward, narrowing her eyes. "National City's _my_ town . . . and now you've got all our attention."

Edge would have let that go had he not caught one word. "Our?" he repeated.

"Oh, yeah," Kara's smile turned predatory as she looked around. _"Our."_

Edge slowly turned to look around, and his eyes steadily widened as he took in all of Team Arrow: Green Arrow, the Dark Archer, Deathstroke, Black Siren, Spartan, Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, and Black Canary were on other shipping containers, all of them glaring at him.

That was also when he realized he was on a boat starting to float away from the waterfront. He blanched, and Kara laughed before leaping into the sky. "Hey!" he shouted. "You can't just leave me here!"

When he turned back around, the vigilantes were gone, too.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex shyly entered J'onn's office, looking in where he was working on a tablet. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey, Alex," he nodded. "You know what? I think we both deserve a drink." He put his tablet aside, standing up. "Come on, I'm buying the first round."

"Since we both know Winn won't," Alex grinned, chuckling slightly. "Hey . . . can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah, sure," J'onn nodded. "Go ahead."

"So, uh," Alex walked into the office, fiddling with her hands nervously. "Maggie and I figured it out. We're going to have a really big wedding. The biggest, gayest wedding that National City has ever seen, actually . . . and I'm gonna need everybody that I love to be there."

J'onn blinked at her. "Sure, Alex. You know I wouldn't miss it for the world, right?"

"I know," Alex nodded, biting her lip nervously. "But . . . I'm gonna need something from _you._ Something more than just . . . being there." J'onn frowned in confusion, turning to pay more attention to her. "You've always been like a father to me," Alex continued, swallowing hard. "And . . . J'onn, I choose _you_ to be my family. And I want, if you will . . . " She swallowed again, feeling tears well in her eyes as her voice choked. "To have _you_ walk me down the aisle." J'onn stared at her in shock before blowing out his breath in shock, swallowing hard. "Stop, don't cry," she pointed at him. "If _you_ cry, _I'm_ gonna cry, and then everybody here is gonna know that we actually _can_ cry, so – "

"Alex," J'onn cleared his throat, a wide smile forming on his face. "It would . . . it would be my honor." She smiled in relief, and he held out his arms. "Come on!" Beaming with joy, she hugged him happily, J'onn laughing in delight. "Come on, let me help you celebrate." He put his arm around her shoulder, then asked, "Do I have to wear a tux?"

Alex laughed. "I'm wearing Kevlar and boots, so . . . "

J'onn laughed, and the two of them walked out the door, ready to celebrate.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"All right," Kara smiled as she looked around her apartment, William sitting down on the pull-out she had bought after she and Oliver started dating. "You good?"

"I think so," William nodded, smiling at her.

"And if you say thanks again," she mock warned him.

"What, like every other time I've stayed here?" he grinned. "What're you gonna do? It's not like you can kick me out."

Kara growled, playfully stomping her foot, which made William laugh. "Face it, angel," Oliver walked up behind her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You can't say no to him for the life of you."

"No, I can't," she admitted, nuzzling his shoulder. "I'm glad you're staying for a while longer. _Both_ of you."

"The team can handle Star City while we're here with Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel," Oliver nodded. "Even the mayor can take a break sometimes."

"Good," Kara smiled. "Then it's my turn to sleep over."

"Looking forward to it," Oliver kissed the top of her head. "Now, don't we have a celebration to be at?"

Kara nodded, picking up her purse before smiling at William. "Don't wait on us."

"Bye, Dad!" William waved. "Bye, Kara!"

They waved back before heading out the door.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Everyone was already at the bar when the couple arrived – Team Supergirl, Malcolm, Laurel, Slade, and even Lena were speaking together and laughing. Kara and Oliver inserted themselves between Alex and Slade, Kara giving Alex a hug when they arrived, Slade sliding the two of them shot glasses. They picked them up, smiling as the entire group clinked their glasses together, drinking to a job well done at the waterfront and to celebrate Alex and Maggie.

* * *

 ** _Sam Arias_**

 _In a grassy field, Saturn in the clear day sky, a woman with long, dark hair in a floaty blue dress stood with her back turned. Slowly she turned around, the scene turning dark and black and grey. The woman's beautiful face twisted into that of a monster, growling and snarling._

The dreamer shot up in bed, gasping in horror, and Samantha Arias looked around her bedroom nervously, trying to figure out what she had just dreamed.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, Morgan Edge is still an idiot. That hasn't changed. Probably won't, if I'm being honest. And I'm gonna be honest - even while I knew Sam would eventually become the villain of Season 3, I really grew attached to her. I still am. *sigh* Why do I have a soft spot for some of the villains in this universe?**

 **"Triggers" will be up tomorrow!**


	5. Supergirl - Triggers - Part One

**I was asked by a guest about how the episode "Reign" is going to turn out . . . yes, Kara will still get her ass handed to her, and I still plan on the episode being three parts long. I can't promise how long the action scene will be, but I will try my best at it.**

 **Also, for those of you who expected an update earlier, I apologize for this being late. I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday, and my winter break started at the end of last week, so I've been spending more time with my family.**

 **So, enjoy the first part of "Triggers!" Lena starts at CatCo, we find out more about the new members of the Supergirl family, and Kara meets the villain of the episode.**

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex woke up the next morning to a hand grabbing hers. She grinned and turned over in bed, and Maggie grinned back at her from where she was hovering over her. Alex giggled and cupped Maggie's face, kissing her as her fiancée kissed her back.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam's alarm clock rang, and she reached over, slapping it and turning it off. She turned back around in bed, then smirked and pulled the comforter down and away from the body next to her. Ruby squeaked and tried to pull it back up, but Sam laughed and pulled it back down, kissing her daughter on the forehead.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara was stirred awake not by the sound of an alarm going off or by someone waking her up, but by the scent of batter cooking. She sniffed again, blinking her eyes open, then turned around in bed, to find Oliver wasn't with her. However, when she inhaled again, she could smell pancakes cooking, and she could hear Oliver and William speaking. She smiled fondly and sat up, ready to begin her day.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex brought breakfast over to the island as Maggie finished drizzling a generous amount of honey into her mug. She slid another one over to Alex, who smiled as she drank her coffee. When breakfast was done, both swiped their badges from the table and headed out the door.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam grabbed the waffles when they popped out of the toaster, dropping them onto plates and bringing them over to the table, sliding one plate over to Ruby. Ruby looked up, biting her lip as Sam checked her phone before starting to eat.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Is this what you eat when Dad's not here?" William wrinkled his nose at a sugary cereal Kara had left by the sink.

"Oh, not everyone's as great a chef as he is," Kara blushed, even as Oliver laughed.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, angel," Oliver grinned, giving her a kiss before handing her a stack of pancakes. "Good luck finding which ones are blueberry and chocolate chip."

" _Yes!"_ Kara whooped in delight, making Oliver and William grin at each other.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam bent down to pull her shoes on, trying to keep her balance. Ruby walked up to her and handed her her keys, and Sam put them in her mouth as she finished. A moment later, she stood up, and Ruby opened the door. Sam grinned and let her leave first, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Oliver snorted in amusement, watching Kara lift up their bed to try and find her shoes. "That's a new one."

"Shut up," Kara blushed, reaching down and finding her shoes, pausing when she saw a book lying abandoned underneath.

 _Romeo and Juliet._

She set her jaw and set the bed back down, ignoring the book. "Still up for lunch?" she asked as she hopped on one foot, putting her shoes on.

"Wouldn't miss it," Oliver smiled, watching her straighten back up. "Love you."

"Love you, too," she smiled, kissing him. She grabbed her back as she left the bedroom, walking over to where William was watching the TV. "Have a good day," she ruffled his hair.

William squirmed, but gave her a quick hug. "You, too!"

She smiled and waved, heading out the door.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"All right, kiddo," Sam smiled as she pulled up to Ruby's school.

"Don't forget, I have to buy all the books after school, so you have to pick me up at 5:30," Ruby told her.

Sam sighed. "Baby, Mrs. Crawler's picking you up because I have meetings all afternoon, OK?"

"Oh," Ruby's face fell. "I forgot."

"I mean, it's my first day, you know," Sam explained. "I just . . . I can't get out early. And you remember how I was telling you that this was an incredible opportunity?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded.

"What I meant was money," Sam grinned. "Mom's gonna be making just, like, lots and lots of money."

"Do you remember the other day at the waterfront?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Yeah, I remember," Sam frowned.

"Was it just you and those other people that came to help William and me?"

"Yep, just us."

"It was pretty huge."

"It was pretty huge," Sam agreed. "I never got the other guy's name, but we were both worried about you. Me for you, him for William. Parents, they get this adrenaline rush when their kids are in danger. We had the strength of, like, I don't know . . . ten parents."

"I think it would have taken thirty parents," Ruby smirked.

"It's not a big deal," Sam sighed. "You will understand when you have kids."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena walked out of Cat's elevator at CatCo, taking a deep breath and looking around the building she now owned. "Miss Luthor!" a cheery voice called, and Lena turned as a blonde woman approached her with a wide smile. "It's so nice to see you!"

"Eve Teschmacher, right?" Lena asked with an answering smile.

She squealed and nodded. "Sorry, I'm a huge admirer of yours!"

"Thank you, Eve," Lena nodded politely.

"Oh, uh, can I get you a coffee?" Eve came around her desk. "You take it black, right?" Lena blinked in surprise, and Eve hastened to explain. "I'm not stalking you. I emailed your assistant at L-Corp about all your favorite things. I hate salmon, too."

Lena couldn't help but laugh. "Well, thank you. Yes, a coffee would be lovely."

"Great," Eve grinned, turning to leave.

"Eve?" Lena frowned in confusion, pointing behind her. "Why don't you just use this elevator? It'll go straight to the ground floor."

"Oh, no, only the boss can use it," Eve shook her head.

Lena snorted. "That's just silly. Anybody who needs it should be able to use it."

"All right," Eve smiled, walking past her to the elevator.

"Miss Luthor!" James walked up, a surprised look on his face. "I didn't know you'd be here this morning."

"Yeah, I was able to get things in line over at L-Corp," Lena nodded.

"That's good," James said. "I wanna say thanks again for saving CatCo. And we should really figure out a way to get you up to speed on what's happening here. I was thinking weekly meetings, or – "

"There's no need," Lena smirked, patting his arm. "I'll be here every day."

James did a double take, blinking rapidly. "Every day?" he repeated, walking after Lena as she entered the main office.

"Yeah, I've set things up at L-Corp so I'll be able to dedicate my energies to learning the ins and outs of how things work at CatCo," Lena explained, turning when she heard James clear his throat. "You seem surprised by this."

"Yeah," James began, about to say something before awkwardly settling with, "Yeah."

Lena knitted her eyebrows, but perked up when the sound of flats approached. "Lena!" Kara beamed as she walked up. "Welcome to CatCo!"

Lena laughed when she saw what Kara was handing her, complete with a gift bow on top. "You didn't have to do that!"

"It's a Danvers family tradition," Kara explained. "First day of school, you get a planner."

"Well, it's lovely," Lena assured her with a smile. "In the Luthor house, on the first day, we would hire a private investigator to make sure our teachers' credentials were up-to-date."

They both laughed, and James cleared his throat again. "Kara, so . . . you knew that Miss Luthor would be here today?"

"Yeah, she texted me this morning," Kara nodded.

James made a face at that, and Lena hastened to say, "I should've communicated more clearly, Mr. Olsen. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"No, no, no," James shook his head, Kara watching them go back and forth like she was watching a tennis match. "It's – no, I mean, I feel bad because we just . . . we're just not ready for a change in management. We don't even have an office for you, but I – "

"Oh, no, that's fine," Lena shook her head, walking back out of the office. "I won't be needing an office. It's this new trend in CEOs. We like to roam free, ask questions, and hear unfiltered conversations." Kara's phone started to ring, and she pulled it out of her purse as Lena turned to them. "That way, we can understand how things are working. It's much easier when you don't have a desk. Kara, do you think you might be able to get me the dossier on the Edge investigation, please?"

"Uh," Kara looked up, eyes wide apologetically. "There's actually something I . . . " She gave Lena an embarrassed look.

"Oh," Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," she apologized sincerely. "I promise, I'll get it for you later."

"Of course, go," Lena nodded.

"Sorry," she apologized again, hurrying past Lena.

"I'd be happy to have someone else do that for you," James offered.

"No, no, it's fine," Lena shook her head. "It's kind of our thing."

James nodded slowly as Lena walked off.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"How long has this been going on?" Slade whispered to Laurel, wincing as he listened to the resident fiancées go at each other.

"At least twenty minutes," Laurel checked her watch.

"You'd think they'd have something better to argue about now," Malcolm frowned.

"That's something I don't want to listen to," Slade snorted.

"It is not a personal attack on your taste!" Alex protested loudly, making all three look up.

"I wasn't even thinking that until you just suggested it!" Maggie countered.

"It's a fact!" Alex groaned, then straightened. "OK, Winn!" His head shot up, and Alex walked over to him. "Back me up."

Winn grimaced. "I don't think that I should get involved . . . "

"Because you're on _my_ side, aren't you?" Maggie smirked.

"Oh, yeah, right," Alex scoffed.

"Well . . . " Winn trailed off, hurrying away.

"What?" Alex's jaw dropped as Maggie smirked triumphantly. "How could you – ? I saved your life!"

"Yeah, but, like, so has everybody else here," the poor agent stammered before whispering to the vigilantes, "hide me."

Slade snorted as Maggie caught up to Alex. "Hey, don't try to make him feel bad for siding with me!"

"What, did you pay him to agree with you?" Alex turned.

"Oh, now you're accusing me of – ?" Maggie's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, if the shoe fits!"

"Oh, here we go," Malcolm couldn't help but smirk.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" J'onn shouted, and everyone turned around when the director stormed in, scowling. "What is all this about?"

"We can't agree on one very important wedding detail," Alex answered with extreme seriousness. "Band or DJ?"

J'onn looked between the two incredulously, then sighed and walked around, sharing his thoughts. "The human mind reacts to music very much like other stimuli. Taste, smells. If the song doesn't sound exactly the way you're used to hearing it, you enjoy it less, and are, therefore, less likely to get jiggy on the dance floor. I say DJ."

"Oh, yes!" Alex whooped.

"Come on!" Maggie groaned.

"Did he just say _jiggy?"_ Winn asked Laurel in surprise.

"Yes, he did," Laurel smirked.

Kara suddenly swooped in, walking towards the group. "What was the general alert for?" she asked.

"Wait, you get the general alerts?" Winn blinked. "That's just for the analysts, I think."

"No, I had them add me to the distro list," Kara shook her head. When Alex raised an eyebrow, she sighed in annoyance. "I want to know what's going on with the city at all times."

"Detective Sawyer brought this in this morning," J'onn beckoned, and Kara walked over to the big screens. "Mr. Schott?"

"Yeah, well, we analysts thought we might be able to see something the cops didn't," Winn nodded, using his tablet to pull up a video feed onto one of the screens.

"She hit two banks back-to-back," Maggie explained.

"Where are the guards?" Laurel tilted her head.

"Unconscious on the floor," Alex grumbled.

"How did she take them out?" Malcolm asked as they watched the blonde in black walk past the guards, a duffel in her hand.

"Well, we thought it might be gas," Winn began.

"But toxicity came back negative," Maggie finished.

"According to report, she walked right in the front door," J'onn added. "No weapons of any kind. Everyone just cleared out of her way, let her take whatever she wanted."

Something blinked on a computer nearby, and Winn hurried over. "Whoa, we got a silent alarm tripped at 25 and Cedar," he said.

"Looks like that's our new friend," Kara frowned before flying off.

Laurel blinked, then let out a puff of air, blowing her hair back. "Guess she won't need our help."

"It's a bank robber," Winn shrugged. "What harm could she possibly do?"

Laurel shot him an incredulous look. "What do you think?" she asked sarcastically, which prompted Malcolm and Slade to exchange looks before leaving to get their gear.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara landed in the door of the vault, watching the blonde woman put cash in a bag. "I got you cornered," she warned.

"Do you?" the woman asked, continuing what she was doing.

"What did you do to them up there?" Kara walked forward.

"I only wanted to play," the woman answered, turning to her. "But they didn't want to play with me."

"Well, you're not getting away with it."

"Oh?" she smirked. "You think you're the cat and I'm the bird?" She shook her head, zipping up the bag. "You got it backwards. You can join me. Maybe then you'd be happy. You see, money equals happiness. More money, more happiness."

Kara snorted. Boy, Oliver would have loved being here to witness this. "Your priorities are _seriously_ out of whack."

"I know, right?" the woman grinned, laughing.

"Put the bag down," Kara warned.

The woman sighed, then stared at Kara, walking forward. Kara frowned, about to do the same, when a wave of nausea swept over her, making her stumble. The woman smirked at her, walking right past her. Kara stumbled towards the wall, reaching out to stop her, only to stop and stare.

The walls . . . why were the walls closing in on her? And then the walls were gone, and suddenly all she could see was blackness . . . and nothing. No sound, no people, no color, just . . . black.

She whimpered, her feet sliding out from under her, and she collapsed in the corner, curling up in a ball, breathing heavily.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Slade and Malcolm made it ahead of the police cruisers, running into the bank, weapons drawn. They looked down at the guards, Malcolm bending down to check one for a pulse. "They're alive," he reported, then frowned when he saw Slade tense and look around. "What?"

Slade just shook his head and ran further into the bank, Malcolm running after him. He found Slade hurrying down a set of stone steps, and Malcolm finally heard what Slade had: panicked whimpering. "Oh, no," he breathed, running down after Slade.

When he stepped through into the vault, he found Slade already by Kara's side, his mask off. "Kara," he whispered, putting his hand on the back of her neck, watching her eyes dart around fearfully, her breath hitching and catching repeatedly. "Kara, it's OK."

"Almas," Malcolm set his bow on the ground, putting his arm around her shoulders. "We're here."

More footsteps echoed closer, and Malcolm lunged for his bow as Slade reached for his sword. Maggie looked into the vault, and her eyes widened before she turned back the way she had come. "Everyone out of the bank!" she yelled. "Get out of here, now!"

Malcolm nodded at Maggie as Slade turned back to Kara. "It's all right, little one," he told her, Kara looking at him with wide eyes. "You're all right."

Kara only whimpered again, both Slade and Malcolm exchanging concerned looks. What had that bank robber done to her?

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"What happened?" William asked as he ran into medbay, interrupting Winn as he scanned Kara.

"I'm fine, buddy," Kara gave him a small smile as Oliver entered behind him.

"Now, where have I heard that before?" Slade raised an eyebrow from where he stood behind Kara, Malcolm and Laurel sitting on the bed behind her.

"Guys," Kara groaned. "Seriously, I'm _fine."_

"Really, though, what happened?" Oliver looked around.

"Bank robbery gone wrong," Malcolm answered.

"OK, the scans of your vitals are coming up normal," Winn reported.

"See?" Kara looked around in exasperation. "I told you. I am _fine._ This is totally unnecessary."

"None of the human victims remember what happened in there," Maggie stopped her from standing up. "Do you?"

"I don't know," Kara shook her head, thinking. "I felt like the walls of the vaults were closing in on me, like I was suffocating."

"She made you feel claustrophobic?" Laurel asked in surprise.

"Claustrophobia is a human problem," Kara frowned.

"You used to have episodes like that sometimes when you first came to Earth," Alex reminded her.

"That was a long time ago," Kara brushed it off, standing up. "We need to find out who she is, and how we track her."

"Well, at the moment, you're our best clue," J'onn stood in front of her.

Kara blinked when his eyes glowed red. "What are you doing?" Oliver narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, I thought you couldn't read Kryptonian minds," Winn added.

"I can't," J'onn acknowledged. "But I _can_ scan her mind for residual psychic activity."

"Just remind me to get you a World's Best Boss mug," Winn winced.

"Well, she's definitely a psychic, but she's not like me," J'onn frowned. "There are traces of a particular type of psionic interference in your mind . . . the type only used by metahumans."

"OK, well, I'll start combing through the metahuman database," Winn nodded.

"In the meantime, I'll monitor potential targets for unusual activity," J'onn watched Kara head for the door.

"If we locate her, I'll take her down," Kara said.

"It's not safe," Alex protested.

"She caught me off guard last time," Kara shook her head. "It's not gonna happen again."

Kara left without further ado, and Oliver sighed, shaking his head. "Why did I fall in love with the most stubborn woman between our universes?" he asked out loud.

"Because she's the only one as stubborn as you?" Slade suggested.

"Shut up."

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"Just because I'm stepping in does not mean these deals are voided," Sam grumbled into her phone as she stepped into the elevator. She frowned when her phone beeped again, and she checked who was calling her again. "I'm gonna have to call you back," she told the person on the other line before switching calls. "Hello?" she asked, then blinked. "Yes?" She blanched, then stopped the elevator from closing, hurrying out. _"What?"_

* * *

 **A/N: Now that I'm feeling better, I'm hoping to get this caught up soon. :)**


	6. Triggers - Part Two

**The robber strikes again, Sam and Ruby have problems, and Lena wins the best boss of the day award.**

* * *

 _ **Samantha Arias**_

"OK," Ruby's principal, Coburn, told Sam as she sat. "Well, then . . . there was some kind of argument between the girls that started before morning bell. It got very heated outside their lockers, and Ruby hit Stephanie."

"OK," Sam bit her lip, trying to process this. "When you say 'hit,' I mean . . . how did she hit her? Did she push her?"

"Oh, no," Coburn shook her head. "She punched her in the face."

"Oh, God," Sam covered her mouth in horror. "Is Stephanie all right?"  
"She's OK," Coburn nodded. "It didn't go further than the one punch."

"I just," Sam shook her head. "This is not like Ruby!"

"Ruby is very well-behaved," Coburn frowned. "I was shocked when they told me she was involved in this. Is she acting OK at home? Sleeping normally?"

"Yes," Sam nodded. "Yes, nothing out of the ordinary."

"I know you're a single parent," Coburn told her, and Sam followed her hand motions, thinking. "Has there been some sort of shake-up with Ruby's father? You know, sometimes children can sense – "

"There is no father," Sam interrupted. "It's just us."

"I'm sorry," Coburn winced. "I don't mean to pry. We just want to find out what's going on with Ruby and make sure that this is an isolated incident for her."

"Well, I agree," Sam nodded.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

It didn't take long to finish the meeting after that. Sam walked out of the principal's office and sighed in frustration when she saw Ruby sitting sheepishly outside. "Today of all days," she grumbled, gesturing for her to follow her. "Come on."

Ruby sighed, then took her backpack and followed.

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

Kara quickly ran out of the elevator, checking her watch. "Hey, how you doing?" James asked, walking up to her, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm OK," she answered. "I'm just running late."

"For what?" James frowned, confused.

"Uh, Lena called a meeting for the news room."

James blinked. "She did?"

"Yeah," Kara blinked back. "She didn't tell you?"

"No, she did not," he scowled.

" . . . huh."

"Kara!" Lena walked up, a relieved look on her face. "There you are!"

"I'm sorry," Kara smiled sheepishly at her. "I tried to make it work, but it just – "

"Good meeting?" James interrupted, and Kara closed her mouth with a click. "Was it good?"

"Yeah," Lena narrowed her eyes. "I was just going around to all the departments, giving them a little pep talk." She looked at Kara and gave her a smile. "I really missed you there."

Kara's phone went off again, and she closed her eyes. "Shoot," she growled, pulling it out and taking a look. "Lena, I am _so_ – "

"Go," Lena nodded, a sympathetic look on her face. "Go on."

"Thank you," she mouthed, hurrying off.

"Did you think that I didn't wanna be there?" James turned on Lena, folding his arms. "Is that why you didn't tell me?"

"Well, to be honest, I thought you would be too busy to act as my chaperone," Lena raised an eyebrow coldly.

"I don't want to chaperone you. I don't consider myself a chaperone. I consider myself the person who's been running this company for a year."

Lena stared him down, then smirked. "All right, Mr. Olsen. I have a meeting with the advertising department in twenty minutes. I'll see you there."

"See you in nineteen," James countered.

"Twenty will be fine," Lena retorted, turning on her heel and walking off.

James shook his head in disbelief, exhaling slowly. What was it about that woman that annoyed him so much?

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Dark Archer, on site," reports were coming in as Kara flew towards the next bank.

"Black Siren, on site."

"Supergirl, be careful," Oliver warned.

"I will be," Kara promised, flying into the parking garage.

Malcolm and Laurel were crouched behind a car nearby, and turned when they heard her. "She's coming this way," Malcolm told her.

Kara nodded, walking to the next row of cars. She saw the robber walking towards a car nearby, then start to slow. Kara hurriedly shot her heat vision at her, but the woman moved behind a pillar, avoiding the blast. "Trying to sneak up on a psychic?" she sneered, emerging and dropping the bag.

"Almost worked," Kara told her, Malcolm and Laurel walking out behind her.

The psychic took one look at them, then smirked and threw her head forward. An energy blast of some kind smacked Kara in the face and rippled to Malcolm and Laurel. The two vigilantes went flying, and Kara nearly lost her balance.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"Supergirl?" Alex called, not hearing anything. "Are you all right?"

"Is there anything you can do?" Slade asked J'onn.

"I can try and create a psychic shield to protect their minds from the attacks," J'onn answered, turning around and putting his fingers to his temple.

"Will it work?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know," he admitted, his eyes glowing red.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

The psychic took a few steps forward, then stopped, tilting her head. "Someone else has come to play."

"J'onn," Kara whispered, watching Malcolm and Laurel roll back into crouches.

"Your friend should be careful," the psychic smirked, closing her eyes.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

J'onn suddenly grunted, then groaned in pain, slumping to the floor. "J'onn?" Alex blanched, running over with Oliver to help the Martian.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

The psychic opened her eyes and grinned. "Just you and me now."

Kara blew a blast of freezing wind at her, and the psychic went flying back into her car. Malcolm raised his bow, drawing a tranquilizer arrow, and shot, but the psychic rolled out of the way just before it hit her. Laurel let out a loud scream, but the psychic jumped back behind the pillar, avoiding it. She emerged a second later and aimed another energy blast at them, this one strong enough to throw Malcolm and Laurel far away from Kara.

The next energy blast she sent was directed at Kara, making the Kryptonian fall to her knees, the window of the Jeep behind her smashing. "Mind over matter," the psychic sneered, walking up.

Kara tried to get to her feet, but wobbled, completely off balance. "What are you doing to me?" she gasped.

"Fear is a powerful tool," was all the psychic answered with.

Kara tried to regain her balance, only to watch in shock as the landscape around her changed. Malcolm and Laurel were no longer in her sight, and the psychic . . .

"Kara."

Kara fell to her knees, then looked at the hand outstretched to her. It wasn't the psychic's anymore. "Kara," Alura Zor-El's voice said, and Kara looked up at the face of her mother in shock. "Kara, I love you."

"Mom?" Kara whispered.

"Kara," Alura continued. "Because of the Earth's yellow sun, you will have great powers on this planet. You will do _extraordinary_ things."

Kara was about to say something, but something flickered in her view, and the next thing she knew, she was looking at flickering electronics. Then the wind rushed by, and all she saw was fire and explosions. Then she was in black space, being rocked about, and before her eyes, she saw an entire planet as a fiery inferno.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Supergirl?" Slade called as Oliver and Alex helped J'onn stand.

"Supergirl!" Oliver shouted.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara whimpered, curled up in a ball, then gentle hands were rolling her onto her back. "Almas?" Malcolm asked worriedly.

"We've got her," Laurel said as Kara took deep, shuddering breaths. "She's here."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Laurel Lance_**

Kara leaned against the console, her head on Oliver's shoulder, his arm around her comfortingly, Malcolm and Laurel reentering with Slade, no longer in their uniforms. "Here," William walked up to them all, three water bottles in his hands.

"Thanks, William," Kara smiled, taking one of the water bottles.

"Thanks," Laurel nodded as well, she and Malcolm taking the other two.

"I'm sorry I couldn't hold her off," J'onn apologized as he and Alex walked up. "She's more powerful than any psychic I have ever countered."

"What happened this time?" Alex asked.

"It was the same as before," Kara shrugged.

"I got our girl!" Winn suddenly cheered in excitement, and they turned around as Winn ran in, working on his tablet. "Gayle Marsh: law-abiding citizen of Skokie, Illinois until one day, she snapped and went on a bank-robbing spree. Uh, let's see . . . authorities nicknamed her 'Psi' after a string of psychologically-enhanced robberies which ravaged a series of small town banks throughout the Midwest a couple of months ago."

"Where do we go from here?" Alex asked.

"Well, now that we know a little bit more, I thought I might start trying to adapt our psychic dampening technology to stop her," Winn answered.

"Good work, Agent Schott," J'onn nodded.

"I still love it when he calls me that," Winn grinned.

"But we still need to know how she's infiltrating people's minds, so get started," he ordered.

Winn nodded, turning to his tablet. "I'll head to the precinct and see if there's an update on any witness reports that might help," Alex volunteered, walking towards the door.

Kara bit her lip, thinking about what to do, then made up her mind. She grabbed Winn's arm as he passed and hissed, "I need to talk to you." Winn's head shot up, but he obediently followed her as she led him off.

"Should we go after her?" Laurel asked as the five from Earth-1 watched.

"No," Oliver answered after a moment, folding his arms. "She'll tell us when she's ready."

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Ooo, this is very covert ops," Winn turned to Kara as they stopped in a dark hall. "What's up?"

"I know how she's doing it," Kara answered. "I felt her this time. She's targeting people's fear."

Winn's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"I saw my mother," Kara answered quietly, her voice cracking. "I saw Krypton explode. I relived my last moments there. And then, being stuck, floating through space for so long, knowing I could never have my life back . . . " She gulped. "Psi put me back in that pod, completely trapped and alone. It was . . . it was so quiet. Silence was the worst part. I felt completely cut off from everything and everyone I have ever known. We have to stop her, Winn!"

"You should tell J'onn, Alex, Oliver," Winn began.

"No," Kara shook her head. "They can't know. They'll just worry. And then that means William will start worrying, and . . . he doesn't need me to worry about, not after Samantha. You have to be the one to solve this. That's why I'm telling you. You're already altering the psychic dampeners, right? This will help?"

"Yeah," Winn nodded. "I mean, knowing that it targets fear centers, sure."

"Good," Kara nodded, then turned around when her cell phone rang. "Hang on." She winced when she saw the Caller ID. "It's Lena. I've got to go."

"Hey, hey," Winn put a hand on her shoulder, wincing. "I'm . . . I'm sorry that this is happening. If – "

"I'll be fine," Kara interrupted, walking off, leaving Winn to watch her go.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"Got in a fight?" Sam asked Ruby over lunch. "I mean . . . I just want to understand here, baby. What happened?"

"She called me a liar," Ruby answered.

"Well, who cares what Stephanie Harrison thinks?"

"I'm not a liar."

"What did you tell her?" Sam frowned.

"I told her that you rescued me at the waterfront, that you have superpowers."

"That I have _superpowers?"_ Sam repeated, then shook her head. "No! No, I don't have powers!"

"Then how did you lift that huge thing?" Ruby demanded.

"Honey, I told you, I had help," Sam sighed. "And it was adrenaline, OK? I'm not – "

"Why don't you just admit it?" Ruby asked, and Sam stared at her in shock. Was Ruby thinking this just because she was her mother? "Do you know how many people in this world want to have superpowers? Do you know how special it is?"

"I'm not special!" Sam blurted.

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not! I'm just an average mother trying to take care of her kid!" Sam yelled, then blanched as Ruby looked away. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry. Ruby, I need you to hear me. I don't have powers, OK?"

"You think I'm a liar, too," Ruby mumbled, standing up and taking her bowl to the counter.

"No, I don't think you're a liar, I just think you need to let it go," Sam told her, then groaned and rubbed her face when Ruby left without saying a word. "God, I just want you to let it go!"

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Kara!" Lena walked up to her desk worriedly. "Is everything OK? That was twice in one day."

"Yeah, everything's fine," Kara nodded. "I got your message. What's up?"

"My contact with Morgan Edge's bank came through. I would like you to go interview."

"I can," Kara nodded, writing down the note. "But there's . . . " She bit her lip, looking around the office nervously.

"Hmm," Lena tilted her head, then gestured to her. "Come on." Kara sheepishly followed Lena until they were out of the main office area, then Lena turned to her. "Talk to me."

Kara fidgeted, then sighed. "There was a bank robbery," she finally said.

"There's always a bank robber," Lena frowned.

"Not like this one," Kara shook her head. "She's a psychic. She targets people's fears. And what I saw . . . "

Her voice quivered, and Lena immediately held up her hands. "That's all you need to say. Is that what's been bothering you?"

"She's been hitting them repeatedly," Kara told her. "I'm trying to stop her, but . . . I haven't yet."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Lena tilted her head. "You'll get her eventually, Kara."

"But what I've seen," Kara whispered, tears in her eyes.

"OK," Lena took her arm. "I'm turning into your boss now. This is unacceptable behavior for an employee. You are not focused on your work, and that is impacting your ability to do your job. Therefore, I am going to make sure you get something to cheer you up so you can get back to work."

Kara laughed, startled. "Lena!"

"Boss's orders," Lena smirked.

They were out the door when Kara's phone rang again. "Ugh!" she complained before pulling out her phone. "Alex?"

"Kara, she hit another bank," Alex cut to the chase.

Kara perked up. "I'm on my way," she said, stepping into the elevator with Lena.

"Another bank?" Lena guessed dryly as Kara opened her shirt, revealing her suit underneath.

"Yeah," Kara confirmed, taking off her glasses and reaching out to press one of the buttons.

However, before she could reach it, she froze, trembling. "Kara?" Lena asked in concern, then gasped when Kara stumbled backwards into the corner of the elevator. "Kara!" Kara gasped for breath, clinging to the rails in the elevator, her heart pounding and her vision blurring. She sank to the floor, curling up into a ball, her head in her arms. "Kara!" Lena crouched by her.

"Stop the elevator," Kara rasped, putting her purse in front of her torso. "Stop it! Get me out!"

Lena ran to the buttons on the door, pressing the buttons to try and stop the elevator. She eventually hit the right button, and the elevator stopped, opening. "Come on," she took Kara's arm, escorting her out of the elevator, ignoring the people staring at them. "What are you looking at?" she snapped, making them turn away.

"Supergirl?" Alex's voice asked in Kara's ear as Kara finally burst into the bathroom, Lena locking the door behind them.

"I'm OK," Kara took deep breaths as Lena came up behind her, rubbing her back comfortingly. "I'm on my way."

"She got away," Alex informed her grimly, and Kara's eyes closed in defeat.

One look at Lena, and she understood. "Come on," she said quietly, taking Kara's hand. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor_**

"She must be getting stronger," Kara mumbled, Lena sitting with her on the medical bed as Winn checked a computer. "I felt her in that elevator with me. She was in my head again."

"Well," Winn walked over, "there is no sign of any psychic intrusion."

"What?" Kara blinked.

"I think that you just had a good old human panic attack," Winn nodded.

"That's not possible," Kara shook her head. "No, I'm stronger than that!"

"You said she got in your head," Lena reminded her. "I don't know the details, but if she's forcing you to live through some serious trauma, that will take its toll on anyone, even if you're the strongest person in the world. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I never said I was ashamed!" Kara protested.

"Winn," Alex walked into the medbay, slowing when she saw Kara and Lena there. "J'onn's looking for you. What are you guys doing up here?"

"Just talking," Winn grinned nervously. "We're hanging out . . . just being friends."

"I have to go," Kara abruptly stood up, heading for the door. "Sorry."

"Come back when you need to!" Lena called after her.

"Yeah, mmhmm," Winn nodded, Alex frowning as she watched her sister leave. "How's it going? I'm good, thanks for asking." Alex slowly turned back around, frowning as Winn continued to babble. "Just a normal day in the D.E.O., man. Nothing abnormal happening in here. Nothing going on."

"Shut up," Lena advised.

"Yeah, OK, I'm gonna go talk to J'onn," Winn ran past Alex. "Hi, Oliver!" he added as he continued to run.

Oliver blinked as he watched Winn leave, then turned. "Lena," he greeted in surprise.

"Hey, Oliver," Lena smiled. "How's William?"

"Doing good, thanks," Oliver nodded. "Did I see Kara leave?" The smile faded from Lena's face, and Oliver immediately looked concerned. "What happened?"

"I think the two of you need to talk," was all Lena answered. "You, and maybe Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel."

With that, she walked past the two, leaving Oliver and Alex to look at each other, confused.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"So sorry again about today," Sam said, holding her phone against her shoulder as she took the pizza from the delivery man. "My daughter had an issue at school. It's never happened before. Yes, I've pushed all the meetings to tomorrow, I've gone through the charts for the presentation. It should not be an issue. Thank you so much for understanding. OK, great. Yeah, thanks again. I'll see you tonight." She hung up, opened the pizza, and smirked when she saw Ruby's favorite. "Yes," she whispered, then called back the way she had come. "Ruby! Dinner!" She stopped at the staircase, frowning. "Hey, Rube?"

She headed upstairs, knocked on Ruby's door, and entered when she didn't answer. "Rube?" she asked, only to look around when she didn't see Ruby. She sent a quick text on her phone, then shouted, "Ruby?"

* * *

 ** _Ruby Arias_**

At a pizza place in downtown National City, Ruby was about to take a bite of pizza when her phone beeped. She looked at the message from her mother, then ignored it and took another drink of her soda.


	7. Triggers - Part Three

**A cute Kara and family moment, Kara goes up against Psi for the last time, Sam and Ruby work out their argument, and Alex and Maggie find out something they haven't talked about before.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara was whispering in Kryptonian, her arms crossed over her chest, when she heard the door to her apartment open. "What are you doing?" Oliver asked.  
"It's a Kryptonian meditation," she answered, scratching the back of her head as Oliver walked up. He wasn't alone, she noticed – Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel were with him, too. "We say an ancient mantra to strengthen the mind."

"Do you do it often?" Laurel asked curiously.

"No," Kara admitted. "I've never felt like I needed it."

Oliver nodded thoughtfully. "Winn's still working on the psychic dampening technology," he told her.

"Mmm," she nodded absently.

"And Lena mentioned there's something we need to talk about?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Did she?" Kara asked. When Oliver remained silent, she groaned. "She told you, didn't she?"

"In case you were wondering, we didn't need to ask," Malcolm held up his hands. "She only said we'd need to talk."

"Look, I didn't want you to worry," Kara sighed, standing up and walking to get a drink of water.

"I'm pretty certain 'worry about your girlfriend' is one of the very first bullet points under the job description of 'boyfriend,'" Oliver countered.

"Funny, that sounds about right for us, too," Slade nodded.

"And do remember that you fight the most dangerous and evil people on the planet," Laurel tossed over her shoulder.

Kara closed her eyes, then turned back around. "I don't know how to fight this one," she admitted, walking back over. "And I should be able to stop her, but . . . but then she makes her way into my mind and . . . " She took a deep breath, sitting back down on the floor. "And forces me to relive the scariest moment of my life."

"Come here," Oliver sat down next to her, holding out his arm. She curled into him, and Oliver put his arm around her shoulders, watching as Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel sat on the furniture around them. "What did you see?" he asked gently.

Kara closed her eyes. "I saw . . . nothing, the first time," she answered slowly. "In the vault, I just felt claustrophobic. But when I went out with Malcolm and Laurel . . . she turned into my mother. And then I was in my pod, shooting into the sky . . . and Krypton was exploding around me."

"Oh, God," Laurel closed her eyes, Malcolm pinching the bridge of his nose. Yeah, that would be torture to relive.

"But it wasn't just that," Kara continued. "What was next . . . I don't understand it."

"What do you mean?" Slade frowned.

"I could feel the heat," Kara answered, her voice laced with confusion. "I could _feel_ the fires, I felt like I couldn't breathe, not because of the confined spaces . . . but because it felt like I was in the fire."

"You're sure?" Oliver frowned.

"Yeah," Kara nodded, biting her lip. "It's torture." She looked up. "How am I supposed to deal with that?"

"Well," Laurel considered. "Remember your fears don't define you. You know, who you are is Supergirl. Who you are is Kara. That's what defines you, and she's got nothing on that."

"Who I am as Kara is feeling broken again," Kara mumbled. "Even Lena's realizing I can't do my job right now, which is new and horrible. It's like everything that's made me feel good, like . . . like a relief, is . . . it's disappeared."

"So this is what it's like to see you mope," Malcolm frowned. "I don't like it."

"Way to make her feel better," Slade scowled at him, but Malcolm tilted his head slightly in Kara's direction. When Slade looked back, he saw she had smiled slightly at their banter.

"Look," Oliver drew Kara's attention back to him. "It's not always going to feel like that."

"My life as Supergirl is one of the few things I can count on," Kara sighed. "I've got all of you, but that's my life as Kara. As Supergirl, I get to go out there and help people. I can make a difference in the world. I can feel strong, even though sometimes a huge part of me feels so weak, and she's taking that away from me."

"Hey," Oliver shook her slightly. "She is _not_ taking that away from you. You are as strong as the people you have by your side. And you've got the biggest team, the biggest family, right there with you."

"If anything, by trying to take away Supergirl," Slade leaned forward, "she's just going to make sure we don't let you fall."

Kara couldn't help but smile slightly. "Best family ever."

"Damn right," Malcolm smirked at her.

Oliver kissed the top of her head, then blinked when his phone buzzed. What made him look up was when everyone else pulled out their phones, too. "Oh, great," he sighed. "Don't psychic bank robbers ever take a break?"

"Still can't believe we're actually saying that," Malcolm muttered as all of them got to their feet.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam walked hurried down the steps of her home when she got a text alert. She quickly pulled it out and blinked when she found she received a Google maps location. The next location sent a chill down her spine.

 _Come save me, mom._

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"That thing could take out an entire block!" Laurel's eyes widened when they saw the wrecking ball in the middle of a street.

"I have to get down there, now," Kara swallowed.

"Hold on!" J'onn called, and they turned as J'onn and Winn walked up. "Not without this, you're not."

"What is it?" Kara frowned, taking the device Winn handed her.

"Psionic inhibitor ray," he answered.

"It should protect you from her powers," J'onn explained.

"We'll set a perimeter to secure the area," Alex told Kara.

"We'll meet you there," Oliver added.

"Just have to keep her out of my head long enough to get a good shot off," Kara took a deep breath.

"You can do it," Slade assured her.

Kara took a deep breath, then nodded. Oliver gave her a quick kiss, and they watched her take off, heading for the accident.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam skidded to a halt by the police cars and got out, eyeing the swinging wrecking ball warily.

Then she saw Ruby walking towards the center of the carnage. "Ruby!" she screamed in horror, racing towards her.

The wrecking ball hit another building over, and Ruby stumbled, collapsing as concrete just barely missed her. "Ruby!" Sam cried again, pushing past people to reach her daughter.

"Mom?" Ruby called in response, eyes wide.

"Baby, I got you!" Sam sobbed, dropping to her knees, pulling Ruby close to her. "Are you OK?" Ruby shook her head, and Sam hugged her tightly.

There was a sudden snapping noise, and Sam shrieked, seeing the wrecking ball drop. "Oh, God!"

Before it hit them, Supergirl swept in and caught it with both hands, flying it off to the side. Sam gasped in relief, lowering her arm, hurrying to pull Ruby up and rush away from the scene.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara walked through the upturned cars, catching sight of the bank robber walking away. "Psi!" she shouted, clutching the ray in her hand.

She turned, and Kara held up the ray, activating it and aiming it at Psi. She just sent another energy blast at her, knocking Kara backwards. "Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home," Psi tsked, walking towards her, even as Kara tried to hold up the device again. "Your house is on fire, and your children . . . they will _burn."_

Psi sent another blast at her, and this time, Kara was flung back into a building, crashing into steps nearby. She gasped, dropping the device, overcome with an enormous amount of heat, one that there was no way she could have felt in the pod . . .

And then she wasn't in the pod anymore. She was flying through fire and explosions, all of them rippling like a tidal wave. Trees were disintegrating, dirt was flying everywhere, she was choking in smoke, and Rao, the _screams . . ._

She screamed, too.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen_**

Laurel skidded to a stop when she heard Kara's voice cry out, and she turned tail, dodging vehicles and pedestrians, finding Kara curled into fetal position, sobs wracking her body. "Kara," she dropped in front of her. "Hey, it's me. It's OK, you're OK."

"You died," Kara whimpered.

"What?" Laurel frowned.

"It's not the pod, it's not Krypton," Kara sniffed. "It's the island."

"Lian Yu?" Laurel clarified, eyes wide.

"What about Lian Yu?" Oliver asked as he ran up, Malcolm, Slade, and Alex behind him.

"It's not the scariest moment of my life," Kara whimpered, looking up. "It's the scariest 'what if' moment of my life. What if I hadn't stopped Chase? What if I hadn't been able to stop him from killing himself? Everyone would have died!"

"Kara," Oliver crouched down in front of her.

"All of you would have died!" she sobbed as Oliver hugged her tightly. "And you and William would have been left alone, and I wouldn't have been able to get anyone off the island before the bombs went off, and I _could have_ saved them, but it would've been my fault!"

"Kara, look at me," Oliver took her face in his hands. _"Look at me!"_ Kara gasped for breath and finally managed to look up. "That is a what if," he reminded her. "Look at me. Look at Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel. Look at them. Do you see them? You see them in front of you?" Kara sniffed, then nodded. "They're here," he told her. "They are right here. You saved them, OK? You _did_ stop Chase. You _did_ stop him from killing himself. No one died. You saved everyone. You hear me?"

Kara swallowed. "I saved you," she repeated, sniffing.

"You did," Oliver nodded. "You saved us, angel. No psychic is ever going to change that." Kara closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths, and Oliver watched her shudders fade. "So go get her," he finished. "Go stop her, just like you stopped Chase."

Kara opened her eyes again, a fierce determination in them that made Oliver smile. She nodded, then put her fist on the ground. The pavement cracked under her fist, and she shot into the sky, heading back towards Psi. "And afterwards, I want to punch that bitch, too," Laurel held up a hand.

"I won't report it," Alex promised.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara landed on the ground, glaring at Psi. "You're not going anywhere," she growled.

Psi tilted her head curiously. "Hmm," she mused, stepping forward. "What did _you_ see? I wonder . . . what brought the Girl of Steel to her knees?"

She sent a psychic blast towards her, but Kara held firm, wavering back slightly. "A lie," she answered, watching as Oliver, Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel ran their way. She kept her eyes on them, repeating to herself that Psi had shown her a complete lie.

"Fear is not a lie," Psi shook her head, sending another blast. Kara gritted her teeth and resisted it, wobbling only a little bit and walking forward. "Fear cripples! Annihilates spirits! It is the only weapon that matters." Kara closed her eyes and walked right through the next blast. "Fear made me stronger than you!" Kara held her head high and stood her ground in front of Psi, not moving a single muscle when the next blast hit her. "No one is safe from it!" Psi insisted, looking her up and down in fright. "Why aren't you scared anymore?"

"Mind over matter," Kara sneered before headbutting her.

The four other vigilantes watched as Psi hit the ground, completely knocked out. Finally, Malcolm whistled. "I am _never_ going to get within headbutt range when Kara's pissed off."

Slade and Laurel laughed loudly at that while Oliver shook his head fondly.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Laurel watched with smug satisfaction as Alex led Psi off, the woman's head in a contraption that held back her powers. "Bye bye, _ladybird,"_ she smirked.

Psi narrowed her eyes at her, but Laurel just smirked and headed off to where Oliver, Kara, Slade, and Malcolm were in the shadows of an alleyway. Alex watched her go before heading over to where Maggie was organizing cops. Along the way, she caught sight of a familiar duo, then headed over. "Hey, we doing OK over here?" she asked.

"She's a little shaken up," the woman answered.

"Yeah," Alex nodded, then pointed at the girl. "You know, I think I met you at the waterfront last week. What's your name again?"

"Ruby," she answered with a smile.

"How could I forget that?" Alex beamed. "I'm Alex. Did you know that rubies are one of the toughest gemstones?"

"Only diamonds are tougher," Ruby grinned.

"She's smart _and_ she's tough," Alex smirked, nodding her approval. "It's a deadly combo."

She held out her fist, and Ruby smiled and bumped it with hers. Alex smiled at Ruby's mother before turning and heading back to Maggie. "Didn't know you had such a way with kids," her fiancée remarked.

"Oh, well, it's a secret talent," Alex smirked. "You'll thank me one day when we have kids." Maggie stopped, opened her mouth, then closed it and nodded slightly. "What?" Alex frowned. "You _do_ wanna have kids, right?"

"I guess we've never really talked about this," Maggie sighed. "But, um . . . I've never seen myself being a mom. Is that OK?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded hastily. "No, of course. I mean, it's something we should probably talk about."

Maggie nodded, and the two of them walked off, a new tension between them there hadn't been before.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"Hey, sweetie," Sam whispered. "Why is it so important to you that I have superpowers, hmm? Putting yourself in danger like that? I don't . . . I don't even wanna think about what could have happened."

"I thought you would save me," Ruby whispered.

"Baby, if I had superpowers, I would've swept you right out of there, but I don't. I don't."

"Do you think Supergirl has a job?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe," Sam shrugged. "I don't know." She paused, thinking, then looked down at Ruby. "Did you think that I wouldn't have to work if I had superpowers?"

"You'd just save people and spend time with me," Ruby told her.

"Baby, I will _always_ spend time with you," Sam assured her. "Superpowers or not, you are the most important thing in the world to me. Never, _ever_ forget that."

"OK," Ruby nodded.

Sam kissed the top of her head, then grimaced and spat something into her hand. "You've got gravel in your hair."

That made Ruby giggle.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"OK," Kara rubbed her hands together as she finished shutting her computer down. "Just need to speak with Lena, and then I'm all yours for the night."

"That has got to sound weird to anyone listening in," Malcolm smirked at Slade, who just rolled his eye.

"Oh, please," Kara rolled her eyes as she stood up. "I love you both, I honestly do, but you're my brothers. That's it."

"We can handle that," Slade chuckled.

"Hey, guys!" Lena walked up with a smile.

"Miss Luthor," Malcolm smiled, shaking her hand.

"Please, haven't we gone through this already?" Lena gave him a look.

"Well, no one else knows that."

"Saw the news," Lena smiled at Kara. "Good catch."

"Thank you," Kara smiled. "Oh! I got in touch with your contact at the bank, and he would be a great source on Edge."

"I'm glad it was valuable," Lena smiled, which slowly faded. "And about . . . everything else?"

"Yeah," Kara blew out her breath. "It was . . . a shock," she said slowly. "When I realized what she was aiming at. It's something I need to work on. But I've got some very good reminders that what she showed me was a lie," she smiled as Slade and Malcolm came to either side of her. "So, thank you for being a good friend to me."

"Of course," Lena smiled. "I'll have you know, this is new for me, too."

"Working with friends?"

"No, _having_ friends," Lena laughed.

"Really?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"Luthors don't have friends, we have _minions,"_ Lena rolled her eyes, making Kara snort and quickly cover her mouth, which in turn made Slade laugh. "I think it's gonna be a learning curve for both jobs."

"Well, today you were a really good friend and a great boss," Kara assured her. "Honestly."

"Thank you," Lena smiled, then looked around conspiratorially before whispering, "I'd really like to give you a hug, but I'm afraid I'd show favoritism."

"Uh, screw that!" Kara scoffed, holding out her arms. "Come here! Bring it in!"

Lena laughed and hugged her, then was distracted by the elevator dinging and opening. "Oh, wait, there's actually someone here I want you to meet!" Curious, Kara turned, watching a dark-haired woman exit the elevator, both Malcolm and Slade blinking in surprise when they recognized her. "I'm so glad you could make it," Lena smiled.

"Thank you _so_ much for being so understanding," the woman responded gratefully.

"Oh, God, please, no," Lena laughed. "I am no stranger to family drama. Kara, this is Samantha Arias. She is going to be taking over for me at L-Corp."

"That's great," Kara smiled, holding out her hand for Sam. "It's lovely to meet you, Ms. Arias."

"Please, it's just Sam," Sam smiled, shaking her hand.

"OK," Kara nodded.

"How's your daughter doing?" Malcolm asked.

"What?" Kara blinked, turning around.

"We helped her at the waterfront," Slade explained, nodding. "Her daughter was trapped with William."

"Oh, my God!" Kara covered her mouth with her hand, turning back around to Sam. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine," Sam nodded, smiling at the two men. "Thank you for your help, even if it was for . . . William, you said? Thank the others, too."

"We will," Malcolm nodded.

"In the meantime," Slade raised an eyebrow at Kara. "Drinks, before we leave?"

"Right," Kara nodded, putting her purse on her shoulder. "If you need me, just give me a call," she told Lena. "My turn to spend the night this time."

"Give them my best," Lena smiled, and Kara nodded, heading towards the elevator with her brothers.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

That night, Sam watched Ruby sleep before heading downstairs. She curled up on the couch and took a sip of her wine, then reached to turn on the lamp. She groaned when it didn't turn on, then headed out to the garage to find a new bulb. She found the box, then her gaze slid to the steel crowbar lying on the table. She set the bulbs aside and picked up the bar, hardly believing she was going to entertain this idea. She held the bar in front of her, took a deep breath, then attempted to bend the bar. She grunted, then looked at the bar to see what happened.

Nothing. Just like she had expected.

She sighed, put the bar down, then took a bulb and went to go change the light.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"So, if there's anything else I can do, just let me know," Eve told Lena as they walked back into the offices.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Lena smiled. They walked past the main office, and Lena paused, nodding as James came out. "Good night, Mr. Olsen."

"Ms. Luthor," James nodded back.

"Good night, Eve," Lena smiled at Eve as she watched the assistant go to her desk to finish picking up.

"Good night!" Eve responded.

Lena entered the elevator, taking a deep breath before tilting her head. Maybe Slade had the right idea by annoying James . . .

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"All right, I think that's everything," Kara nodded as she finished packing her bag.

"Practically half your stuff is already over there," Alex smirked from where she was watching _Wizard of Oz._

"True," Kara acknowledged before asking, "Hey, did you guys ever decide DJ or band?"

"No," Alex admitted.

Kara nodded thoughtfully. "I told Oliver I need to be back for the bridal shower."

"Make sure the others know they're invited," Alex added.

"Will do," Kara nodded, then smiled at Dorothy. "She's so cute."

"She is," Alex agreed, turning when Kara turned on her extrapolator. "Have fun!"

"Thanks!" Kara called back, stepping through the breach.

She found herself in the Arrowcave, and frowned when she didn't see anyone inside. "Felicity?" she called, looking around.

"She's not in right now," Laurel called, and Kara turned to see her standing by the computers. "Guess that makes me tech support right now."

"They're out?" Kara guessed.

"They're out," Laurel confirmed.

Kara sighed, checking her watch. "Must be Thursday."

* * *

 **A/N: Next up is the first episode of Arrow for this book! "Fallout" is next!**


	8. Arrow - Fallout - Part One

**Team Arrow gets into action, and people find out who replaces Black Siren as the villain in the first part of the season.**

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

At the waterfront docks in Star City, one man particularly close to the water suddenly grunted in pain, falling to the ground with an arrow in his chest. The other four men on the dock approached the water, firing down into it.

A moment later, all four were shot with arrows, and the leader of the Star City vigilantes propelled out of the water and landed on the dock, firing at the three remaining. He took a look around before shaking his head. "I'm on site," Oliver said. "No sign of Faust."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig flipped a henchman head over heels, knocking him out. "He's not at his last known, either," he reported.

"Well, his ordinance is."

"If Faust is moving from bombs to missiles, it makes you wonder what else he's changed up."

"Exactly. Stay sharp."

There was a gunshot behind him, and Dig turned to see another henchman had been sneaking up behind him. He heard the click of a reloading gun, and Dig looked the other way to see Rene walk up. "Boss said stay sharp, Hoss," Rene told him.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver found another henchman, engaging him in hand to hand. The man, however, knocked Oliver to the ground, holding him still. "Faust, it's clear!" he called.

"Apologies!" Faust looked over the railing from the next level up. "Won't be but a minute!" He tapped something on the tablet he held, then walked towards the ladder to head down. "If you have the opportunity, please advise your mayor next time someone threatens to launch a ballistic missile at his city, he really should pay up."

Faust tapped something on his tablet, and the missile on the next level launched. At the same time, Oliver tucked and rolled away from the henchman, knocking him to the floor. It took one tranquilizer arrow to knock him out. "Disappointing," Faust frowned, only to gasp in pain when Oliver fired two arrows at him, pinning him to the dock. "That's an MGM-140. It's fire and forget! You can't stop it, you can't disarm it!"

Oliver turned back to watch the missile. "No," he shook his head. "But I have a very smart friend who can."

From a few buildings over, Curtis watched the missile fly over his head before he launched one of his T-spheres after it. "My T-sphere's spoofed the missile's guidance system," he called. "I'm drawing it back to the water!"

Oliver watched the missile explode over the water, remembering the last time he had seen an explosion as impressive as that. "You look troubled," Faust noted. "As if detonation stirred unpleasant memories."

* * *

 ** _Then ~ 2 Months Ago_**

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

 _Cars went careening when a breach opened up in the middle of the street. Cisco and Oliver jumped out, Oliver in full Green Arrow gear, Kara and Clark flying out to hover in the air. "This is it," Cisco nodded up at the building in front of them._

 _Clark squinted, only to groan in annoyance. "Of course. Lined with lead."_

" _I hate lead," Kara grimaced._

" _Let's go," Oliver nodded, heading for the building, Cisco with him._

 _They made it to the doors when glass exploded from the third floor of the building, flames rushing out. Oliver and Cisco instinctively ducked while Kara and Clark flew around, catching chunks of glass before it reached the streets. Oliver straightened, reaching for his comms. "Guys?" he shouted. "Report!"_

" _Which floor was that?" Laurel immediately asked._

" _Third!" Cisco answered._

" _Oh, my God," Dinah whispered in horror._

" _Thea!" Malcolm cried in horror._

" _John was there, too!"_

" _And J'onn!" Alex shouted._

 _Kara's eyes widened, and she dove in through the windows, Clark right behind her. Oliver fired a grappling arrow and soared after them, Cisco opening a breach to head inside._

* * *

 ** _Now_**

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver gritted his teeth, then shot Faust with a tranquilizer, knocking him out.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver turned away from his suit in the Arrowcave, smiling when Kara walked up to him. "Hey, angel."

"Heard you got the guy," Kara smiled, kissing him. "Good job."

"Thanks," Oliver smiled, then blinked when Rene walked up to him, handing him a vanilla file. "What's this?"

"Remarks for the Police Academy graduation ceremony," Rene answered, and Oliver opened it up curiously. "Seems my promotion came with speech writing duties."

"You can write?" Dig asked.

"You can read?" Curtis asked after.

"I can kick both y'all asses is what I can do," Rene retorted.

Oliver nodded. "This is, uh . . . this is really good, Rene," he complimented.

"It's like I keep telling you, Hoss," Rene nodded somberly. "I've got the soul of a poet."

Kara snorted, then quickly turned it into a cough as she turned away. "Got something in your throat, Kara?" Laurel called from where she was by the computers.

"No," Kara shook her head, hiding her grin behind her hand, Oliver shaking his head fondly. "No, I'm fine."

"Besides, I don't think I have ever heard Rene say that," Felicity said as she emerged from the elevator, her arms completely full of Big Belly Burger takeout.

"Who the hell asked you, blondie?" Rene scowled.

"You totally missed me redirecting a ballistic missile, b-t-dubs," Curtis grinned.

"Oh, man," Felicity sighed. "Well, I've already seen you do that once. All right, just as you ordered . . . a triple stack with a side of heart disease," she handed one bag to Rene.

"Don't judge me," he sniffed.

"Ah, yeah, that's for you," Felicity handed another bag to Curtis. "Surprise, this is for you . . . "

"Thank you," Dig nodded.

"And all of your meals combined times five is for these two," Felicity smirked, handing the last two bags to Oliver and Kara. "Since one girl in this room basically has a bottomless pit for a stomach."

Kara laughed. "Thanks, Felicity."

"You're welcome," Felicity smiled. "Sorry I was MIA. I pretty much had to knock my mother unconscious to get her on a flight back to Vegas. She did _not_ want to go."

"That's fine," Oliver nodded. "We had it handled."

"Yeah, even without Dinah in the field," Rene agreed.

"Come a long way in a year," Dig said with a smile.

"Yeah, it almost makes me grateful for all the times Oliver kicked our ass," Curtis nodded.

"Almost?" Laurel smirked.

"Hey, we can split with you, if you want," Kara offered.

"No," Laurel shook her head. "I'm meeting up with my dad and Dinah later."

"Aw," Kara pouted slightly.

"I don't think William's eaten yet," Oliver told her. "Come on, let's head back."

"All right," Kara smiled, waving at everyone. "Bye, guys!"

There were various calls of goodbye as Kara ran to pick up her duffel, then follow Oliver out the door.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

The Russian housekeeper at the loft frowned when Oliver opened the door for Kara. "That food is junk," she said.

"That's why kids like it, Raisa," Oliver smirked.

"Hi, Raisa," Kara waved.

"Hello, Miss Kara," Raisa smiled as the two headed for William's room.

Oliver knocked on the door, and William looked away from his video game. "Hey, dad," he said, pausing the game.

"Hey, kiddo," he smiled. "Look who showed up."

"Hey, buddy," Kara grinned as she looked around her boyfriend.

"Kara!" William grinned widely, putting his controller down and running over.

"Hey there," Kara giggled, giving him a hug. "How was school?"

"Still working on it," William shrugged.

"Atta boy," Kara patted his shoulder.

"Got enough food for an army," Oliver held up the takeout bags. "Hungry?"

"Yeah," William nodded, and the three of them headed for the table. "How long are you here for?" he asked Kara.

"Well, I need to get back in time for my sister's bridal shower with Maggie," Kara mused as she sat down. "So, right now, I've definitely got the weekend."

"How about we go see a Rockets game?" Oliver suggested. "As mayor, I get pretty good seats."

"Sure," Kara smiled at William. "You up for it?"

"Yeah," William smiled back, taking the cheeseburger Oliver handed him. "Let's do it."

Oliver and Kara smiled at each other. "I'll get the tickets," Oliver nodded.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"Comfy?" the officer in the interrogation room asked.

"Could I get something to drink?" Faust asked.

"That will be up to my lieutenant."

Dinah walked into the interrogation room, badge hanging around her neck. "Thanks, Bob, I got it from here," she nodded, and the officer left. "Where'd you get the muscle?" she asked, walking over.

"Kettle bell swings," Faust smirked.

Dinah pretended to laugh, then dug her nails into his shoulder and leaned down. "The gunmen, jerk wad."

"Ah," Faust winced.

"Yeah, you were rolling with some pretty highly trained mercenaries tonight."

"According to your friend in the green hoodie," Faust grumbled.

"Highly trained means highly expensive," Dinah leaned on the table. "You were probably paying as much to hire them as you were extorting the city for."

"So you're saying there's a problem with my business plan?" Faust grumbled. Dinah just gave him a glare. "Well, can I get something to drink? I'd be more disposed to linguistics if I weren't so parched."

Dinah sighed, standing up and heading for the door. "What do you want?"

"Anything carbonated will do!" he called back.

Dinah sighed, walking out of the room. "That sounded entertaining," Quentin raised an eyebrow as he walked up with another officer.

"Oh, Mr. Smug'll crack eventually," Dinah waved a hand absently. "Reviewed the plans for the graduation?"

"Yeah," Quentin nodded. "Looks like we're good."

"Great," Dinah smiled. "Guess we're good to go." She turned to one of the officers. "Get this guy a soda or something, will you?"

He nodded, and Quentin and Dinah headed to leave the station.

* * *

 ** _Alex Faust_**

Faust looked up when a soda was placed in front of him. "Perfect," he smiled. "Open it up for me?"

The officer sighed, then reached over and popped the tab. Faust grinned, then banged his head against the table. "Hey, if you think you can claim some kind of police brutality," the officer began angrily.

"Not at all," Faust shook his head, reaching into his mouth. "No, I just needed to get this loose – ugh!" He pulled something out of his mouth and laughed. "C4 implant. Boom!"

The officer's eyes widened as he dropped the implant into his drink, the entire thing fizzing. "You're crazy!"

"I don't judge you!" Faust smirked, knocking the table over.

The C4 went off, knocking a large hole in the wall and blowing the door down. The officer cried out in pain, collapsing on the ground. Faust looked up and over the table, checking the damage he'd done, then a dark-haired figure walked in through the wall. "Well done, Alex," she smirked. "Right on schedule."

"One does one's humble best," Faust nodded.

"Wire it up, and make it fast," Evelyn Sharpe handed him a box. "We're on the clock."

Faust nodded, and Evelyn walked out of the room, watching her mercenaries take out the police in the building. Faust set the box down on a desk, turning the machinery on before doing a round of the station. When he returned, he was grinning widely. "We're all set here," he reported, holding out a trigger. "Care to do the honors?"

Evelyn grinned and took the trigger, pressing the button. The bombs placed all over SCPD started going off, and she walked towards the exit. "Let's go!" she called.

As the mercenaries took Faust off, she stopped to survey the damage done, then turned and walked off.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"What's the casualty count?" Oliver asked as he, Kara, Quentin, and Rene looked at the remains of SCPD.

"Nine dead, six in critical condition, and four injured," Quentin answered grimly.

"Good thing the Academy's turning out a new batch of replacements," Rene remarked.

"Hey, come on!" Oliver glared at him.

"Sorry, sorry," Rene held up his hands in defeat.

"Look, we might want to consider canceling the graduation, or at least closing it to the public," Quentin suggested.

"This city does not bend to terrorism," Oliver shook his head.

"Look, the media's going crazy, wanting us to figure out how we're gonna handle all this stuff," Rene pointed out.

"We have ARGUS connections," Oliver sighed. "I'll have them handle security."

"Who would do this?" Kara folded her arms, shaking her head. "And why?"

"Well, I think I've got an answer on that," Dinah walked up, holding a cell phone. "Got video footage."

Kara's eyes widened when she saw the dark-haired girl on screen. "Oh, you have _got_ to be _kidding."_

"Has anyone seen this?" Oliver asked.

"I managed to get to it before anyone else could," Dinah assured him.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"I thought that bitch was imprisoned on Lian Yu," Laurel scowled when she saw the footage.

"She was," Dig frowned. "Lyla showed me the footage of her in the prison."

"Well, unless she has a doppelgänger from another Earth, something I wouldn't put past considering we've got Laurel's own doppelgänger here right now, Evelyn Sharpe is not only free, she is _not_ on Lian Yu," Felicity frowned.

"And running with our old friend, Alex Faust," Dig pointed.

"OK, clearly, he was at SCPD when the explosion went off," Oliver sighed.

"Which means he either died or escaped," Dig nodded.

"Doubt he's dead," Kara remarked.

"He's not," Dinah confirmed grimly. "He escaped. The question is, why is he working with Evelyn?"

"And where did they hire these mercenaries?" Oliver added.

"I'll get this image over to Lyla," Dig said. "She can tell us where these guys are from and when they started working together. And I'm also going to ask her how Evelyn managed to escape from her prison."

"And check and make sure Chase and Talia are still there," Oliver added.

"Meanwhile, I told William that I would take him to school, so let me know if something comes up," Kara smiled.

"All right," Oliver smiled, kissing her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you," she kissed his cheek back before heading for the elevator.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Hey, bud," Kara smiled when she entered the loft, seeing Raisa hand William his backpack. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," William smiled. "Let's go!"

Kara waved at Raisa and put her arm around William, the two of them heading out the door.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

There was a knock on the door, and Oliver looked up when Thea poked her head in. "Hey, sis," he smiled.

"Hey," she smiled back, walking in. "I heard an old friend just showed up?"

"Yeah," Oliver sighed, sitting up in his chair as Thea sat across from him. "Evelyn Sharpe is off Lian Yu."

"How?" Thea asked in disbelief. "Even Slade couldn't get out. How could _Evelyn_ of all people escape?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Oliver sighed, then looked up when Quentin entered. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," Quentin nodded.

"Do you need anything?"

"What do I need?" Quentin tilted his head, thinking. "Well, you know, lots of things. I mean, you know, more out of Rene, for one."

"Really?" Thea giggled.

"You know, he's all right at the new job, but – "

"He's not Thea," Oliver smiled.

"No, he's not Thea," Quentin agreed, smiling at her.

"Well, maybe I could find something to do around here again," Thea shrugged. "Assistant to the Deputy Mayor, maybe?"

"That has a nice ring to it," Oliver smiled. "Anyway . . . anything else?"

"About Evelyn," Quentin took a deep breath. "If the time of the tape was right, she attacked SCPD just after Dinah and I left. Do you think maybe she went there looking for us?"

"Revenge on the team?" Thea tilted her head back and forth. "Would she take that big of a risk?"

Oliver was about to respond when his phone vibrated. He pulled it out and looked at the screen, then stood up. "ARGUS has a lead on Evelyn. I have to go."

"I got to come with you," Quentin immediately said. "If she was there looking for Dinah and I, then I can't sit this out."

"OK," Oliver nodded. "Thea?"

"I'll help Felicity," she nodded, and the three of them hurried out the door.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Kara Danvers_**

Dinah stood in the center of the highway, watching Evelyn's getaway van speed towards her. She let her bo staff rest on the pavement, then screamed as loud as she could. The van screeched to a halt, nearly turning end over end before it landed back on its four wheels, sparks flying everywhere.

The back door opened and slammed, and Evelyn stormed out angrily, glaring at Dinah as she swung her bo staff into ready position. "Nice outfit," Evelyn sneered. "But I thought the Black Canary wore fishnets?"

Dinah was ready to swing at her when Evelyn held up a circular device. It released a canary cry similar to her own that was several times louder, making Dinah grunt and bend over double, cringing in pain. A second cry sounded, and Evelyn brought her arm down, watching as Laurel walked up. "This version does," Laurel smirked as she charged Evelyn.

"Traitor!" Evelyn spat, running to engage her.

Dinah watched Laurel attack Evelyn, surprised that the two seemed decently matched. Evelyn still held less skill than Laurel did, but she was holding her own much better than she seemed to have before.

Mercenaries poured out of the back of the van, but three were taken down immediately: one thanks to a green arrow, another to a bullet, and a third to heat vision. Dinah turned to see Oliver and Kara stood at the front of the vigilantes, Dig and Curtis on Oliver's side, Quentin and Rene on Kara's. "Priority is Evelyn, in custody and unharmed!" Oliver ordered.

Kara flew at two of them, punching one high into the air so he landed on top of the van. Oliver shot down the other one with a tranquilizer arrow, ducking so Curtis could throw one of his T-spheres at another mercenary. Quentin shot two more, then the same bloodcurdling scream from Evelyn's device rang out again, making Quentin, Dinah, and Laurel all stagger, allowing Evelyn to grab Dinah's bo staff and knock them all to the ground. "Hey!" Kara narrowed her eyes, flying at Evelyn, knocking her back.

Dig knocked his thug out and grabbed his gun, turning around to see Rene standing off with another one. He took aim, swallowing when he noticed his grip was shaking. Still, he took the shot.

Rene did a double take when the bullet bounced off the railing behind him, which was all the opening the thug needed to shoot Rene in the chest. Rene jerked backwards and fell over the railing with a pained yell. Dig's eyes widened, and Oliver put an arrow through the thug's shoulder, making him cry out.

Before he could dive after Rene, Kara flew past them and down, catching Rene just before he crashed into the top of a car. She landed on the ground as Curtis ran down to join her. Kara quickly removed Rene's mask, watching his head loll to the side. She gently tapped the side of his face, then shook her head when she didn't get a response. Curtis slumped slightly, and both looked back up towards the highway.

What had happened with Dig?

* * *

 **A/N: So, hopefully I made this work! The rest should be coming up during the day.**


	9. Fallout - Part Two

**Team Arrow works on finding out Evelyn's plan, and there are guests in the Arrowcave - both good and bad.**

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

"Oh, good," Thea sighed in relief when Team Arrow reentered the Arrowcave to find Felicity plus two others there.

"What happened out there?" Malcolm asked with a frown. "Thought you would have had that one in the bag."

"How's Rene?" was what Felicity asked.

"Curtis and my dad took him to the hospital," Laurel answered.

"It's Dr. Schwartz," Dig added, and Felicity nodded, remembering she was the doctor who had tried to help their original Laurel.

"It's a collapsed lung," Dinah added. "It doesn't look so good."

"Evelyn and the mercenaries escaped, but we pulled this off the van," Oliver held a device out to Felicity.

"GPS?" she asked, looking it over.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "Let's backtrace it, figure out where they came from."

"On it," Felicity hurried back to her computers.

"Quentin suggested maybe the attack on SCPD was targeting him and Dinah," Thea said. "Think that's still the case?"

"Why would Evelyn blow up the precinct after discovering they weren't there?" Kara pointed out.

"Maybe Quentin was wrong," Oliver shrugged. "Maybe our first instincts were right."

"That she's targeting the police for some reason?" Dig frowned.

"Then we need to figure out what that reason is," Kara sighed. "And find her."

"Oh, funny you should say that," Felicity frowned. "GPS's last location was a warehouse – surprise, surprise – outside Pennytown. If Evelyn's any smarter than she was when we last saw her, she will not go back there."

"Maybe she left something behind for us to go on," Dinah suggested.

"John?" Oliver turned.

"We're on it," Dig confirmed, he and Dinah going to get their gear.

"I'm still trying to figure out how Evelyn Sharpe, the least experienced of Chase's band of Revenge-Seeking Women, escaped Lian Yu," Malcolm scowled.

"Lyla should be getting back to us soon about that," Oliver nodded. "But I'm trying to figure that out, too."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah ducked into the warehouse, gun in hand. "Clear!" she called.

"Clear!" Dig echoed behind her.

Dinah lowered her gun, raising a flashlight to look around. "It's all packed up," she said. "Doesn't look like they were planning on coming back here."

"Question is, where were they headed?" Dig frowned, entering behind her. "Stay sharp. In my experience, bad guys aren't very good at covering their tracks."

Dinah walked further in, shining her light around, before asking, "You all right?"

"Yeah, why?" Dig asked.

"Since the bridge, you seem distracted."

"Just worried about Rene, that's all," he brushed it off.

"Saw you take the shot at that merc," Dinah raised an eyebrow. "Never seen you miss."

"Nobody makes every shot," Dig shook his head, removing his helmet, then paused and pointed. "What the hell is that?"

Dinah turned, aiming her light in the direction he pointed. It lit up a portable generator, and the piece of paper folded on top of it. She walked over and picked it up, unfolding it with Dig. "It's a map of City Hall," she recognized.

"With ingress and egress marks and line of sight," Dig added.

"For an attack," Dinah realized.

"Why the hell would they want to attack City Hall?" Dig wondered.

Dinah swallowed. "After the SCPD got bombed, they had to move the Academy graduation to a different venue. Oliver chose City Hall, but that decision was kept under wraps for security reasons!"

"How the hell did these guys find out?" Dig growled, grabbing his helmet and putting it on.

"I don't know, but we're running out of time to stop them!" Dinah shook her head, running out after him.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"This might be a late night, Raisa," Oliver warned, adjusting the sleeves of his suit jacket.

"I remember when your late nights were more like early mornings," she smirked, adjusting his tie slightly.

"Thankfully, I've exchanged club openings for Police Academy graduations now," Oliver smirked back.

"All right," Kara said as she walked into the living room, and Oliver did a double take when he saw her in a one-shoulder black dress and sandals, then smiled when he noticed the sapphire and diamond bracelet she wore on one wrist, her earrings dangling crystals that reflected orange in the light. As always, she was wearing the arrowhead around her neck, and her hair was swept into a braided updo. "I got a response from Alex, she and J'onn will be there at the ceremony, and Winn has agreed to be at the lair. Malcolm's got your extrapolator and is going to get them now."

"Your brothers would be smirking so smugly right now," Oliver grinned.

"Think they would?" Kara pretended to examine what she was wearing. "Maybe take a picture and show them. It takes a lot to get ready like this."

"Well, Malcolm will definitely grin when he sees you," Oliver chuckled. "Speaking of, we need to get going."

"Good luck," Raisa wished, and both waved before heading for the door, Oliver holding his arm out, which Kara took.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Whoa," Alex pretended to hold a hand over her eyes when the two descended down the steps into the Arrowcave. "Have you absorbed too much solar radiation? Because you are way too bright."

"Very funny, Alex," Kara sighed.

"Thank you for coming," Oliver told her sincerely. "You, J'onn, _and_ Winn," he nodded to where the two men were with the rest of the group in the lair.

"Of course," J'onn nodded. "Especially since it's the police they're after."

"No problem," Winn agreed.

"Well, look at you," Malcolm did indeed grin smugly when he saw what Kara was wearing. "I feel like I need to be giving Oliver a warning of some kind."

"Oh, please," Kara rolled her eyes, Oliver giving him a look.

"You look beautiful," Malcolm assured her.

"As if there was any doubt," Oliver smirked. "Now, as to why we're dressed like this and not in our suits?"

"Right," Felicity nodded. "Well, with Winn's help, I cracked the code, so to speak."

"You're welcome," Winn nodded, then winced when Oliver sighed. "Sorry. Anyway, these are the targeted areas," he pointed. "Which means we can almost be 100% positive that Evelyn Sharpe and friends will be attacking the Police Academy graduation tonight."

"The question is why," Dinah sighed. "Nine dead officers wasn't enough for them?"

"You're sure it was the officers they were after?" Alex asked.

"You said that you thought Sharpe might have been after you and Dinah," J'onn pointed out. "Two of your team is going to be there front and center with Rene still out of action."

"Yeah, and while Kara's obviously going to be there, Thea will be, too," Winn nodded. "That's, like, three birds in one stone."

"Shouldn't that be four?" Felicity frowned.

"You do remember who's bomb proof, right?" Winn pointed at Kara.

"Well, if that's the case, they're in for an interesting surprise," Oliver folded his arms. "We need SCPD canine units at every entry point."

"Actually, we can kill the canines," Curtis announced as he walked up.

"What?" Oliver frowned in confusion.

"Um, by kill, I do not mean kill the actual dogs," Curtis winced.

"What are those?" Alex asked, pointing to the devices he held.

"These are the latest in high-tech sniffer devices," he answered.

"They're bomb detectors?" J'onn asked, impressed.

"They can spot as little as an ounce of explosive material within a 1,000-foot radius," Curtis confirmed.

"Yeah, the only catch is that we actually have to be there to operate them, which means Curtis and I need to be in the field," Felicity began.

"Which means I will be down here operating the comms," Winn smiled.

"He won't be alone," Malcolm added. "I'll stay here, and if you need backup, just give a call."

"Same here," Laurel nodded.

"And me," Dig surprised everyone by volunteering.

"You sure?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "My gun would get lost in all that ARGUS and SCPD firepower anyways. I'll stay."

"OK," Oliver nodded, holding his arm out again for Kara. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"Curtis, you got anything?" Felicity asked as she walked down the hall.

"Negative," Curtis answered. "And shouldn't you be calling me Mr. Terrific? I _am_ in the field."

"Yeah, but you're not in your suit, so no suit, no codenames," Felicity denied. "Them's the rules."

"How about we try to focus instead?" Dinah hissed. "Spartan, Dark Archer, Siren, Schott, what do you see?"

"So far, so good," Winn answered.

"Yeah, maybe they decided to rethink their plan," Felicity suggested.

"That'd be a smart move," Curtis remarked. "Haven't seen this many cops in one place in my life."

"Me, either," Dinah agreed. "I'm a cop."

"That doesn't mean they're not gonna try something," J'onn warned. "So everyone, stay sharp."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Thank you all for being here," Oliver started his speech with Quentin on his right, and as Kara and Thea watched from the side, J'onn and Alex shifted so they could see better. "In light of the recent attacks on the SCPD, tonight's ceremony is incredibly important, and while we need to mourn the loss of life, I feel the need to mention that this city is better off than it has been in quite some time. Crime is down. Our streets are peaceful. People are not only _moving_ here,they are _staying_ here. And do you want to know why? It's because you help them feel safe. You have chosen a profession, one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Whereas other people run from danger, you run towards it time and time and time again, and for that, we all owe you a huge debt of gratitude . . . so thank you. Thank you for protecting our families, for protecting us, and for protecting our beautiful city. Thank you."

As the graduates applauded, Oliver turned to shake hands with the police captain. "Well done, Mr. Mayor," Pike told him.

"Of course," Oliver smiled and nodded, then he, Quentin, Thea, and Kara left for his office.

"You keep this up, they're gonna ask you to run for governor," Quentin quipped.

"Yeah?" Oliver snorted his opinion of that idea. "I'm just glad a bomb didn't go off during the speech. Anything from Black Siren and her crew?"

"No, not yet," Thea shook her head.

The door opened from the other side, and they turned as Felicity entered. "Hey," Oliver greeted. "Anything?"

"Nothing," Felicity shook her head. "Curtis and I have scanned every inch of this place. Something seems really off."

"Get in touch with the others, see if they saw anything on the cams," Oliver recommended.

Felicity nodded, turning around. "Guys, do you copy?"

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Still here, still nada," Winn confirmed.

"Maybe ARGUS scared them off?" Laurel suggested.

"Or targeting them in some other way?" Malcolm offered.

"Hey, are we even positive they're targets?" Winn spun around in his chair.

"I don't know why else they would want to be at City Hall," Laurel shook her head.

Dig's phone went off, and Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Lyla," Dig answered, pulling out his phone with a frown. "That ringtone means it's urgent." He looked at the message and blanched. "Lian Yu update."

"What?" Winn sat up straight.

"She knows how Evelyn got off?" Laurel asked eagerly.

Before Dig could answer, there were two clatters on the platform. "Look out!" Malcolm yelled, grabbing Laurel and flinging them over one of the consoles, Winn scrambling out of his chair.

The two arrows on the platform exploded, sending the four in the lair reeling. A second later, Winn flinched when he heard an explosion take out the elevator. "John?" Felicity called. "John, do you copy? Guys, are you OK?"

"Oh, don't worry, Felicity," a smooth voice with a Middle Eastern accent said, and Winn heard an enraged cry from Laurel and a curse from Malcolm. He and Dig raised their heads, and Winn's eyes widened when he saw the woman leading them was not Evelyn Sharpe. It was a woman with dark hair in a black leather jacket with a belt of throwing knives around her waist, a bow in her hand. "John's fine."

"You _bitch!"_ Laurel cried.

"Oh, I can guess who this is," Winn swallowed.

Talia al Ghul smirked smugly. "He and the rest are just going to be catching up with an old friend."

* * *

 **A/N: Hehehehe . . . who saw _that_ coming?**


	10. Fallout - Part Three

**Talia attacks, Team Arrow fights back, and something throws a wrench in the status quo at the end.**

* * *

 _ **Malcolm Merlyn/Talia al Ghul**_

"OK, _please_ just tell me your psychopath of a student didn't get off that island, too," Malcolm griped.

"What's wrong?" Talia tilted her head. "Was the great Al Saher actually scared of him?"

"No, he just pissed me off," Malcolm grumbled.

"You're not alone," Laurel agreed as Dig reached for a device near Winn.

"Says the one who turned her back on the man who saved her," Talia raised an eyebrow. "Pity."

"Eyes!" Dig warned, sliding the device under the platform.

Whatever it was, it exploded, making Talia cover her eyes. Dig grabbed Winn and ran, Malcolm and Laurel taking off after them. "You want me to kill them?" one of the mercenaries asked Talia.

"You're not being paid to keep them alive," Talia growled. The mercenaries took off after them, and Talia nodded at Faust. "Let's get to work."

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Winn crouched behind a pile of crates, watching three mercs approach. When they were past the door, he tapped a button on his tablet.

The lights went out, and all three looked up and around. Malcolm dropped from the ceiling, tackling one. Laurel charged into the second, punching him and knocking his gun away from him. Dig grabbed the gun and exchanged shots with the third merc, both dodging shots.

In the middle of the shootout, though, Dig suddenly stopped firing, and Winn's eyes widened when the merc punched him down. "Dig!" he shouted.

"You're not gonna feel a thing," the merc sneered, raising his gun. "Promise."

A green arrow caught him in the shoulder, followed by heat vision in his back. Malcolm slammed his merc into a steel wall nearby as Oliver and Kara ran in, charging the three mercs that arrived as backup. Kara kicked one in the stomach, and Laurel and Malcolm hastily dove out of the way as the merc went flying into a pile of crates nearby. Oliver took on another, easily punching him out. "You guys OK?" he called.

"Peachy!" came Winn's answer.

Dig punched the last merc out and growled, turning around. "I'm pissed!"

"Yeah, he speaks for the rest of us," Malcolm winced.

* * *

 ** _Talia al Ghul/Curtis Holt_**

"Just about finished," Faust told Talia.

"Good," she smirked.

Banging from the floor above them made her look up, then one of the mercs shouted, "Incoming!"

Talia turned to see four figures drop down the elevator shaft and take cover as the mercs opened fire. Dinah stuck her head out when they paused, screaming at them and flinging them into the table. Talia scowled and walked up onto the platform. "So you're the new Black Canary that Evelyn called a bitch."

Alex snorted as she walked out, a combat knife in her hand. "She's the bitch."

"Takes one to know one," Dinah agreed.

Talia narrowed her eyes as Alex walked up onto the platform while Dinah, Curtis, and J'onn ran around. Finally, Alex charged, Talia ducking her attack and using her bow like a staff, the two of them moving like blurs.

J'onn grabbed one mercenary and flung him into the wall, the merc crying out in pain when he hit. Curtis hit another in the head with one of his T-spheres, then looked down at the device in his hand. "Good news," he said. "The bomb sniffer works!"

"Bad news, it's working in the bunker," Felicity said.

"The whole place is wired," J'onn confirmed.

"If you can take the devices, I can jam the detonation signal remotely. Are the others OK?"

"I don't know," Curtis turned to find out, only to look at two mercs in his way. "But I might not be."

Two arrows hit the first merc, one green and the other black. Laurel ran around the corner and tossed a knife into the second one. "They're fine," Oliver ran around the corner, the others following him. "I have eyes on Talia!"

Kara flew past the others into the mer that tried to run, grabbing him by the neck and flinging him up onto the platform, just as Talia kicked Alex down the stairs. Kara ran to help her sister up as J'onn and Dinah came around the corner.

Talia looked around, then curled her lip and turned. "To be continued," she decided, holding up a device and pressing a button on it.

Everyone flinched when the bombs around the lair detonated, and when they looked up, Talia was gone.

* * *

 ** _Talia al Ghul_**

Talia walked around the corner, heading for the exit, only to stop when Quentin stood in her way. "Don't move!" he ordered, aiming at her. "I said don't move."

"Deputy Mayor Lance," Talia chuckled. "Are you really going to try and kill me?"

"Which of us has a gun?" Quentin growled.

"Mmm," Talia tilted her head. "Two of the three of us."

Quentin blinked, then cried out when the same scream from the bridge sounded. Talia readjusted the earplugs she wore, sauntering past Quentin and giving him a kick in the side for good measure. "He never even noticed me," Evelyn said smugly from where she was hiding behind another pile of crates.

"Good work," Talia nodded at her newest student. "Now, let's go."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Whoa," Quentin winced when he saw the Arrowcave. "Hell of a mess."

"Yeah," Oliver grimaced, standing up from where he was cleaning up. "What's happening with the graduation?"

"Uh, went off without a problem," Quentin nodded. "Unless you count some food poisoning from the city caterer."

"The graduation was a distraction," Dig grumbled. "They left that map for me and Dinah to find."

"So when did they pivot from targeting them to targeting us?" Felicity asked.

"Maybe she didn't," Curtis shrugged. "I mean, maybe the SCPD and the bunker were her targets all along."

"That seems pretty random, considering how much trouble they went through to make sure we wouldn't be here," Dig frowned.

"What if planting the explosives wasn't their objective?" Malcolm suggested.

"It was to _cover_ their objective," Laurel nodded.

"Maybe they were trying to steal something?" Alex suggested.

"Like what?" Felicity frowned.

"Weapons," J'onn guessed. "From what Kara told us, both are skilled archers. They could have taken equipment from here to make arrows. Not to mention, the mercenaries they're working with need weapons as well."

"We should inventory the armory," Oliver nodded. "If they stole something, we need to know what it is, and we need to know, fast."

"One thing I'm worried about," Kara spoke up, making them turn to her. "Evelyn and Talia are free. Please tell me Chase isn't loose, too."

"He's not," Dig shook his head, sighing. "I got the message from Lyla right when Talia raided the bunker. The reason it took so long getting back to us was because footage from the prison was sabotaged. They couldn't see what happened, so they sent a crew out to the island. It looks like someone released them both. When they looked for Chase, they found him – and he was dead."

" _Dead?"_ Winn repeated, eyes wide.

"I thought he was attached to a dead man's switch," Alex added.

"That's the thing, he _was,"_ Dig nodded. "They recovered Chase's body. The trigger was forcibly removed from him before he was killed."

"I don't know whether to feel relieved Chase is dead or worried because whoever killed him obviously broke Talia and Evelyn out," Curtis shuddered.

"For now, let's worry about the armory," Oliver ordered. "Alex, J'onn, Winn, thank you for your help."

"No problem," Alex smiled.

"Always a pleasure," Winn beamed.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver knocked on Rene's door, watching him pull his shirt on. "How're you feeling?" he asked.

"Oh, like a million bucks," Rene answered.

Oliver scoffed his opinion on that. "Yeah?"

"All right, maybe more like a couple hundred," Rene admitted. "But I'm alive, right?"

"Dr. Schwartz would like you in here for a few more days," Oliver told him.

"I feel good," Rene shook his head. "Besides, when have I ever listened to anybody?"

"Not to get too personal," Oliver walked forward, "but what would happen to Zoe if something happened to you?"

"Not much," Rene scowled. Oliver raised an eyebrow, and Rene narrowed his eyes. "Well, she's got a new family now, Hoss! I mean, she probably doesn't even think about me!"

"She's your daughter, Rene, of _course_ she thinks about you," Oliver reassured him.

"That ship's sailed," Rene sighed. "I blew that chance months ago."

" _Chase_ blew that chance for you," Oliver corrected. "One of the many reasons why I think you deserve another one."

Rene paused, eyeing the vanilla envelope Oliver held out to him. "I tried getting another hearing," he said, reaching for it.

"Yeah, you're not the mayor," Oliver smirked.

Rene opened it up and looked at the document inside, then looked up, eyes wide. "You got me another hearing?!"

"Not just me," Oliver told him. "The new DA had something to do with it – " He was interrupted by Rene hugging him tightly. "OK, all right," he laughed, hugging Rene back. "OK."

Rene coughed, backing up. "Thank you, Oliver," he told him. "I owe you one."

"Pay me back by getting better," Oliver pointed at him.

"Copy that," Rene nodded.

Oliver nodded and walked out of the hospital room, sighing in relief. "I take it he was happy?" Kara smiled as she stood from where she sat.

"Probably one of the only hugs I will ever receive from him," Oliver nodded, laughing slightly.

Kara giggled as well, about to say something when both their phones went off at the same time. "The team?" Oliver frowned, reaching for his.

"No," Kara shook her head as she pulled out hers. "That's the ringtone I've got for three people."

Oliver's eyes widened when he read the text that had come to both his and Kara's phones.

 _Need to meet near the loft._

They both looked up at the same time and said together, "Slade."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara cheated by lowering her glasses to look around as they approached the loft. She was the one to see her surrogate brother in the next alley over. She let go of Oliver's hand and ran that way, grinning when she saw him. "Slade!"

He turned and smiled at her, chuckling when she ran to hug him. "Hello, little one." He kissed the top of her head, then nodded when Oliver came around the corner. "Hey, kid."

"Hey," he nodded, walking up. "Did you want to come in for a drink?"

"I wish I could," Slade sighed. "I came to pop by and say . . . the Intel that you gave me on my son, Joe . . . it finally panned out."

"It did?" Kara's eyes lit up in delight.

"It did," Slade nodded. "So I'm heading to Calgary tonight."

"That's great," Oliver smiled.

"That's awesome," Kara gave him another hug.

"And I hope you find what you're looking for," Oliver added.

"You don't think I will?" Slade frowned.

"Ah," Oliver scratched the back of his head. "I think that finding your son doesn't always go as planned . . . especially when it's your future girlfriend who was the first to find him."

"But you were patient, and he found you to be his father," Slade told him. "But . . . be prepared, kid."

"For what?" Oliver frowned.

"Choosing between being the man that people need you to be, or the father that your son needs you to be."

"What do you mean by that?" Kara asked quietly.

"After Lian Yu, he had his mother for a time," Slade answered. "But after her death, all he had was you, kid. You and I walk between two words, but we can only do that for so long."

Oliver nodded thoughtfully, then held out his hand. Slade smiled and shook it. "Good luck . . . Mr. Queen."

"Good luck, Slade," Oliver smirked.

Slade turned to Kara, chuckling when she gave him yet another hug. "Good luck to you as well, little one."

"If you need anything at all, just call," she told him. "I'll be there."

"Thank you," he smiled, kissing her cheek.

Kara reluctantly released him, and she stepped back to Oliver's side, the two of them waving as Slade left.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig unbuttoned his shirt in the Arrowcave, reaching up towards his right shoulder, wincing when he felt white-hot pain lace down his arm.

* * *

 ** _Then ~ 2 Months Ago_**

 _When they reached the third floor, J'onn pointed down one end of the hallway. "Check that way," he ordered._

 _Dig simply nodded, and Thea drew an arrow, the two of them running down the hall. They made it to the end of the corridor and checked both ways. "OK, maybe I'm wrong, but shouldn't there be soldiers swarming us right now?" Thea hissed._

 _Dig nodded, heading down his end of the corridor. Thea followed behind him, both of them ready to shoot at a moment's notice. They came to a closed door at the end, and they looked at each other in concern. Dig finally reached for the door handle, and Thea backed up, drawing back her bow. Dig opened the door, and Thea sprinted in, raising her bow, Dig right behind her, gun raised. Four things then happened at once._

 _The lights turned on, practically blinding the two of them._

 _They saw a lit laboratory, and Thea felt like she could throw up for hours at the sight of dissected aliens lying on tables, Dig's horrified "oh, my God" ringing in her ears._

 _Then the door slid shut behind them, making them turn around. "Guys!" Thea shouted, only to hear static in her comms._

 _Then everything around her went up in flames._

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

He grimaced at the memory, then straightened when he heard Dinah's voice. "You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he nodded, buttoning his shirt up again.

"Anything missing?"

"No, it's all accounted for."

"Including your gun?" Dig turned when Dinah said that. "Not that you seem to be using it that much these days." She took it out from behind her back, holding it up. "I checked it after the fight down here."

"You checked my gun?" Dig repeated.

"You didn't even fire it," Dinah stated. "And none of the guys down here got hit, either."

"Yeah," Dig nodded hesitantly as Dinah approached. "Dinah – "

She just pressed the gun into his chest, then both jumped slightly when Curtis announced, "Found it!" They turned to see him run up. "And by 'found it,' I mean, I found what Talia took, which is actually more like not finding anything at all, but you get my point."

"What point?" Dinah blinked in confusion. "No, we – no, I'm not sure we do."

"She took one of my T-spheres," Curtis explained. "Prototype version."

"A prototype, meaning it's not weaponized?" Dinah clarified, and Curtis nodded. "Well, then they can't use it against us."

"Question is, what _can_ they do?" Dig wondered.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Hey, there's a game on tomorrow night," Kara remarked as she checked the guide on the TV. "Late, though."

"Football or baseball?" William asked.

"Baseball," Kara answered.

Oliver laughed when William perked up. "Yeah, you can stay up late and watch it."

"Thanks, Dad!" William grinned.

Kara blinked when her phone rang, almost at the same time as Oliver's. She looked at the Caller ID and picked up instantly. "Malcolm! Everything OK?"  
"Turn on Channel 52 right now," he told her, sounding in a rush.

"OK," Kara frowned, switching the channel.

" – _with the discovery of a shocking photograph that seems to finally solve the mystery haunting Star City for the past two years: who is the Green Arrow?"_ the newscaster was saying, and Kara's eyes jaw dropped as Oliver and William hurried over to see. _"This photo, which was obtained exclusively by Channel 52, provides unequivocal proof of the identity of the vigilante known as the Green Arrow."_

"Oh, Rao," Kara breathed in shock when the image that came up revealed Oliver without his hood.

"Dad?" William looked up at Oliver. "What're you gonna do?"

Oliver just swallowed. "I don't know."

* * *

 **A/N: And I just finished completing all of the next Arrow episode today, so you might see the first part up tonight!**


	11. Arrow - Tribute - Part One

**I'm glad everyone's all right with how Season 6 of Arrow is turning out! It's a bit difficult working with Black Siren being on Team Arrow's side, but it's working. :)**

 **I know there were also some guest reviewers asking for Laurel to get caught by the bad guys at some point - I don't know if that will happen or not. I'm trying to stick to the episodes, so if the opportunity presents itself for that to happen, maybe it will. For now, just expect these to follow the episodes to some extent.**

 **So, without further ado . . . Oliver deals with the aftermath of being revealed as the Green Arrow, and meets an old friend again.**

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

Oliver stepped in the front doors of city hall, raising an eyebrow when he saw a crowd of reporters waiting for him. "Anything interesting on the news last night?" he asked sarcastically.

Reporters instantly shouted questions, crowding in towards Oliver as he made his way to where Quentin, Rene, Thea, and Kara were waiting. "Ladies and gentlemen," Oliver held up his hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, please! If you want to know what I have to say, it would probably help if you could hear me," he looked around. When they quieted, he nodded. "Thank you. Gonna tell you two things, both of which you probably already know. First, this is important. I am notthe Green Arrow."

"If you're not the Green Arrow, then who is?" a female reporter asked.

"Number two," Oliver continued, ignoring the question. "Photos can be doctored. They could have put Bruce Wayne's head on that body. Has Bruce Wayne left Gotham to hang out in Star City recently?" he pretended to ask Rene before scoffing. "No. Now, if I was running around the city during the day and managing it as mayor while running around at night frightening criminals as a vigilante, that really would make me a superhero, but I'm not. I'm just the mayor. Thank you very much."

Reporters clamored to ask more questions as Oliver turned away, but he just reached for Kara's hand. She took it and followed him up the stairs, the two of them followed by Quentin, Thea, and Rene. "You seem to be taking this in your stride," Quentin remarked.

"I've been here before with you," Oliver reminded him.

"Yeah, but I didn't have a photograph of you in flagrante de arrow."

"Where did Channel 52 get the photo?" Kara asked.

"Anonymous source," Rene answered. "Arrived in yesterday's mail, no return address."

"Let's get the envelope, let's get it to forensics, and let's figure out who leaked it," Oliver ordered.

"And why," Thea added.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Can't let this distract us," Oliver said as the quintet walked out of the elevator. "Where are we with rebuilding the SCPD?"

"Well, I fast tracked the insurance claim, so we should have twenty million burning a hole in our account by the end of the day," Rene answered.

" _Our?"_ Thea raised an eyebrow.

"I figure we peel off a few bucks and fly off to Vegas," Rene shrugged.

Oliver and Kara both raised an eyebrow at the same time. "That's cute," Quentin said sarcastically. "Think it might be a little suspicious if Oliver left town right about now."

"I need to be in town for the Markovian delegation," Oliver reminded him, heading towards his office.

Rene watched the others follow him, then asked, "So it's all right for _me_ to go to Vegas, is what you're saying?"

Oliver rolled his eyes and opened the door to his office, only to pause when he saw a dark-skinned woman in a suit waiting for him. "Hello," he said cautiously. "I don't think you have an appointment."

"No, but I really don't need one," she pulled a badge out of her jacket. "Special Agent Samandra Watson."

"FBI?" Kara asked in disbelief.

"Can we help you with something?" Quentin asked.

"Not really," Watson shook her head. "I'm here as a courtesy to inform you of the investigation I'll be conducting in your city."

"Investigation into what?" Oliver asked.

"You," she said bluntly.

"You're kidding," Thea's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, because the FBI is world renowned for its sense of humor," Watson retorted, turning back to Oliver. "You were on the news last night, wearing the outfit of a known criminal. Can you honestly say you're surprised there's an investigation?"

"No, but I wasn't expecting the FBI," Oliver admitted.

"Well, quite frankly, the local law enforcement has proven ineffective where the Green Arrow is concerned," Watson gave Quentin a significant look.

"Uh, Agent . . . Watson?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," she nodded.

"I was cleared five years ago."

"Of being the Hood, not the Green Arrow," Watson countered. "And you were cleared by the guy who's now your deputy mayor."

"Would you like me to send you a copy of the polygraph that Mr. Queen passed?" Quentin asked mockingly.

"For starters," Watson smirked. "The local AG will be issuing subpoenas later on today. It was nice meeting you, gentlemen, ladies. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other."

Kara watched Watson leave before turning to Oliver. "I don't like her."

"That makes all of us in the room, I think," Oliver grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as Kara rubbed his back.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"At least they caught his good side," Curtis remarked as those in the Arrowcave looked at the photo. When both Felicity and Dinah glared at him, he cleared his throat. "Sorry. Not funny."

"All right, John said you guys have experience putting this particular genie back in the bottle?" Dinah asked.

"Well, yeah," Felicity nodded. "I mean, John's put on the hood before, but I don't see how that's gonna work now, not with photographic evidence."

"What about the Human Target?" Curtis asked.

"The human what now?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"Best cosplayer ever. He can literally make himself look like someone else."

"Yeah, Chase is out of the country right now, only God knows where," Dig walked up. "We have to think of a new way of getting out of this."

"And if we can't?" Dinah asked. "Because assuming Oliver does not go to prison, he's not gonna be able to do anything with a million eyes on him."

"Not to mention that if he's outed – rather, if he _stays_ outed – it won't be much of a leap to the rest of us," Curtis added.

"One step at a time," Dig decided.

"OK, first step being figuring out where this picture came from," Felicity rubbed her hands together, turning towards the photo.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"It came from nowhere," Rene announced as he walked into the office.

"What do you mean?" Quentin asked in surprise.

"I mean, this envelope wasn't mailed, delivered, or sent," Rene answered. "It came from inside the Channel 52 news offices."

"How do we know that?" Thea asked.

"Bar code," Rene pointed at it. "Channel 52 uses it for internal traffic."

"How many people work there?" Kara asked, dreading the answer.

"Five hundred sixty-eight," Rene gave a sarcastic smile.

Oliver sighed in annoyance. "All right, I'm just gonna say it to say it," Quentin looked up. "What if this was Chase, huh? He could have put this in motion months ago, a little parting gift."

"Seems like his style, messing with you like this," Rene agreed.

"It is more than possible," Oliver nodded.

"How's William holding up with all this?" Thea asked.

"OK," Oliver answered. "I wanted to keep him home from school, but he insisted on going."

"He's a trooper, that's for sure," Kara nodded, a fond smile on her face.

"Like his father, huh?" Quentin smiled.

"I wasn't much of a student," Oliver snorted.

"No, but he's tough," Thea smiled.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"Where's he standing?" Curtis wondered. "If we could figure out when and where this was taken, it would give us something to go on."

"I wrote an image analysis algorithm, but there's just not very much for the computer to chew on," Felicity sighed.

"Was the original photo taken digitally, or was it taken the old-fashioned way?"

"Digital. Printed on standard inkjet stock. OK, maybe if we get the file, there might be some meta data on it, and we can figure out who took the photo."

"It's a pretty epic maybe," Curtis pointed out.

"Yeah, well, like you said, if we don't figure this out, and fast, we're screwed!"

"I did say that, didn't I?" he winced.

"Yeah, you did," Felicity sighed.

"This could destroy our whole lives!"

"It's hard to think that before, my biggest worry was getting a new job, and now it's about whether or not we'll end up in jail."

"I thought you were sitting pretty from your Palmer Tech severance?"

"Yeah, from, like, a year ago."

"What are you gonna do? Assuming that we're all not in jail."

"I mean, I'd definitely rather go to Iron Heights than work at Tech Village again," Felicity shuddered. "That place was horrendous. What about you? I mean, you've been out of a job as long as I have."

"Not really," Curtis shook his head. "I've been doing some freelance coding in my spare time."

"What?" Felicity blinked. "What spare time?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Curtis snorted. "Barely any, but I did not take a dime from Paul in the divorce, and a man's gotta eat."

"So you just had, like, a secret job this whole time? You didn't tell anyone about it?"

"I thought we all, like, had secret jobs?" Curtis blinked.

"No," Felicity shook her head.

"Except for John, maybe? What does he do for money? That's something that's been perplexing me."

"He's married to the director of ARGUS," Felicity reminded him.

"Yeah, that's right," Curtis nodded. "She does make a lot of money."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"This building has been vacant since being claimed by the city under eminent domain four years ago," Oliver said as he led a group through the building.

"Do you have any comment on the FBI investigating you under murder charges?" a female reporter asked.

Oliver closed his eyes in annoyance. "We're not gonna talk about that."

"Except to say it's a load of crap," Quentin added loudly.

Oliver cleared his throat and continued. "By offering subsidized leasing to Markovia's Vortex Industries, they're gonna be able to create a high-tech factory here, bringing at the very least eight hundred new jobs to Star City."

"Can you shed light on the accusation of being the Green Arrow?" another reporter asked.

"You have said you're not the Green Arrow," the first reporter added. "Then who is? Why are you being – "

"Guys, enough!" Oliver snapped. "If we're not here to discuss the Markovian initiative, then you can just get back on the bus, because I will not – for the last time – be answering questions on the Green Arrow."

"But I'd be happy to," a Russian stepped forward. "Alec Tarkov. I'm the vortex CEO, and if your mayor is truly a superhero, which seems ludicrous – "

"Thank you," Oliver sighed.

"We will double our investment," Tarkov continued, making Oliver barely refrain from rolling his eyes. "Safe city's a good place to do business, no?"

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Tarkov," Oliver chuckled.

Bullets spattered against the pillar behind him, and Oliver quickly ducked, followed by everyone else. "Go for cover!" Oliver yelled, pointing and urging everyone away. "Go for cover! Get to the van! Go, go, go, go, go!"

Multiple reporters fell to the ground, full of bullets, as Quentin ran for the driver's side. "Here we go, come on!" he yelled.

Oliver scrambled into the passenger's side, and Quentin drove through the gunmen, heading outside. "All right, hold on!" Quentin called when he saw more gunmen. "Hold on!"

The reporters and businessmen in back ducked down, followed by Quentin and Oliver as the men continued shooting. Eventually, the van skidded to a stop, and Oliver looked behind him. "Is everyone OK?"

"Yeah," Quentin panted, wiping at a bloody scrape on his forehead.

The passenger door suddenly opened, and Oliver whipped around, only for his eyes to widen when he saw who was there. "Hello, Mr. Mayor," Anatoli Knyazev smiled. "Hope you're having a pleasant day." Oliver gritted his teeth in annoyance, and Anatoli tilted his head. "You look like maybe you want to throw punch at me. Don't worry. We are not here for you. We have business with our Markovian cousins."

"These are legitimate businessmen," Oliver hissed.

"I never said my business was not legitimate," Anatoli pointed out. "Unless you know something maybe a mayor should not know?" Oliver growled in annoyance, and Anatoli nodded to the man behind him. "Teper," he ordered, and the man opened the door to the van, yanking out the Markovians. "We'll be in touch," Anatoli smirked. "Dasvidanya!"

Oliver ground his teeth, watching the Bratva leave.

* * *

 **A/N: I'll see if I can get anything else up tonight. Hopefully everyone enjoys!**


	12. Tribute - Part Two

**Fun times with the Queen and Danvers family, and Dinah and Dig talk about what's been going on.**

* * *

 _ **John Diggle/Oliver Queen**_

Dig paced anxiously, hands behind his back, feeling his right one still shaking. "You OK?" Dinah asked from where she sat on the couch.

"My best friend is under a microscope by everyone in this city _and_ the FBI, so he couldn't stop the Bratva from taking hostages," Dig ground out. "So let's just assume I'm not."

"I wasn't talking about what's going on with Oliver," Dinah gave him a significant look.

Dig looked at her incredulously, then folded his arms. "Dinah, I'm _fine._ The only thing that's really bothering me is you being up in my business."

Dinah considered him, then looked past him when the door opened. "Hey," she stood up as Oliver and Quentin walked in. "We came as soon as we heard."

"We need to know why Anatoli took the Markovians, and we need to find him now," Oliver ordered.

"Oliver, Felicity and Curtis are on this, but you need to stay here," Dig warned.

"Look, I know I said before Chase could be behind this, but now I'm thinking," Quentin began.

"It's Anatoli," Oliver finished. "He leaked the photo to tie my hands."

"We're on this," Dig promised. "We'll take care of it."

Oliver sighed, frustrated he couldn't do anything.

* * *

 _ **Curtis Holt**_

"SQL or Java?" Felicity called as she worked on one side of the Arrowcave.

"What?" Curtis frowned from his work station on the other side.

"In your job as a secret programmer, are you coding in SQL or Java?"

"Both. Plus a little Swift."

"I can't believe you've had a secret job this whole time, and you didn't even tell me about it," Felicity swung around.

"Is this relevant to locating the Bratva and/or their hostages?" Curtis sighed.

"I am multitasking, thank you very much, and yes, if you must know, I am running my image analysis algorithm on the photo of Oliver."

Something beeped nearby, and Curtis turned as Felicity walked over to the image of Oliver. "What? Get something?"

"No," Felicity groaned in annoyance. "Just my algorithm crapping out again."

"Don't despair," Curtis turned to his computers. "I think I might have a line on our friend Anatoli. Now, working on the assumption that he hasn't been in town that long, I wondered how he was fixed for cash."

"I bet his Bratva buddies are good for it, no?" Felicity raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he has to pay them somehow," Curtis pointed out. "Cash would set off too many alarm bells, plus he'd have to convert it from rubles. Credit cards are way too easy to track, but then there's . . . "

Felicity leaned in closer when she saw what Curtis pulled up. "Cryptocurrency's virtually impossible to track!"

"For mere mortals," Curtis smirked. "But we're Mr. Terrific and Overwatch."

"Overwatch and Mr. Terrific," Felicity smirked back, going to her station as Curtis laughed.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"No, I can assure you, we are doing everything in our power to get the hostages back," Oliver said into his phone, barely paying attention to his office door opening.

"We haven't determined a motive for the kidnapping, but the police are working on it around the clock, all right?" Quentin continued to speak on his as Kara stepped inside, a tray of take-out drinks in her hand.

"Of course, of course, of course. Thank you, minister."

"Yes, that's right, we'll be in touch. Thank you."

"That sounds like fun," Kara remarked sympathetically, handing each of them a coffee. "Here."

"Thanks, Kara," Quentin sighed.

"Thanks, angel," Oliver kissed the side of her head, taking a drink of his own. "The Markovian consulate is losing their minds."

"It's the same with the Vortex home office," Quentin nodded. "They want to send private security to get their people back. I told them we've got it handled, but – "

"Felt like you were lying?" Oliver guessed, and Quentin nodded with a sigh. "Where are we with the SCPD?"

"Dinah's got people rounding up every Russian thug with a record, but, you know, they're shorthanded down there," Quentin answered.

"Got a new problem!" Thea announced as she and Rene entered, Rene taking a moment to cough into his arm.

Thea took the remote from the table and turned on the TV screen, pulling up Channel 52. _"We received an anonymous message from the group claiming responsibility for today's abduction of the contingent of executives from Markovia,"_ the newscaster said. _"In what can only be a small consolation, the mayor and the reporters at the delegation were not – "_

"Lady's getting a lot of anonymous messages these days," Rene remarked.

" _As for what exactly this group wants, they said they will execute the hostages in twelve hours unless the city pays them a ransom of twenty million dollars. Mayor Queen could not be reached for comment."_

"Rene, my comment is that we don't negotiate with terrorists," Oliver growled.

"Yeah, but if we did, we got twenty million dollars from the reconstruction of the police department," Rene said as Thea turned off the television.

"Which is the exact number Anatoli chose," Kara sighed.

"I don't care what number he chose, we're not paying him twenty cents," Oliver said in annoyance, taking his phone out when it vibrated. He checked the Caller ID, then answered. "Yeah? This is he." He paused, then looked at Kara. "Is he OK?"

"William?" Kara's eyes widened.

"No, of course, of course," Oliver shook his head, hanging up and grabbing his jacket. "We have to go," he told her.

Kara nodded and ran after him, the three others in the office watching them leave.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"Want to tell us what happened?" Oliver asked as the limo drove back to the loft.

"They know you're the Green Arrow," William answered, clinging to his backpack. "They said you're not here to help me."

"Oh, man," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "William, I'm really sorry."

"They were really big eighth graders," he added.

"Eighth graders, huh?" Oliver mused. "You should go for the nose."

"Oliver!" Kara stared at him, eyes wide, as William blinked.

"What?" Oliver shrugged. "If something like this happens again, go for the nose. Find the biggest one, the biggest one in the group, walk right up to him without saying a thing, and punch him in the nose as hard as you possibly can. He will have no idea what is going on. He won't be able to see, and if he can't see, he can't fight, and then all of his buddies, all the guys that were being so brave, they will back off. Trust me on that one."

"Oh, Rao," Kara pinched the bridge of her nose as William laughed slightly. "I love an idiot."

"I'm your idiot," Oliver smiled cheekily, looking down at his phone when it vibrated. "Yeah?" he asked as he answered.

"It's me," Felicity said. "Hang on a second."

Oliver winced and held the phone away when static took over. "What was that?" he asked.

"Had to secure the line," she answered. "Curtis and I found Anatoli."

"Russian restaurant owned by a dummy corporation," Curtis took over. "Thermal satellite reads four bodies in an industrial cooler."  
"Is it the hostages?" Oliver asked.

"That's what we're thinking," Felicity confirmed.

"Text me the address," Oliver ordered. "I'll be there soon." He hung up and looked at Kara. "Can you – ?"

"Absolutely," she nodded.

"Thank you," he told her gratefully, reaching up to the intercom. "Stop the car, please."

"Dad?" William asked.

"Listen," Oliver leaned down as the car stopped. "Kara's gonna make sure you get right home. I promise that we'll talk about this right when I get home, but for now, I got to go. Please, trust me."

William nodded, and Oliver headed out of the car. "Do you want to sit over here?" Kara patted the now open spot by her.

William swallowed, then nodded and headed over by her. Kara wrapped her arm around him protectively and reached up to the intercom. "Drive on."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Three access points, north, south, and east," Dig reported from where he stood.

"Lance said these guys are packing some heavy artillery," Dinah added.

"Where's GA?" Curtis asked.

"Right here," Oliver walked up.

"We thought maybe you couldn't get away," Dinah frowned.

"It wasn't easy," Oliver shook his head. "Terrific, keep eyes on the perimeter. Spartan, Canary, occupy the guards. I'll extract the Markovians."

He fired a grappling arrow to the building, swinging down and smashing through the window. He took out one of the guards in the main area, then hurried into the kitchen. The first two guards went down easily, then knocked the next two into the stainless-steel counters. The next three were flung into appliances. Another one Oliver flung onto an open flame before punching him over a table.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah screamed at the guards that came next, flipping her bo staff around and attacking. She turned around when she heard Dig stop attacking, and her eyes widened when she saw him aiming at one of the guards, but not firing. After a moment, he holstered his gun and the guard ran at him, but Dig easily knocked him out.

Dinah sighed in frustration, turning around to see if any more guards were coming.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver knocked the last two guards out before firing an explosive arrow at the freezer, knocking it clear off its hinges.

Out came three shaking Markovians, but no one else. "There were four of you," Oliver frowned.

"Alec Tarkov, our CEO, they took him," one of them explained.

"Where?"

"They did not tell us."

Oliver turned around, gritting his teeth. "Spartan, Canary, we are short one hostage."

"We just did a sweep," Dig said.

"There is no one else here," Dinah added.

"Overwatch?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know what happened," Felicity answered. "Thermal read four warm bodies inside. They must have moved one."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"In the least surprising news ever, the Bratva-run restaurant is lacking in security cams," Felicity said dryly.

"Oh, you mean Russian mobsters like their privacy?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"So what now?" Oliver asked.

"So now I show you security camera footage from _outside_ the restaurant," Felicity answered, pulling up the feed.

Dig frowned as he watched. "Where's Anatoli going with Tarkov?"

"Well, from this feed, it looks like he's headed northeast, but then we lose him right about there," Felicity pointed.

"We could cross-reference our list of Bratva cryptocurrency activities with Bratva-owned properties, see what comes from that direction," Curtis suggested.

"John, Dinah, be prepared to hit whatever location Felicity and Curtis come up with," Oliver ordered.

"Copy that," Dig nodded.

"What about you?" Dinah asked.

"I have to meet Quentin and Rene at the FBI," Oliver sighed. "The agent that's doing the investigation wants to interview me."

"You have a lawyer for that, right? Or an army of lawyers?" Felicity asked. "That would probably be better. That would work for you if you had an army of them."

"I don't want to look like I have anything to hide," Oliver shook his head. "Where are we with the photo?"

"Oh, I'm doing a recoding of Felicity's analysis algorithm," Curtis answered. "Should have something working within an hour to thirty days, give or take." Oliver and Felicity both gave him exasperated looks. "Much closer to the hour mark, though," he hurriedly said.

"Thank you," Oliver nodded, then pulled his phone out when it beeped. When he saw the urgent message from Kara, he sighed. "Keep me updated," he ordered, hurrying out the door.

* * *

 _ **Quentin Lance**_

Quentin and Rene sat across from Watson, waiting for Oliver to show up. Watson herself sighed in annoyance, checking her watch. "Did you always know you were gonna be FBI?" Rene finally asked, making Watson frown. "Because I have a little girl who I think has that potential." Quentin looked at Rene in confusion, who explained, "I mean, of course, a woman can do anything a man can."

"And why wouldn't they?" Watson frowned.

"Exactly," Rene nodded. "I mean, they can. I'm a feminist like that."

Quentin closed his eyebrows and rubbed his forehead, and Watson sighed. "Look, it's been over an hour, and my patience is beyond gone."

Quentin straightened when his phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to look at the message. "Actually, you know what? That's the mayor himself. He's got a family emergency, he's at home with the kid. Look at that," he showed Rene.

Rene nodded, but Watson scowled. "So it must just be a coincidence that during his family emergency, the Green Arrow was spotted rescuing the Markovian executives from the Russian mob?" she asked.

"Definitely a coincidence," Rene answered blankly.

"Do I really look that stupid?" Watson snapped.

"You don't look stupid at all," Rene shook his head.

"Look, we're really sorry about keeping you waiting, all right, but I don't know if you know this, but the mayor is actually recently a single dad," Quentin told her.

"Yes, after the boy's mother died unexpectedly in a car accident," Watson nodded.

"Well, most car accidents _are_ unexpected."

"And most leave behind a car wreck and a body," Watson scoffed. "The only proof to Miss Clayton's death was the accident report and the autopsy, both of which could have been easily faked."

"You're not exactly a very trusting person, are you, Special Agent Watson?" Rene asked with a frown.

"Trust isn't part of my job description," Watson said bluntly. "But let me make one thing clear as glass to you both. If you're protecting Mr. Queen, I'll find out, and I'll have you both indicted for obstruction." She let that sink in, then sat back. "Now get out of my office. You've wasted enough of my time."

Rene and Quentin exchanged glances, then Quentin nodded. "Let's go," he said, standing up.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"What brought this on, buddy?" Oliver asked as he sat next to William, Kara on his other side. William was clutching his Flash backpack tightly, his eyes slightly red. "It's never bothered you before that I've needed to leave."

"I didn't know if you were gonna come back," William whispered.

"William, look at me," Oliver put a hand on his shoulder. "I will _always_ come back."

"Is it because of the photo release?" Kara asked gently. "William, that's gonna get solved. It'll be fine."

"But what if it won't be?" William asked. "I'm not as worried about you because that . . . whatever that stuff was that affected you, it's gone now. It can't kill you. But Dad, there's a million psychos always trying to kill you."

"And now that it's been revealed to the news, it just got more real," Oliver sighed, understanding where William was coming from. He watched his son nod miserably and crouched down so he could look into his eyes. "I lost my mom, and I lost my dad, and I was a lot older than you are now, but I remember exactly how it feels," he said quietly. "It's sad, it's scary, and it's lonely, and I swear to God, I will _never_ let that happen to you."

"It's not up to you," William whispered.

Kara rubbed William's back comfortingly as Oliver sighed, trying to think of how to comfort his son, when his phone started vibrating. He closed his eyes in annoyance. "It's work," he said, standing up.

"Hey," Kara leaned down to look at William. "The next time he goes out, I'll go with him, and I'll make sure he comes back. There's nothing on this Earth that can hurt me, so I'll make sure nothing hurts him. OK?"

"Promise?" William looked up at her.

"Pinky promise," Kara held up her pinky.

William's lips quirked up slightly, and he did the pinky promise with her, making Kara smile brightly.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver walked away from the two most important people in his life, taking the video call. "Hello, Oliver," Anatoli greeted.

"Anatoli, why are you doing this?" Oliver scowled.

"I need money," he answered simply. "And from what I understand, your city recently came into possession of twenty million dollars."

"There are plenty of cities in Russia."

"True," Anatoli conceded. "Beautiful ones, but, you see, I have been exiled. Apparently, Bratva thinks I am too weak due to my friendship with you, so now I show everyone I am not weak, and you and I no longer friends. I know sometimes you need persuasion to do right thing, so I help you." He shifted the camera, and Oliver narrowed his eyes when he saw Tarkov on camera in horrible condition. "This nice man has paralysis of muscles. Soon, will have lung collapse and not be able to breathe. This happens in . . . maybe three hours?" Anatoli shifted the camera back to him. "Now, I have cure for his problems. Do you have cure for mine?"

Oliver shook his head in disbelief, ending the call.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"All right, so you got this off Oliver's phone?" Dig asked as he looked over Felicity's shoulder, with Curtis, Dinah, Malcolm, and Laurel there as well.

"Five minutes ago, yeah," Felicity nodded.

"Any clues?" Oliver asked.

"Look at his face," Malcolm pointed.

"I was trying really hard not to," Curtis winced.

"The rash?" Laurel asked.

"Exactly," Malcolm nodded. "If we can analyze the facial rash – "

"We might be able to diagnose the poison," Felicity continued, eyes widening.

"And find the right cure," Curtis nodded, reaching for his tablet. "On it."

"Anatoli said Tarkov has maybe three hours," Oliver warned.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Curtis tapped on his tablet, then straightened. "Got it! Tetrodotoxin."

"That's a neurotoxin," Dig frowned.

"Yeah," Curtis nodded. "Inhibits the firing of action potentials, preventing the nervous system from carrying messages and muscles from flexing in response to nervous stimulation."

"In other words, that's not good," Malcolm translated.

"Is there a cure?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, they should have something down at Starling General," Curtis confirmed.

"That's great," Felicity smiled. 'So all we have to do is get it to him before the poison takes over his entire body."

"John?" Oliver prompted.

"Starling General, I'm on it," he nodded, turning and heading for the elevator.

"John, I'm coming with you," Dinah hurried after him.

* * *

 _ **John Diggle**_

"Administer this to the patient, and it will neutralize the TCCD poison," Schwartz told Dinah as she put the cure in a bottle. "I don't want to know what this is for, do I?"

Dinah just shook her head. "How long will it take to reverse the effects?"

"Starts working immediately, but I'd say seventy-two hours until a full recovery," Schwartz answered.

"Thank you, Doctor," Dig said gratefully.

"And, um, how are you feeling?" Schwartz asked, making Dinah look up curiously.

"I feel fine," Dig answered, catching Dinah's look.

Schwartz's phone buzzed, and she took a look at it. "Excuse me, I have a patient. Keep taking those pain meds," she advised Dig.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded.

Dinah sighed as Dig made to leave. "It seems like you have another chance to lie to me again."

"I'm not lying," Dig frowned. "I'm telling you this is none of your business."

"I am out in the field with you at less than 100%," Dinah snapped. "This is damn well my business, and it's Oliver's." When Dig winced slightly, Dinah frowned. "What doesn't he know?"

Dig sighed. "When we went up against Cadmus, Thea and I got caught in an explosion."

"I thought Alex said you guys were fine," Dinah frowned.

"Thea was, just some burns," Dig nodded. "I caught some shrapnel."

"And didn't tell anybody?!" Dinah balked.

"Kara and Clark were comatose, Samantha dead," Dig scowled. "I was low priority."

"John, that was _two months_ ago!"

"Dr. Schwartz said I have nerve damage," Dig admitted. "Degenerative."

"That's why you haven't been pulling your gun," she sighed.

"Dinah, I have this handled – "

"Yeah? You should tell that to Rene," she snapped. "He ended up in the hospital because you couldn't even get a single shot off!"

"It's just a tremor," Dig growled. "I can manage it. I'm a soldier, Dinah. Soldiers push through."

"So, what, I'm just supposed to lie to everybody now just like you've been doing?" Dinah frowned.

"You have to do whatever you have to do, but I'm asking you, please," Dig looked at her. "Will you trust me on this one?"

Dinah sighed, then headed for the door. "We should get going."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"I know Python."

Curtis frowned at the random statement. "The supervillain?"

"No, no, no, the programming language," Felicity shook her head. "Look, maybe you could send some of your freelance coding my way."

"Look, I think that would be a waste of your prodigious talents, Felicity," Curtis shook his head. "You are a – _son of a bitch!"_

"Not really a son, Curtis," Felicity frowned. "More of a – "

"No, no, talking about this," Curtis scooted over. "I revised your photo analysis algorithm and got back this."

Felicity looked at the photo and blinked. "What? That's impossible!"

"Data analysis doesn't lie, Felicity," Curtis grinned. "Question is, what do we do with it?" One of Felicity's computers beeped, and she turned to it as Curtis sighed. "What's that? Come on, no more bombshells. I can't handle anymore for the rest of the night."

"No, it's not a bombshell, Curtis," Felicity grinned. "It might just be the key to the Bratva's location."

* * *

 **A/N: After the final part of "Tribute," I'll be caught up to where I am on Wattpad as well, so updates will definitely not be coming out as often as they have been. Final part should be up tonight!**


	13. Tribute - Part Three

**Team Arrow vs the Bratva, and Oliver makes a decision at the end.**

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

Oliver stepped out of the elevator and frowned when he saw Rene in the hall. "What are you doing here?"

"Working, obviously," Rene answered. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Felicity and Curtis are working on locating Tarkov," Oliver answered. "He has maybe an hour left."

"So why aren't you home with William?" Rene asked, stopping when Oliver gave him a look of disbelief. "Sorry if I hit a nerve."

"When have you ever been sorry about hitting a nerve?" Oliver asked as he walked into his office.

"That's a fair point," Rene conceded, biting his lip. "Speaking of William . . . "

"Yeah?" Oliver looked up.

"We received a person of interest list from Agent Watson."

Oliver looked at Rene blankly. "She wants to interrogate my son?"

"He's an alibi, and probably not a very good liar," Rene confirmed.

"Absolutely not!" Oliver denied, shaking his head. "She's not going anywhere near him!"

"I don't think that's up to you," Rene shook his head back.

"I'm gonna use every single thing in my power to keep him as far away from this as possible!" Oliver took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then said, "this kid has been through enough."

"All right," Rene nodded. "Lance told me about what happened at school. Kids are mean."

"He's not worried about bullies," Oliver sighed. "He's worried about _me._ He thinks I'm gonna make him an orphan."

"Damn," Rene whistled lowly.

"I told him, I said, that will not happen," Oliver continued. "I will always come back." He shook his head. "I have never lied to my kid before."

"You know, I'm not exactly father of the year," Rene told him. "But white lies are kind of like an important parental tool. I remember telling Zoe that she came from a cloud. I really hope her mom set her straight on that one."

"So help me with this," Oliver looked at him. "How do I reconcile that he's right? Because every time that I'm in the field, there's a chance I don't come back and that he's alone, and now you're telling me that he's gonna have to lie to an FBI agent so that he doesn't lose his father to prison?"

Rene didn't have anything to say to that. Oliver sighed in annoyance, then took his phone out when it buzzed. The moment he saw the text on screen, he straightened. "We have Anatoli's location."

"All right, you go out the back entrance, I'll lose them," Rene stood up.

"Rene, are you good to get back in the field?" Oliver asked.

"Hells, yeah," he grinned.

"All right," Oliver nodded, and the two of them left.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Team's in position," Dig announced as Oliver walked up.

"You sure this is the place?" Oliver asked.

"Whoa, I am _so_ insulted right now!" Felicity exclaimed.

"Easy," Oliver warned. "It's just that an abandoned shipyard doesn't feel like Anatoli's speed."

"Yeah, well, neither does being a complete jerk. People change. The problem is this is place is massive, so I can't pinpoint the location of the hostage even with satellite."

"And there's a lot of people here," Kara added as she floated down. "But I'll keep looking."

"What're you doing here?" Oliver asked in surprise. "Not that it's not good to see you, but – "

"I'm making sure you get back to your boy," Kara answered with a smirk. "Got a problem with that?"

"None at all," Oliver smiled widely.

"You two really _are_ cute," Laurel remarked from the other end of the comms.

"Figure we'll split up," Dig said, holding out two syringes of the antidote. "I distributed the antidote so whoever gets to Tarkov first can inject him."

The two took their syringes, then Oliver asked, "You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dig nodded. "Let's do this."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt/Dinah Drake_**

"If one of us spots Tarkov, we should have a signal," Curtis said as he and Rene moved through shipping containers.

"Yeah, I was gonna go with something like 'I see him' or maybe even 'hey, over there!'" Rene scoffed, gun raised.

"It's not terribly original, but effective," Curtis nodded. "What about if we spot the Bratva?"

"How about heads up?" Rene suggested.

They moved around a shipping container, and Curtis straightened. "Heads up!"

They ducked around the corner as the Bratva members opened fire. Dig and Dinah jumped down to engage them, Dinah screaming at them as Dig ducked for cover. "You OK?" she asked.

"Look out!" Dig pointed.

Dinah gasped when one of the Bratva members wrapped his arm around her throat, dropping her bo staff to try and get him off her. Dig drew his gun, swallowing when his aim wavered, not able to aim straight.

Blue-white beams hit the Bratva member, and Dinah flung him off her as Kara landed on the ground. "You OK?" she asked Dinah.

"Yeah," Dinah nodded, giving Dig a quick glare. "I'm fine."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver left Curtis and Rene to deal with the remaining Bratva, heading further into the docks. "Right around the corner, Green Arrow," Kara suddenly said.

Oliver brought his bow up to bear as he came around the corner and came face to face with Anatoli, Tarkov limp in a chair next to him. "I asked for twenty million specifically because I knew you had it," Anatoli stated. "You trade this man's life for new police station?"

"Not exactly," Oliver shook his head, firing the arrow he had into Tarkov's shoulder.

Anatoli blinked, then chuckled. "I do not think you understand how this whole rescue thing works."

"No, I think I do," Oliver smirked, nodding at Tarkov.

Anatoli examined Tarkov, watching him start to breathe easier. "Some sort of antidote," he said bitterly. "Very clever."

"Now step away from him, Anatoli," Oliver ordered. "He's not part of this."

"I _made_ him part of this," Anatoli glared.

Wind whipped through the room, and Anatoli grunted in pain, clutching his now broken hand, and Oliver found himself with a gun at his feet. Oliver balked at the idea of Anatoli about to shoot the Markovian, then looked up. "What the hell has happened to you? Not even Gregor would have done that!"

"Yes, he would have," Anatoli growled. "You never saw because you were too naïve. You still are."

"We were friends!"

"Yes, but I see how you treat your friends."

"No, Anatoli, no," Oliver shook his head. "This is on you. You used to be an honorable man!"

"I _am_ an honorable man!" Anatoli snapped. "Did I have bomb planted in your son's school? Did I have him kidnapped, tortured? No, because even though we stand apart, I am still good man." He tilted his head. "I wonder what would happen to William if you ran afoul of someone who's not good?"

A growl echoed in Oliver's ear as Anatoli started to walk away. "He did _not!"_

"He did," Oliver confirmed quietly, raising a hand to draw an arrow. "Anatoli!" he shouted, stopping the man in his tracks. "Don't you move."

"Don't bluff," Anatoli scoffed. "We have been here before. We both know you will not kill me."

Oliver fumed, but lowered his hand. "Why did you leak that picture of me?"

"As Kapiushon?" Anatoli raised an eyebrow. "I did not. I told you – I am honorable man."

Oliver ground his teeth, watching Anatoli walk off. "Oliver?" Kara asked.

"Let him go," Oliver told her with a sigh, walking over to free Tarkov. "Nice catch with the gun."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Thank you for agreeing to meet," Oliver told Watson as he entered her office.

"I can always make time for the subject of my investigation," Watson nodded. "But I should advise you have a lawyer present."

"Why do I need a lawyer?" Oliver frowned as he sat. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"You know the kind of person who says that?" Watson raised an eybrow.

"No."

"The kind that needs a lawyer."

Oliver chuckled at that. "Agent Watson, if you feel the need to investigate me, I am more than happy to open up my entire life to you, with the exception of my son. He's off limits."

"You're aware that telling an FBI agent how to conduct their investigation is obstruction of justice?" Watson asked.

"If I really am the man that you think I am, how far do you think such a man would go to keep his son from being scrutinized by the FBI?" Oliver countered.

Watson leaned forward, about to open her mouth, when there was a knock on her door, and a man entered. "Oh," he paused, seeing Oliver inside. "Ms. Watson?"

"A little busy here," she snapped.

"There's something on the news that you need to see," he told her, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV.

Channel 52 appeared, the newscaster already broadcasting. _"Channel 52 just received exclusive evidence which conclusively establishes that the photograph of Mayor Queen as the Green Arrow was digitally doctored,"_ she said, and Oliver barely refrained from smirking smugly as Watson leaned back, pursing her lips. _"This is the second time that Mayor Queen has faced allegations of being a vigilante and twice he has been exonerated."_

"Lucky you," Watson remarked.

"Not really," Oliver did smirk that time. "Like I said . . . I'm not the man you think I am."

"No, Mr. Queen," Watson shook her head. "I think you are. And if you think this means I'm dropping my investigation, then you're the one who's mistaken."

"You should do whatever it is you have to do," Oliver nodded, standing up and leaving the office.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

" _The evidence received by Channel 52 showing that Mr. Queen's face had been placed on the Green Arrow's body was received earlier today from an unknown source,"_ the news continued as Felicity and Curtis watched.

"Nailed it!" Felicity whooped, turning the news off.

"You know, I don't want to sound arrogant, but we may very well be the smartest human beings on the planet," Curtis grinned.

"Oh, well, it's not arrogant if it is accurate," Felicity smirked.

Curtis chuckled. "True that."

Felicity frowned, looking at him. "And you still find the time to look bummed out. Crazy."

"I mean, our photo analysis algorithm was right, right?" Curtis asked.

"Yes," Felicity nodded.

"The photo of Oliver _was_ doctored, so . . . " he trailed off.

"So, what is the problem?" Felicity asked.

"So who would want to frame Oliver for being the Green Arrow?" Curtis wondered.

"Wow," Felicity winced. "Way to kill the mood."

"Sorry," Curtis sighed.

"No, listen, that is future us' problem," Felicity held up her hands. "I'm not gonna, like, let you take away my buzz right now, OK? Present us is only worried about you quitting your nobody-told-about job."

"When are you gonna let that go?" Curtis groaned.

"When you go into business with me," Felicity grinned widely.

"I'm sorry, go into what with you?" Curtis's eyes bugged. "What?"

"Work with me on this," Felicity straightened. "We work so well together, OK? The photographic analysis algorithm is just one of many in a long list of amazing tech that you and I have collaborated on. Think about all the good we could do, all the cool stuff we could do, all the cool things we could make! Please don't say no!"

"Yes," Curtis nodded after a moment.

"Oh, thank God," Felicity sighed in relief. "Good, because I already filed the paperwork."

"Oh, man, this is so cool!" Curtis gushed. "We'll be like Woz and Jobs, like, back in '76."

"Wait, who's Woz and who's Jobs?" Felicity frowned.

They paused, then both called. "Shotgun Jobs!" at the same time.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dinah was running through exercises with her bo staff when Dig walked up to her. "Hey," he said. "Can we talk for a second?"

Dinah sighed, planting her staff on the ground. "There's nothing to talk about."

"We both know that's not true, Dinah," he shook his head.

"What do we both know?" she asked. "I need you to say it."

"You nearly got killed last night because you couldn't rely on me," Dig admitted. "And you might have gotten killed if Kara hadn't saved you."

"Because you're compromised," Dinah nodded.

"I know," Dig nodded as well. "I know. Things just got worse than I was willing to admit."

"That's OK," Dinah assured him. "But what are you gonna do about it?"

"Tell Oliver," Dig answered with a sigh. "Go from there."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver walked into William's room to see him playing a videogame again, Kara watching him. "Hey," he greeted.

William looked over, pausing the game. "You're home early."

"So I am," Oliver nodded. "Hoping to make that more of a regular thing, if that's OK with you."

"What?" William straightened in surprise.

"I would like to apologize," he told him.

"For what?"

"For making you a promise I wasn't 100% sure I could keep. You were right, and I was wrong."

"Hmm, what was that I heard?" Kara asked teasingly.

"I think he said he was wrong," William answered.

"I think Raisa said you have a hard time admitting when you're wrong," Kara grinned.

"Shut up," Oliver sighed, unable to keep from smiling. "But yes, you have no idea. Buddy, I heard what you said in the limo and here, and I hear you, but I also meant what I said. I am going to do everything in my power forever to make sure that you never end up alone in this world, and I know that you think that that's not up to me, and that's a fair, smart point . . . which is why I think I've found a way so that maybe it can be."

"How?" William frowned as Kara tilted her head.

"I'm working on the details," he promised. "I want you to believe me when I say that I am trying to make it happen, all right?" William nodded, and Oliver nodded back. "One more thing. I promise that I will do my best every single day to be the very best father that I can be, and that I know how to be. That promise is 100%."

William's grin made the statement all worthwhile. "OK," he agreed, then gestured at the TV. "You want to play with me?"

Oliver tilted his head, looking at the game. "What is this?"

"Honestly, I don't know," William laughed. "All you got to do is just button mash and see whoever can win."

"He's beaten me," Kara offered.

"Oh, has he?" Oliver smirked.

"Want to try?" William looked at him.

"Yeah," Oliver grinned, and William handed him another controller.

"Well, I'll leave you two to that," Kara smiled, standing up from her chair. "But I have to go back to my Earth now."

"Already?" William almost whined, turning to her.

"Alex's bridal shower is coming up," Kara nodded. "Sister's duty to help her get ready. You all got your invitations, right?"

"We'll be there," Oliver nodded, standing up to hug her. "See you soon."

"See you," Kara hugged him, then whispered quietly, "Are you sure about this?"

"Never been more sure," Oliver nodded, and Kara nodded back, kissing him.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver stood looking at his suit that night, then turned when he heard footsteps approach. "Thanks for meeting me," he said.

"Yeah," Dig nodded. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about a few things, and . . . " He trailed off when he saw the look on his friend's face. "What is it, Oliver?"

"I'd like you to do something for me," he answered.

Dig raised an eyebrow, looking at Oliver's suit. "If it's suit up as Green Arrow, Felicity and I already talked about it, and we don't think it's enough to take the heat off of you."

"That's not why I'm asking."

Dig blinked, looking at Oliver. "You're serious."

Oliver nodded. "Every time that I'm out there as the Green Arrow, I'm a target. Of the FBI, of the Bratva, of the threats that are out there, and the threats that are undoubtedly coming. And on my own, I can take it. I'm not on my own anymore. I cannot be responsible for my son losing the only parent that he has left."

"Oliver," Dig began.

"Star City needs the Green Arrow," Oliver told him. "It just can't be me anymore . . . so I'd like it to be you."

Dig took a moment to let that sink in, then his face set in determination, and he nodded, shaking Oliver's hand in agreement.

* * *

 **A/N: And there's "Tribute." To those of you who were wondering if Oliver would stay the Green Arrow . . . to be honest, I was thinking he would stay that way. But considering the seasons are still running, I'm going to be sticking pretty close to how the episodes played out. While this is an AU, the only real AU part of it right now is Kariver and the three redeemed villains.**

 **Tomorrow's updates will be "Far From The Tree," and then updates will come slower, as I'll be completely caught up to where I am on Wattpad.**


	14. Supergirl - Far From The Tree - Part One

**I really liked this episode of Supergirl, except for . . . well, one character in particular. Anyway, the majority of this will focus on the bridal party, not Mars, because Team Arrow definitely cannot survive on Mars, but they can survive a wedding shower.**

 **So, let's begin! J'onn tells the girls he's going to Mars, he and Kara leave and find something unexpected on the planet, and Maggie tells Eliza her story.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"The loft looks great," Alex told Kara with a smile before grimacing as she looked at a poster board on the coffee table. "Now, if we could just burn _this,_ then it would be perfect."

"No," Kara laughed as she looked at the bridal board. "Come on, it's adorable!"

"I don't know why I thought throwing a lesbian wedding shower would curb Mom's cheesy antics," Alex rolled her eyes.

"Nope," Kara giggled. "Gay, straight, whatever, Eliza will not be stopped until she digs up every bridal shower game since the beginning of time." She nodded when Alex held up a napkin advertising the shower, making a face. "You know what?" she asked, just to rub it in more. "You're gonna _love_ bridal bingo."

"Kill me now, please," Alex begged, making Kara burst out laughing. "So, are we expecting anyone from Earth-1?"

"Ah, yes, Oliver and William will definitely be here," Kara nodded. "I think all the girls are hoping to make it, and it sounds like Malcolm and Quentin might try as well. All in all, most of the gang might be here."

"That's a lot," Alex blinked. "Wow."

"Well, any distraction from that FBI investigation is welcome," Kara wrinkled her nose.

"How's that going, by the way?" Alex asked in concern.

"I want to throw her into space," Kara answered, looking up. "She had William on her list of people to interview."

" _William?"_ Alex's jaw dropped. "You're kidding!"

"Nope," Kara shook her head. "Oliver and I are not letting that happen."

"Good," Alex nodded. "He does not deserve to be interrogated by an FBI agent."

"Absolutely not," Kara shook her head, then took a deep breath. "OK, enough about my life on Earth-1. This is about you and Maggie. This is supposed to be happy."

"Right," Alex chuckled. "Happy times."

They nodded, then Kara straightened when there was a knock at the door. "Oh, Eliza's early," she remarked, heading for the door.

"OK," Alex blew out a breath.

"Hi!" Kara began cheerfully as she opened the door, only to blink when she saw it wasn't Eliza. "Oh, J'onn! Come on in! Is everything OK?"  
"Yeah, yeah," J'onn nodded, but he seemed distracted as he entered. "Everything's great. I just . . . I just needed to talk to you both." He turned to them. "I have to go away for a few days. I'm gonna need you both to manage the D.E.O. until I get back."

"Where are you going?" Kara asked in concern.

J'onn steeled himself. "Mars."

" _Mars?"_ Alex's jaw dropped.

"M'gann sent me a message," J'onn nodded. "She needs my help."

"Help with what?" Kara frowned.

"Message was short, urgent," J'onn shook his head. "I tried to make contact, but I couldn't reach her, but I can sense that she's in danger."

"No, J'onn," Kara shook her head. "You're the last Green Martian. The Whites have been trying to kill your kind for _centuries!_ Going back would be a suicide mission!"

"Look, M'gann came to our aid when we were in need," J'onn looked up at her. "I must go for M'gann."

"If you're going to Mars, then Kara is going with you," Alex stated.

Kara immediately nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

J'onn shook his head just as quickly. "I won't have you endanger your life just to fight my battles."

"Your battles _are_ my battles, J'onn," Kara fixed him with a steely look.

"I can't take you away from Alex's shower!" he protested.

"Are you kidding?" Alex scoffed. "If I thought that I could survive Mars, then I'd be right there fighting by your side."

"J'onn," Kara walked forward. "If Krypton still existed and I had to go back to where my parents were buried under rubble, I know you wouldn't let me do it alone."

J'onn sighed and nodded in acceptance, making Kara smile.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Shouldn't we just call Winn to fire up the transmat portal?" Kara asked as she and J'onn walked down the street, Kara in her Supergirl suit.

"No, you can't transmat planet to planet without a gate on the other side," J'onn shook his head, stopping in front of a garage. "We'll have to get to Mars the old-fashioned way."

Kara raised an eyebrow when the garage door went up and the lights turned on, revealing a bright blue car with white leather seats. "It's a cool car," she remarked. "So, is this like an elevator to a secret hangar that'll take us – ?"

"No, it isn't," J'onn shook his head, opening the driver's side door.

Kara blinked. "This is your ship?"

"Yup," J'onn nodded.

" . . . we're taking _this_ to Mars?"

"Yes, we are."

"OK," Kara shrugged, opening the door to get in.

"Careful with the leather there, Supergirl," J'onn added when she went to sit.

"Sorry," she held up her hands placatingly, listening to the radio as J'onn got it working. "There's no seatbelt."

"It's from a different era," J'onn reminded her.

"And a different _planet."_

J'onn raised an eyebrow at her. "I come from a race of shapeshifters, Kara. Why shouldn't our technology shapeshift, too?"

Kara thought it over, then nodded in agreement. "Fair enough."

J'onn smirked, blasting rock music from the radio as they cruised out of the garage, and Kara watched with excitement as the car shifted into a spaceship and took off for Mars.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"Eliza, the lasagna is _incredible,"_ Maggie complimented that night as she ate dinner with Alex and Eliza. "Alex and I order in so much, I forgot what real food tastes like."

"Thank you," Eliza smiled. "It is the girls' favorite. I'm just disappointed Kara couldn't be here. I know whatever she is doing with J'onn is important, but I just . . . I do worry about her."

"It'll be interesting when Oliver gets here, and you meet the boyfriend when she's not here," Alex giggled slightly.

"Oh, come on, Oliver faced down Lillian Luthor," Maggie playfully swatted Alex's shoulder. "Surely he can handle your mother."

"Who is also _Kara's_ adoptive mother," Alex reminded her. "What's not scary about that?"

"Well, if what I've heard from you and from Clark is correct, I shouldn't have anything to worry about when I meet Oliver," Eliza smiled. "Now, this weekend is about happy matters of the heart. And I did want to make a bridal board for you, too, Maggie, but Alex said you have no childhood pictures."

The smile froze on Maggie's face. "No," she confirmed.

"If you don't mind my asking, how long has it been since you've talked to your parents?" Eliza asked softly.

"Um," Maggie swallowed. "Since I was 14."

"You know what, Mom?" Alex cleared her throat. "Let's just talk about something else."

"No, no, Alex, it's OK," Maggie shook her head, then took a deep breath. "Um . . . I told a girl at school that I liked her, and my parents found out. I came home that day . . . it was winter, and my dad was there with a suitcase, and he told me to get into the car, and we drove in silence. And I just stared out the window, looking at the icicles on the trees, and I was terrified to say anything. But finally, I said . . . I said 'Papi, what did I do?' And he just looked at me with such contempt and said . . . 'you shamed me.' And then he pulled up to my aunt's house, and left me with my suitcase." She swallowed hard. "That was the last thing that my father said to me."

"The only thing shameful about that story is how your father treated you, Maggie," Eliza told her firmly.

"Yeah," Alex nodded in agreement, hugging Maggie tightly. "Yeah."

Maggie smiled slightly, closing her eyes and letting Alex comfort her.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara followed J'onn through dark caves, J'onn using a flashlight to see. "What now?" she asked.

"I think we're here," he answered, looking at the metal door in front of them. It slid open, and J'onn's eyes widened when he saw the woman waiting on the other side. "M'gann!"

"J'onn!" she beamed, running forward to hug him. "You came! I wasn't sure that you would."

"I'd do anything for you, M'gann," J'onn kissed her cheek. "You know that."

M'gann smiled, then blinked when she saw the blonde alien behind him. "Kara? You didn't have to – "

"You came when we needed you," Kara smiled.

M'gann smiled back, accepting the answer, then turned when she heard growling come from behind them. "Till'all," she warned.

J'onn narrowed his eyes when a group of White Martians approached, then one of them shifted back into human form. "If he's worried about the sight of White Martians, he came to the wrong planet," he spat.

"Meet Till'all, one of our best fighters," M'gann gave him a look. "But his bedside manner could use some work." She nodded as a young woman came forward next. "And N'keyy, a new recruit."

"It's an honor, J'onn J'onzz," she smiled. "M'gann's told us about you, how you inspired her to rise up and – "

"Enough," Till'all spat. "We've already wasted a day trying to bring him here."

"Wasted?" Kara repeated angrily. "We came all this way to fight alongside you!"

"We didn't bring you here to fight!"

"Silence, Till'all," M'gann narrowed her eyes. "That's an order."

"What's going on, M'gann?" J'onn asked, turning to her.

"We recently stormed a White Martian base near the D'ori'i crater," she answered.

"There was a prison camp there, for Green Martians," N'keyy added.

"There were dozens of camps," J'onn frowned.

"Well, this one was still in operation," Till'all shook his head.

"How is that possible?" Kara asked in confusion.

"I'm the only Green Martian left," J'onn agreed.

"No," M'gann shook her head. "There's another one." She beckoned, leading J'onn on. "I brought you here because I didn't think you'd believe me unless you saw this for yourself."

Kara followed the two Martians to a chamber nearby, and Kara frowned when she saw J'onn stop in shock as he saw the hooded Green Martian inside. "J'onn? Who is it?"

"It's my father," he answered in awe. "It's him . . . he's alive!" He turned to M'gann hopefully. "My wife, my daughters?"

M'gann, however, shook her head sadly. "So they kept him and only him alive for hundreds of years?" Kara asked. "Why?"

"M'yrnn J'onzz is the high religious leader of the Green Martians," M'gann answered.

"Not even the worst of the Whites would kill the prime servant of H'ronmeer," N'keyy nodded.

"Instead, they sentenced him to a fate worse than death," J'onn said angrily. "Alone for centuries, thinking he was the last of his kind, of his people!"

"Soon, they'll all be dead," Till'all told him. "We're running out of time."

"What does he mean?" Kara frowned.

"We believe your father knows how to find the Staff of Kolar," M'gann told J'onn.

"You can't be serious!" J'onn protested.

"Staff of what?" Kara looked around, confused.

"Kolar," N'keyy answered.

"It's a myth, it's a parable," J'onn shook his head. "My father used to tell me stories about it. Be a good boy, or H'ronmeer will strike you down. It isn't real!"

"It is," M'gann insisted. "And the White Martians have found out where it's buried."

"The staff of your god H'ronmeer is a psychic weapon," N'keyy told him.

"Which means that if the Whites find it, they can track down every resistance fighter and kill us where we stand," Till'all added. "We'd be helpless."

"We raided their base, hoping to find the staff's location, but they had already moved on," N'keyy told him. "Your father had been left behind. They didn't realize how valuable he'd be to us."

"Valuable?" J'onn echoed. "What are you talking about?"

"We believe he knows where the Whites are planning to dig," M'gann answered.

"Won't he tell you where it is?" Kara asked.

"He has closed his mind to us, completely," M'gann shook her head. "We can't read it."

"He is willing to let us die, and he calls himself a man of God," Till'all scoffed.

"That man of God was tortured for centuries by your people," J'onn snarled.

"Then you understand what is at stake!" Till'all countered. "If we don't find the staff first, our resistance is finished, and then the monsters who slaughtered your people get this planet, once and for all."

"We need you to go to your father, J'onn," M'gann told him. "Convince him to help us, and then we can save Mars, together."

Kara looked over at J'onn, who seemed torn about what to do.

* * *

 **A/N: The majority of the next chapter takes place on Earth with the bridal shower, and Team Arrow comes to party. :)**


	15. Far From The Tree - Part Two

**It's the bridal shower, with welcome guests and a guest that could ruin the entire thing, and we end with Kara speaking with M'yrnn on Mars.**

* * *

 _ **Alex Danvers**_

"You never told me the whole story," Alex told Maggie that night. "About your dad and the car."

"What's the point?" Maggie asked glumly.

"I wanna share everything with you, Maggie," Alex told her. "I mean, the good and the bad. I knew that he was hard on you, but – "

"Before that day, he was the best father," Maggie interrupted. "I know he sounds like a monster, but you just don't know where he came from."

"Well, it sounds like you still really love him," Alex remarked.

Maggie sighed. "I don't know. I am just saying that he didn't have it easy."

"Well, have you ever thought about calling him?"

"Of course I have!"

"And?" Alex prompted, sitting next to her.

Maggie scoffed. "My aunt told me that my mother removed every picture of me from the photo albums. They erased me. I don't need that."

Alex sighed, thinking about what to say. "Look, what your family did to you was incredibly hurtful, but sometimes parents can do really stupid things when they are up against something they don't understand. What if you invited them to the shower?"

"Are you kidding?" Maggie's eyes widened.

"Well, it's the perfect excuse to reach out!"

"Yeah, right," Maggie scoffed. "You kicked me out because I'm gay, but hey, come to my gay shower!"

"It was a long time ago," Alex reminded her. "Maggie, the world has changed. Maybe they have, too."

"I don't think so," Maggie shook her head as they got in bed. "Babe, look, I love you, just . . . please, drop it."

"OK," Alex sighed, pulling the sheets up and lying down.

* * *

 ** _Maggie Sawyer_**

Maggie didn't fall asleep for a long time. She laid awake in bed, drumming her fingers absently, before finally sitting up and quietly slipping out. She walked over to her phone on the table, picking it up and looking at it nervously. Finally, she sat down and dialed a number, looking back to make sure Alex hadn't woken up. When the line connected, she took a deep breath. "Hola, Papi," she greeted. "Soy Margarita. ¿Cómo estás?" She checked back on Alex, then started speaking again. "I'm living in National City now. I'm a cop. I like it, it's good. So, um . . . " She fidgeted slightly. "Anyway, I am calling because I'm getting married. No, it's not a . . . her name is Alex. Anyway, we are having a party. A wedding shower, on Sunday, and, um . . . you probably can't make it, but I thought maybe I would invite you. See, I'd like it if you came, se puede. Anyway, I hope you and Mom are good." She said goodbye, then hung up, staring at her phone for a long moment.

She finally turned back to the bed to see Alex was sitting up and watching her worriedly. "Why did I do that?" she asked in shock.

Alex just gave her a sad smile.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

When Sunday morning came, Winn, James, and Lena had come to assist Alex and Eliza with setting up. "Bridal bingo?" James raised an eyebrow when he saw the game.

"Ooo, trivia," Winn brightened when he saw the cards. "I'll host that!"

"You'd be good at that," Lena chuckled.

"OK, the drinks go there," Alex started to point, only to be caught off guard by a knock on the door. "Huh," she checked her watch. The party wasn't supposed to start for another few hours. "It's open!" she called, curious as to who had arrived early.

She got her answer when the door opened, and her sister's boyfriend poked his head in. "Hey, Alex," he grinned.

"Oliver!" she cheered, setting down the beer she held. "Come in, come in!"

"There's one of the special girls!" Thea grinned as Oliver held open the door, showing that yes, the majority of Team Arrow had indeed come over.

"Hey, guys!" James smiled. "You're early."

"Well, we were hoping to catch Kara, but when we got here, I got a message saying she was, uh . . . " Oliver pulled out his phone, scratching his head in confusion as Felicity, Dinah, and Laurel squeezed in with Malcolm, Dig, Rene, Curtis, and Quentin behind them. "Off world?"

"Oh, yeah," Alex nodded. "She and J'onn went to Mars."

Rene choked on air. "Come again?" Quentin blinked.

"I'm sorry, did you just say _Mars?"_ Curtis's eyes widened.

"Mars," Alex confirmed. "As in J'onn's home planet."

"Wow," was all Rene managed to say.

"That's cool," William grinned.

"Yes, it is," Alex nodded in agreement, looking around. "Thank you all so much for coming."

"Wouldn't miss it," Dinah smiled.

"We're still mostly setting up, so," Alex began, looking around.

"Just tell us what needs to be done," Dig said, rubbing his hands together.

Alex smiled, watching as James and Lena helped them figure out what needed to go where, then tapped Oliver on the shoulder. "Oliver, can I talk with you and William?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded, putting his hand on William's shoulder. "Come on, bud."

Alex led them past the island to where Eliza was pretending to be arranging flowers. "Mom," she said, and Eliza looked up. "This is Kara's boyfriend, Oliver Queen. Oliver, meet my mom, Eliza Danvers."

"Dr. Danvers," Oliver smiled, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Please, just Eliza," she smiled back, shaking his hand. "And who's this?"

"My son, William," Oliver answered.

"Hi," William smiled politely at Eliza.

"It's nice to meet you both," Eliza smiled, looking at Oliver. "Kara mentioned that you're a hero on your Earth?"

"I passed that on, actually," Oliver admitted, looking down at William. "I have more important things in my life now than the hood."

"Kara's awesome," William told Eliza with a smile.

"Yes, she is," Eliza agreed with a chuckle. "Would you tell me how you met?"

William was more than happy to launch into the heroic tale of how Kara had saved everyone on Lian Yu, and Oliver chuckled as he watched them. "Who'd have thought he'd connect instantly with her?"

"Mom's good with just about everyone," Alex said fondly, looking at him. "I'm sorry Kara isn't here, it's just that neither of us wanted J'onn to return to Mars alone . . . and it sounded extremely important."

"Don't worry about it," Oliver immediately shook his head. "It's good to know he didn't go back to Mars alone after what I heard happened to the planet. We can always catch her before we go back to Earth-1."

"Right," Alex nodded in agreement.

"Aw, this is cute!" Felicity's voice came from behind them.

"Danvers, is this you?" Rene asked.

The two turned, and Alex groaned when she saw they had found her bridal board. "I wanted to burn that," she whined, making Oliver laugh.

"Guess that didn't happen," Malcolm smirked.

"Come on," Oliver chuckled, patting Alex's shoulder sympathetically. "What else do you need help with?"

* * *

 ** _Maggie Sawyer_**

Maggie walked up to one of the buses that had pulled up, watching with anticipation as people disembarked. When her father walked off, a bag in hand, she blew out her breath and walked up. "Margarita," he greeted.

"Dad," Maggie nodded, holding out her arms. He awkwardly hugged her, and Maggie cleared her throat. "I wish you would have called and told me you were coming. I would have picked you up at the airport."

"The bus was fine," her father shook her head.

"Is Mom – ?"

"No, your mother isn't coming. She doesn't like to fly."

"Oh, you don't have to explain," Maggie shook her head bitterly. "Are you hungry? We could grab a bite."

"The party of yours is soon, no?" her father asked.

"In a couple of hours, but we have time," Maggie nodded.

"I can wait," her father told her. "I should probably check in at the hotel. I think it's this way."

"OK," Maggie nodded, walking with him along the sidewalk.

"So," he began. "You're a homicide detective?"

"Yeah," Maggie confirmed. "Among other things."

"That cold case you cracked sounded very interesting. The Martial murder."

"You know about that?" Maggie asked, surprised.

"Well, I'm an old man, but I know how to Google," he shrugged. "I follow all your cases." Maggie let that sink in, then her father turned to her. "Tell me something. For eighteen years, they didn't have a single lead. How did you solve that?"

"I went back to the scene of the crime, studied the ordinary details everyone dismissed," Maggie answered. "Like you taught me. You used to say 'the key to most mysteries is in the mundane.'"

"You remember that," he said, sounding surprised.

"I remember everything you taught me," Maggie confirmed.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"Gotta say," Felicity smiled as she joined Winn and Lena at the bridal shower, looking around. "This is quite the party."

"Eliza knows how to throw one," Winn agreed.

"Everybody!" Eliza called, making everyone turn to her. "Everybody, it is trivia time! And Maggie . . . _you_ are in the hot seat."

"Thank God," Alex joked.

"Oh, but doesn't that mean you're up next?" Thea raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

Alex balked, and Laurel snickered. "Good luck," she patted her shoulder.

"Dr. D, I got this," Winn smiled, taking the cards from Eliza as James and Lena sat down to watch. "All right, here we go. What is Alex's favorite color?"

"Blue," Maggie answered at once.

Alex nodded. "What is Alex's favorite animal?" Winn continued.

"Uh, dog."

"Well, it's good to know you've got someone who knows you," Dig smiled at Alex.

"What is Alex's favorite ice cream?" Winn asked.

"Rocky road," Maggie answered.

Alex nodded again, turning to refill her drink when the door to the loft opened. "Oh, Mr. Rodas!" she blinked when Maggie's father entered hesitantly. "Welcome!"

"Hi," he nodded, holding out a glass bottle. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what to bring."

"Oh, no, no, this is perfect," Alex smiled. "Maggie loves Merlot. Can I offer you a drink?"

"Sure, why not," Rodas nodded.

"Great," Alex turned to the beers, pulling one out for him.

"Thank you," he took it from her.

"Yeah, cheers," Alex smiled, gesturing further into the loft. "Come in."

Rodas followed her in before pointing to the bridal board. "Is this you here?"

"Oh," Alex blushed. "Yes. I don't know why I thought overalls were cute in middle school."

"Oh," Rodas raised an eyebrow. "So you are – "

"The woman I am going to marry," Maggie said as she walked up. "Um, Papa, meet Agent Alex Danvers."

"Federal agent?" Rodas asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes, sir," she nodded.

"Margarita, there's no picture of you up here," Rodas pointed to the board.

"No," Maggie confirmed, biting her lip.

Rodas considered, then handed her his drink. "Here." Confused, Maggie took it, then watched as he pulled out his wallet and took out a small photograph of Maggie as a child. He kissed the picture, then placed it on the board.

Alex beamed in delight, and Maggie smiled happily. "Thank you, Papa."

"Alex!" William called, and Alex turned to where he was grinning widely, Thea and Laurel snickering. "You're up!"

"Oh," Alex blanched.

"OK, why don't we just open the mountain of presents instead?" Eliza suggested, standing up.

"OK," Alex nodded hastily, taking her hands.

"Hi, I'm Eliza," she added to Rodas as she nearly dragged Alex and Maggie to the couch.

"She's my mom," Alex explained.

"I'm the mom," Eliza agreed.

"Wow," Quentin blinked as he took in all the presents the ladies from Earth-1 were gathering together. "That is . . . a lot of presents."

"No kidding," Dig whistled, impressed.

"Surprise us," Maggie looked up at the group.

"Oh, us?" Curtis raised an eyebrow, pointing between them.

"Hmm," Dinah stepped forward, examining the gifts before picking one. "This one for . . . Maggie," she held it out.

"OK, thank you," Maggie smiled at the fellow police officer, taking the box. She opened the envelope on top, then laughed. "Oh, I think I know who this is from." Alex smiled sheepishly, and Maggie looked at her. "Alex, before I open this, I want you to know that you are the greatest gift I could receive."

Alex beamed. "I love you," she smiled.

Maggie smiled back and kissed her, making William playfully wrinkle his nose at the show of affection, even though Oliver chuckled, and ruffled his hair.

The sound of the door banging made them all look up, though, and when Alex and Maggie separated, they saw Rodas was no longer in the loft. "Oh, no," Felicity's eyes widened.

"Maggie!" Alex called as Maggie ran towards the door, going after her father.

* * *

 ** _Maggie Sawyer_**

Maggie ran out, storming after her father. "You're just gonna walk out?" she shouted. "After all this time, that's it?"

"I can't do this," Rodas shook his head.

"Can't do what?" Maggie demanded. "Tell me, please. What exactly have I done that is so offensive to you?"

"You spit in my face," he answered.

"I spit in your face?" she repeated, shocked. "For loving somebody? I can't – I don't understand. I don't get it."

"I came to this country nine years old," he told her. "At eleven, I was working in a factory."

"Yes, I know," Maggie nodded.

"Do you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah!"

"Do you know I was the only Mexicano working alongside a bunch of white boys?" he asked. "Do you know that they would wait for me at night by the road and laugh and call me wetback and kick me till my ribs were broken?"

"Dad, what does this have to do – " Maggie began.

"With you being a lesbian?" Rodas asked, cutting her off. "I worked to win their respect. Those same boys, when they grew up, elected me their sheriff. I endured for my children so that you would never have to face that kind of hatred. So that you would belong."

"I am accepted for who I am," Maggie told him. "The world is different now."

Rodas laughed bitterly. "They're building a wall to keep us out, because in their minds, we are nothing but rapists and murderers. The only thing they hate more than a Mexicano is a homosexual. The world is not different, my dear." Maggie's face fell, and he fumed. "Look, you can live any way you please, but don't ask me to witness it."

Rodas stormed off, leaving Maggie in the middle of the sidewalk, watching him leave, a torn expression on her face. When the door to enter the building opened and Dinah, Quentin, and Laurel stepped out, Maggie swallowed hard and turned to them. "Come here," Dinah held out her arms.

Maggie immediately sniffed and moved to hug her, Quentin and Laurel both glaring after her father.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara picked her way through the remains of M'yrnn's home, approaching the Martian praying in the center. After J'onn had tried to convince his father that he was real, Till'all had attempted to force his way to M'yrnn and take the location of the spear by force. They had taken M'yrnn back to his old home, but M'yrnn had snapped, accusing J'onn not only of being a White Martian trying to steal J'onn's form, but for taking him to his deceased family's home.

It had torn J'onn dearly, and after everything he had done for Kara, the least she could do was try and help him. "I'm sorry to interrupt your prayers," she told M'yrnn hesitantly, "but I think it's important that you hear me right now."

"What is left to say?" M'yrnn asked, not opening his eyes.

"Look at me," Kara crouched in front of him. "I'm not a White Martian. You can sense that, can't you? You know it's true?"

M'yrnn opened his eyes, and with a frown, he reached towards her head. Kara leaned forward slightly so his fingertips touched her temple. "You're Kryptonian," he identified.

"Yes," she nodded. "That's right. I come from a dead planet. I come from a dead people, just like you."

"Krypton is gone," M'yrnn told her. "But _my_ world remains, and every day for two hundred years, I have been forced to remember the horror of what happened to my people."

"You're right," Kara nodded.

"There is no future for Mars."

"Not for Green Martians, no," Kara shook her head. "But this is bigger than you now. This is about your faith."

"What do you know of my God?" M'yrnn scowled.

"I heard you earlier. H'ronmeer tests us. This is a test. You have a chance to save your planet. Not for your people, maybe, but for another people who want to do better than those that came before. I don't blame you for not wanting to believe that J'onn is actually your son. I don't blame you for not wanting to open your mind, because if it weren't true – "

"It would be like losing him all over again," M'yrnn finished.

"Yes," Kara nodded, watching J'onn hesitantly approach. "Whether or not you believe he is your son, he wants to save Mars. So please, M'yrnn . . . open your mind just a little bit. Just give him a chance."

M'yrnn considered, then turned as J'onn approached. "May I?" his son asked, holding up his hand. After a moment, M'yrnn closed his eyes and bowed his head, acquiescing. J'onn smiled slightly, putting his hand on his father's hand. Kara watched with wide eyes as light poured into the room, lighting up the house as if it had never been destroyed. "This is my favorite memory," J'onn said, looking around. "This is our home, Father. I haven't thought about this in a long time. Can you see it?"

"I see it," M'yrrn confirmed. "I remember it." Kara gasped in delight when down the stairs came two Green Martian children, both chattering excitedly. "K'hym!" M'yrrn identified them. "T'ania!"

"My daughters," J'onn confirmed. "Your granddaughters."

"They're beautiful, J'onn," Kara whispered, smiling widely.

"They were excited about something," J'onn continued. "They were terrible at keeping secrets."

"What did they know?" Kara asked.

"That I had left worship early to surprise J'onn," M'yrnn answered.

The door in the memory opened, and the two girls jumped up and down as M'yrrn entered. "K'hym, T'ania," he smiled. "Look at you two." He crouched down, looking at them. You're getting much bigger, K'hym. T'ania, give me that smile. Does he know?" Both girls shook their heads, giggling. "Daddy doesn't know, does he?" J'onn appeared from the other direction, and he stopped and laughed when he saw his father. M'yrnn laughed as well as he stood. "Did they tell you?"

"You came!" J'onn smiled widely, approaching.

"Yes, I did," M'yrnn nodded, giving him a hug. "Happy birthday, my son."

"Thank you, Father," J'onn smiled. "Thank you! Thank you for coming." He then turned to his daughters, pointing at them. "You both kept a secret! You kept a secret!"

His daughters jumped up and down in excitement, laughing happily, and the memory slowly faded away, leaving the remains of the house. Kara watched in hope as J'onn turned to look at his father. M'yrnn looked at him with wide eyes, then exclaimed, "J'onn! My son!"

"Father," J'onn gasped, embracing him tightly, and Kara smiled widely as she watched. "I missed you!"

"I'm so sorry for not believing you," M'yrnn cried, closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry, J'onn!"

"I'm the one that should be sorry," J'onn told him.

"How did you survive?" M'yrnn asked, pulling back. "Why did you come back here?"

"The staff, Father," J'onn told him. "It's urgent. There's still time."

"No, there isn't," Till'all's voice said, and Kara and J'onn both stood protectively in front of M'yrnn as the resistance forces entered. "But we need the staff, now."

"I'm sorry, J'onn," M'gann said apologetically.

"J'onn," M'yrnn held up a hand when J'onn went to speak. "It's OK." He walked forward to address the Whites. "The staff isn't far," he told them. "They're taking it to the hive below the L'oren crater."

"Let's go," J'onn smiled, holding out his hand.

M'yrnn took it, and Kara grinned widely, running after the Martians as they left.

* * *

 **A/N: Maggie's father was a douche. I didn't like him.**

 **Last part of "Far From The Tree" should be up tonight!**


	16. Far From The Tree - Part Three

**Supergirl and the resistance fight the White Martians, Maggie stands up to her father, and Kara and J'onn return home.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara knew there were times she called Oliver an idiot, but that was mostly because of his suicidal tendencies. She loved him for it anyway. Similarly, he would call her an idiot, too, sometimes, mostly because of the humor she pulled in way too serious situations.

Like the one she was literally cruising into right now, for instance.

She laughed as she drove J'onn's car into the White Martian hive, the radio belting out "Baby One More Time." "Hi!" she called to the White Martians surrounding the spear, all of them turning to her as she turned the engine off. "Hi! Uh, I'm sorry to bother you during . . . whatever it is you are doing, but I think I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and . . . can any of you give me directions back to Earth?" The Martians growled at her as she exited the car. "You know, I thought I took that tunnel, but my GPS is all screwed up down here, and it keeps trying to get me to make this suicidal left turn." She smirked when all the Whites turned to her. "You might wanna check your rearview."

The song finished with "hit me baby one more time" just as the resistance fighters crashed in, led by J'onn and M'gann as they transformed into their Green Martian forms. The Martians charged into battle, and Kara flew into one of them, using her heat vision on another.

M'gann kicked one White Martian away as Kara was grabbed by another, and she flailed slightly before kicking it in the stomach. Her attention was then drawn by a pained shout, and she turned as another White smashed J'onn to the ground. "J'onn!" she shouted, about to run and help.

Her way was blocked by two White Martians duking it out, and she looked between the two of them before taking a chance and punching one away from the other.

She knew she made the right choice when the other shifted into a familiar face. "How did you know which one was me?" Till'all asked in surprise.

"I didn't," she admitted. Till'all opened his mouth to say something, only to grimace in pain and grab his head. "Till'all?" she asked in concern.

All around her, resistance fighters were sinking to the ground, clutching their heads in pain. "Supergirl!" J'onn shouted. "It's the staff!"

Kara turned towards the staff and narrowed her eyes, leaping into the air, raising her fist to punch one of the Martians. Her fist was caught, and her eyes widened, startled. The Martian threw her to the ground, and as Kara winced, trying to recover, another hefted her into the air. She yelped and flailed about, trying to get free.

As she did, J'onn's car shifted back into spaceship form. Lasers fired at the White Martians, and they released Kara, allowing her to grab the spear. She didn't hesitate to fire it at the White Martians as they charged her, disintegrating every one of them.

The resistance fighters slowly got back to their feet, all of them panting. "Good job, Supergirl," J'onn smiled, walking up to her.

Kara hugged him, and she gasped when he winced. "Sorry!"

"It's OK," he assured her.

Kara nodded, then walked up to Till'all, holding the spear out to him. He took it in shock. "Thank you."

"This belongs to the resistance now," she told him, nodding.

Till'all smiled for the first time she had seen him, and as the resistance members cheered, he hurried to M'gann, handing the spear to her. She lifted it high with a wide smile, J'onn and Kara smiling back as they watched the Martians celebrate.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"You found it!" M'yrnn smiled brightly when they returned to the base with the spear.

"Yes, and we stopped them," M'gann smiled back, then turned to J'onn, holding the spear out to him. "J'onn?"

J'onn took it and smiled at his father. "H'ronmeer's staff, Father," he held it out to him.

M'yrnn took it, looking it over in awe. "It's one thing to dedicate your life to God. It's another to see God's grace in person."

"So what happens to it now?" N'keyy asked.

"I suppose that's up to them," Till'all shrugged.

"Up to us?" Kara repeated.

"I saw what the staff did back there," he explained. "It's too powerful of a weapon for either side to have. Take it to Earth. Bury it. If we're gonna win this planet, we have to be better than our enemies."

M'gann smiled proudly as J'onn offered his hand to Till'all. "I underestimated you," he said.

"And I you," Till'all nodded, shaking his hand.

J'onn smiled at N'keyy as the two left, then looked at M'gann as she approached. "I don't suppose that I can persuade you to come back to Earth?"

M'gann shook her head. "My fight is here. The war is far from over. We've come closer to victory than ever before, thanks for you."

J'onn smiled, giving her a hug. "I'll see you soon."

M'gann hugged him back, kissing his cheek. "I hope that's true."

She hugged Kara as well before leaving to join the resistance fighters. "So," Kara walked over to J'onn. "What about your father?"

J'onn looked over to where M'yrnn was speaking with the fighters, then smiled.

* * *

 ** _Maggie Sawyer_**

Maggie sat at the bus stop, fidgeting slightly, then stood when she heard her father's voice. "What are you doing here?"

Maggie turned to face him and thrust the picture back at him. "Came to give you that back," she answered coldly. Rodas took it with a frown as Maggie continued to speak, her voice cracking. "That little girl, so desperate to win her father's love? You left her on the side of the road. And all these years, I've been that little girl, yearning for my papa to come back for me, praying that one day, he would see me and love me for who I am. Thank you for coming to the shower. You gave me an amazing gift. You showed me that I am not that scared, little girl in that picture anymore. I'm an adult woman, and I am happy in my own skin. And I am so fortunate that I am surrounded by people who value and cherish me. I finally understand I don't need you to see me or to get me or to even like me. I don't need _anything_ from you. I'm already good." She took a deep breath, then nodded. "Goodbye, Papa."

She walked past Rodas, taking deep breaths, walking to where she saw Dinah and Laurel standing, both of them giving her proud smiles. Maggie smiled back, and the two metahumans put Maggie between them as they walked back into the city.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"You're all the family I need," Maggie told Alex that night, kissing her.

"I'm happy for you," Alex smiled. "And I am glad that you're getting closure. It's good for you. And . . . who knows? It might make you feel differently about things."

Maggie frowned, then tilted her head. "Do you mean kids?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded.

Maggie sighed. "Sweetie, my not wanting kids has nothing to do with my parents or my childhood. My feelings for you are deeper than anything I've ever known. I can picture our life together, and it's full and rich and amazing . . . but there aren't kids in that picture. You're all that I need, Alex. I guess you gotta let me know if you feel the same way."

"I do," Alex nodded, taking her hands. "Of course I do."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/J'onn J'onzz_**

J'onn's ship transformed back into a car, and Kara and J'onn stepped out before lifting the top of the convertible off. M'yrnn lifted his head and smiled at J'onn. "Thank you, son," he said. J'onn and Kara smiled back, helping M'yrnn out and leading him down the street. "So this is Earth," he mused.

"This isn't even the nice part," Kara grinned.

"I don't know," M'yrnn tilted his head, looking around. "I rather like it."

Kara and J'onn smiled and watched him examine a weed, then J'onn turned to Kara. "You know, I'm not sure I could have done this without you."

"Yes, you could have," Kara nodded as she hugged him tightly. "You're one of the strongest men, the strongest Martian, I've ever known, and I was glad I could be there to help you anyway."

J'onn smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You got it, boss," Kara smirked, then smiled at M'yrnn, who still appeared captivated by the weed. "Welcome to Earth, Mr. J'onzz," she told him brightly. "You raised a good one."

The Martians watched her take off into the sky, then M'yrnn pointed after her. "Can everyone on this planet do that?"

"No," J'onn chuckled fondly. "She's special."

"So," M'yrnn followed J'onn as he walked down the street. "What do we do now?"

"We go home, Father," J'onn answered. "We go home."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara was flying back towards her loft when she stopped in midair, catching a familiar sound. She closed her eyes, tilting her head, listening closer.

A moment later, her eyes popped open, and she grinned widely before taking off in another direction.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Well, it's good to know Maggie's father didn't ruin their day," Quentin remarked as Team Arrow plus William sat inside the ice cream parlor, most of them chowing down on the dessert.

"Probably could have done better without him actually showing up," Rene pointed out.

"Rene!" Thea scowled.

"Good riddance if he hadn't," Malcolm shrugged.

"Well, Maggie has Alex," Dinah took a bite of her ice cream. "I think she's good to go for the future."

"Agreed," Felicity nodded.

Dig nodded as well, then paused when he caught sight of something past the others. "Oliver."

Oliver looked behind him, then grinned when he saw Kara walk through the door, her eyes immediately locking on him. Her face split in a grin, and she ran their way. Oliver grinned back, catching her as she ran into his arms. "I hoped I hadn't missed you guys," she grinned, hugging him tightly.

"You didn't," Oliver smiled. "Welcome home, angel."

Kara smiled, tucking her head under his chin. "It's good to be home."

* * *

 **A/N: I felt really bad for and really proud of Maggie at the same time during this episode. I'm so glad Floriana Lima's talents as an actress were not wasted before she left the show.**

 **Next up tomorrow, back to Arrow with "Next of Kin!"**


	17. Arrow - Next of Kin - Part One

**To those of you who celebrate it, happy Christmas Eve, and to the rest of you, happy holidays! I'll upload this episode day by day, so you'll get a chapter tonight, one tomorrow, and one the next day. The reason is because due to the holidays, I plan on spending my time with my family, not writing fanfiction. If I get a chance to write, great! But family will still come first.**

 **Team Arrow's got a new leader, Oliver faces a challenge with his son, and Team Arrow faces a problem of their own which does not include their new person of interest.**

* * *

 _ **Dinah Drake**_

"Eyes on Faust?"

Dinah ran across the rooftop, catching sight of the man trying to run away the next building over. "Shoot her!" he yelled.

Dinah ducked behind cover as two of his mercenaries fired machine guns at her. "I got him," she answered. "He's in the structure next door."

"Everyone, get into position."

"Copy that," Curtis relayed.

"On it, Hoss," Rene added.

"You got it," Dinah stood up. She looked up when a figure in green dove off the roof above her, and she screamed, her Canary Cry catapulting him onto the next building over.

* * *

 _ **Rene Ramirez**_

Rene and Curtis hurried down the stairwell towards the parking garage, stopping when they heard the sound of a fight on the other side. They exchanged glances before planting themselves in front of the door, blocking the way out.

Sure enough, Faust opened the door a moment later, looking for an escape. His eyes bugged open wide when he saw them there, then he was knocked out by a fist in the head. "Ooo, down for the count," Rene chuckled. "No more bombs for you, bitch."

"Go, Green Arrow," Curtis grinned, then blinked. "Or should I call you the Green Arrow? It feels kind of weird."

"It's weird," Dig confirmed. "But at some point, we all have to get used to it."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Seemed to go well out there tonight," Felicity complimented as Dig hung up his bow.

"Yeah, we make a good team," Dig nodded.

"And yet you still have a worried face."

"It's because sooner or later, someone's going to find out that the Green Arrow isn't shooting any arrows."

"Yeah, well, Curtis and I are working on that," Felicity assured him.

"Good," Dig smiled. "Thank you."

"OK," Felicity nodded. "I am going to go home. I'm going to sleep, and maybe I'll even get four hours."

Felicity walked past Dinah, who chuckled at the statement. Dig watched Felicity go, then sighed at Dinah. "Maybe in another week, I'll get used to that judgmental stare you keep giving me."

"This isn't judgment," Dinah shook her head. "It's amusement."

"Hmm," Dig raised an eyebrow.

Dinah made a face of intense concentration, then mocked his voice deeply. "'Sooner or later, someone's gonna find out the Green Arrow isn't shooting any arrows.'"

"Dinah, I'm not an archer," Dig sighed.

"No, it's not about the arrows, John," Dinah shook her head. "It's about the injury. I thought you were gonna talk to Oliver!"

"I was, until he asked me to put this on," Dig told her truthfully.

"Which he never would have done if he knew the truth!"

"Dinah, what do you want from me?" Dig sighed. "The man's under the FBI microscope. He's worried about his son."

"Imagine how worried he'd be if he knew you were out there compromised."

"Did you see me tonight?" Dig raised an eyebrow. "Did I look compromised? Dinah, I have this handled. The tremor's gone."

"Well, I guess I worried for nothing, then," Dinah remarked, walking past Dig.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver looked up from the stove when he heard William's door open. "Good morning!" he called.

"Morning," William replied, barely looking up from the book his nose was buried in.

"To make sure my memory isn't going, you like your eggs scrambled, right?"

"Yes, I do," William confirmed.

"Good," Oliver slid a plate his way. "That's what I made you."

"This is for real for real, isn't it?" William asked, looking at him.

"Me being around more?" Oliver asked.

"And not the other guy?" William nodded.

"It is for real for real," Oliver smirked. "If that's cool with you."

"Yeah," William smiled.

"Good," Oliver smiled back before nodding at his textbook. "What you got there?"

"Math," William sighed. "Big test later this week."

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "I know what it's like, switching schools, but don't worry about it. You'll get there."

"Not by the end of this week," William shook his head. "I'll be lucky to get a C."

"Nothing wrong with getting a C every once in a while," Oliver told him. "I used to get Ds. I would've been psyched for a C."

"Dad," William sighed.

"I am kidding," Oliver told him. "Just, I think that if you relax a little bit more, it'll come easier."

William nodded, then picked at his eggs a bit more before asking, "I got to study. Can I be excused?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded.

"Thanks," William gave a strained smile, grabbing his book and heading back for his room.

"Yup," Oliver watched him go, a concerned look on his face.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Hey," Quentin greeted Oliver when he came out of the elevator.

"Hey," Oliver responded with a sigh.

"Ooo, that doesn't sound good," Thea remarked. "You all right?"

"Ye – no," Oliver changed his mind mid-word. "William's stressing over a test. I tried to be supportive, and I feel like I just – "

"You're making it worse?" Thea guessed.

"Yeah," Oliver sighed.

"I feel your pain," Quentin told him sympathetically. "That was Dinah's department. I don't know what I'd have done parenting alone."

Oliver gave him a look, and Thea sighed. "Hey, you'll figure it out, Ollie. Kara's coming over soon, right?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded, checking his phone. "She's got an article due tomorrow afternoon, she'll be here in the evening."

"Maybe she can help you with William," Thea suggested. "You make a good team."

"Yeah, we do," Oliver smiled fondly as they headed for his office.

That smile faded rather quickly when he entered and saw who was sitting in front of his desk. "Agent Watson," he greeted stiffly. "I do not believe you are on my schedule."

"I think you'll come to find I really don't give a damn," she informed him.

"OK," Oliver raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to speak.

"Your office issued a statement on last night's apprehension of Alex Faust," she told him.

"We did," Oliver confirmed. "He was apprehended by the Green Arrow."

"And I'm sure you have an airtight alibi for last night."

Oliver smirked. "Rockets game with my kid. We were on the Jumbotron."

"And only an idiot of the highest order would be fooled by someone else running around in that hood," Watson stated, making Thea narrow her eyes and Quentin roll his. "Whoever your understudy is, he might want to brush up on his archery. Or did you think we didn't notice that no arrows were used in taking down Faust?"

"Are you done?" Oliver asked.

"I'm not," she retorted.

"OK," he cleared his throat.

"Whether I can prove you're the Green Arrow, there's no question you support him as mayor. You're known to protect and communicate with him and his team."

"Is that a crime?" Thea scowled.

"No," Watson admitted. "But you're sending a message to the police of this city that they can't do their job without vigilante help." She stood up and glared at Oliver. "I'm glad I don't work for you."

The three watched her leave, then Quentin cleared her throat as he took her seat. "She's not wrong."

"Uh, about the 'glad you won't work for me' part or the 'nobody's buying John under the hood' part?" Oliver asked.

"The undercutting the cops part," Quentin corrected. "I know they're not enough for this city, but they never will be if we keep saying it."

"That's a Catch-22, Quentin," Oliver told him. "Can you try to find a solution?"

"Yeah, I'll try," he nodded.

"Thank you," Oliver said gratefully. "It'd be nice to have something before John and the team have to get back in the field."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah walked into the Kord Industries crime scene, sighing when she saw the bodies. "Officer Lopez, I hope you don't own any Kord Industries stock," she remarked.

"My pension fund does, though it seems a little crass to worry about that now," Lopez responded with a smile.

"What have we got?" Dinah asked, looking around.

"The vics all died of broken vertebrae or blunt force trauma," Lopez answered.

"Forensics?"

"Not even a fingerprint," she shook her head. "And speaking of, the unsub used one of the vic's palm prints to gain access into Kord's internal server."

"To get what?" Dinah asked.

"The company doesn't know yet."

Dinah nodded thoughtfully. "I'm gonna need a chat with the CEO. In the meantime, I'm gonna take a look around here." Lopez nodded and left, and Dinah sighed. "You get all that?"

"Yeah," Felicity confirmed. "And a bag of chips. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast this morning. I'm feeling a little peckish."

"Ten will get you twenty that Kord's CEO won't tell you anything," Curtis remarked.

"Can you access the server?" Felicity asked.

"Already here," Dinah walked up to it. "Now what?"

"OK, you're looking for a master port," Curtis told her. "It's female with a yellow border."

"Got it," Dinah peered at it.

"OK, insert our toy and let us do our thang."

"You keep saying 'thing' wrong," Felicity told him. Dinah rolled her eyes and stuck the drive into the port. "All right, we're in. Curtis has got it from here."

"You going somewhere?" Dinah frowned.

"Yeah, I got startup work to do."

"Yeah, we're still trying to decide on our name," Curtis added.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver looked up from his computer when Quentin and Thea walked in. "Hey," Quentin told him. "So, we think we have a solution to our cops' Catch-22."

"That was fast," Oliver turned to them.

"I was chatting with Councilwoman Pollard," Quentin continued. "She's in the early stages of drafting some anti-vigilante legislation."

"No," Oliver said at once.

"Ollie, if you were to join it, sponsor it," Thea sighed.

"Still no."

"You could tailor the bill to however you want it, all right?" Quentin told him. "You could take the teeth out of it so it can't bite the team too hard."

"OK, first, Pollard is not a pushover, so we know this isn't true," Oliver told them. "Second, I am not going to put John in the hood and then actively support legislation that further brands him a criminal. Find another way, please."

Thea sighed, then nodded. "OK."

"Thank you," Oliver smiled, and the two of them left. He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the arm rest before finally pulling out his cell phone. He scrolled through the contacts, smiling slightly. If there was one advantage to not being the Green Arrow anymore, he had more time to do this.

He called one of the first numbers on his speed dial, listening to the phone ring. A moment later, a surprised voice picked up. "Hey!"

"Hey, angel," Oliver smiled wider this time.

"This is a surprise," Kara remarked.

"Well," Oliver chuckled. "Who knew that when I stopped balancing being vigilante with everything else that I would have time to check in with you more often?"

"That's sweet," Kara laughed. "Thanks, it's nice to know that. Speaking of, how is William now that you're done pulling double duty?"

"It's two steps forward, one step backwards sort of thing," Oliver admitted. "Thea helps. She has more of a knack for this sort of thing."

"Most badass aunt ever," Kara giggled.

"Is she ever," Oliver agreed.

"Well, I am currently halfway through with this exclusive and I go on break in about five minutes, so I am ahead of schedule," Kara announced. "Tell me anything."

"Anything?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, Oliver. You sound like something's up."

"Well," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "I . . . sort of need your help."

"Oh?"

"William has a math test later this week that he's really stressing out over, and, um . . . every time I open my mouth, I am making it worse."

Kara giggled. "So the man who took down the devil incarnate is bested by arithmetic?"

"It wasn't my strongest subject in school," Oliver defended himself.

"No?" she teased. "What was?"

"Charm."

"Yeah, no doubt. OK, let me guess . . . you told him something along the lines of 'just relax, I would've been psyched to get a C, all I got was Fs?'"

"Ds," Oliver corrected, impressed. "How did you know that?"

"Because I know _you,"_ Kara answered with a fond laugh. "And I know that if you cared about school, you would've been good at it."

"Thank you," Oliver told her sincerely. "So . . . any advice?"

"Well," Kara dragged out, and Oliver could imagine her reclining in her seat, twirling a pen of some sort or adjusting her glasses. "Here's what I learned after I came here and had to go through school. I didn't need to learn how to relax. I needed to figure out how to do the work."

"So what do I do?"

"Ask him what he needs, and then put him in the driver's seat," Kara suggested. "He'll show you how to help him. And if he's still having some difficulties when I get there, maybe I can give him a hand."

"You make things so simple," Oliver couldn't help but smile. "You're amazing."

"Aw," Kara cooed. "Thank you. All right, I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

"OK," Oliver chuckled. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Kord Industries, huh?"

Curtis yelped and spun around in his chair. "Stop _doing_ that!" he complained as Malcolm and Laurel walked into the Arrowcave. "Don't you have someone better to annoy?"

"Everyone thinks we're dead," Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "No, we don't."

"Oh," Curtis mumbled. "Right."

"Anything worth stealing?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah," Curtis spun around. "No wonder Kord doesn't like to share their secrets. They invent a lot of really nasty stuff, including this new military grade nerve gas ZX."

"Does that have anything to do with the killer?"

"Yeah, she downloaded the transport schedule for said nerve gas. Now, do you find that alarming, or is it just me?"

"Definitely," Malcolm scowled. "When is it moving?"

"One hour," Curtis answered.

"Then you better call the team."

Curtis opened his mouth to argue, but Malcolm raised an eyebrow, and he cleared his throat and went to do just that. "Now, why do I think you just like scaring people for the fun of it?" Laurel raised an eyebrow at Malcolm as they walked away.

"You get used to it when you're an assassin," Malcolm answered, making her roll her eyes.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

The truck transporting the gas was cruising down the highway when they came upon Dig in the middle of it. The truck squealed to a halt as Dig walked forward. "It's not safe on the road!" he called.

"That's what he's for," the driver pointed to his passenger.

Dig just smirked. "My team's more equipped," he stated as Curtis, Rene, and Dinah came to his side.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

A few minutes later, the truck was continuing down the highway with Dig in the passenger's seat. He raised an eyebrow as he listened to the singer on the radio, then remarked, "You have horrible taste in music." He frowned when the truck started decelerating, then asked, "Why are we slowing down?"

"I don't know," the driver shook his head.

"Stay here," Dig ordered as the truck stopped, and he climbed out of the truck. "Overwatch? Any bogies on thermal?"

"Just you guys," Felicity told him. "And I'm guessing you're not bogies. What's going on, guys? Why aren't you moving?"

"I'm trying to find that out right now," Dig answered, frowning when he found something on the front of the truck.

He picked it up in his hand, looking down at it, letting Felicity figure it out. "Perfect," she told him. "Ignition blocker."

Dig paused, hearing a click behind him, then turned, only to get shot at by a woman with short, dark hair.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

The back doors of the truck opened, and Rene grinned behind his mask when he saw the dark-haired woman standing there. "Surprise, bitch!"

They jumped out, Rene aiming his guns at her. "Careful," Curtis warned. "Bullets and bioweapons don't mix."

"Your friend's right," the woman nodded, and to their surprise, holstered her gun.

Before the others could react, she flung two spheres of some kind into the air, both of them releasing bright flashes of light, making the three vigilantes flinch and turn away. When they looked back, all three were immediately attacked by soldiers of some kind.

When Rene came to, it was to see a van drive one direction, the large truck going the other way. Rene scrambled to his feet and ran up to Dig, just as he got up as well. "Leader's in the cab, Hoss," he said. "Go after her, or the gas? Or both?" He frowned when Dig didn't respond. "They're getting away, Hoss. Make a decision!"

Dig still didn't respond. "Screw this," Rene snarled, then took off after the large truck.

He heard more footsteps pounding after him, signaling Curtis and Dinah were behind him, but none of them made it in time. The truck drove right into the building in front of it, and everything went up in a massive fireball.

Rene skidded to a halt, panting as Curtis and Dinah caught up to him. "Couldn't get to it," he told them. "Couldn't stop her."

"It wasn't your fault," Curtis assured him as Dinah turned to look at Dig, who swallowed hard as he stared at the place the explosion had gone off.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"What the hell happened out there?" Felicity asked in concern as Team Arrow came through the elevator.

"Ask him," Rene glared at Dig. "Dude just froze."

No one else offered an explanation, and Felicity looked at Dig in concern. "Casualties?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "Everyone got out. A dozen people were sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation, and two are in critical condition."

Dig closed his eyes, sighing. "What the hell, Hoss?" Rene snapped. "There were two targets and two of us! What was so freaking complicated?"

"I don't know," Dig admitted. "That's never happened to me in the field before. Not in the army, and not with this team."

"Fog of war," Dinah guessed. "Things don't always go perfect out there, so we close ranks and we move on."

Rene grumbled under his breath but didn't say anything else. "Thanks," Dig told Dinah gratefully. "It won't happen again."

"OK, good, 'cause it looks like you guys got another shot at these guys," Felicity said, walking back to her computer. "Facial recog came back with a match. Onyx Adams: leader of a CIA black ops squad working undercover in Syria. They disappeared in 2015 with one hundred million in Syrian government gold."

"And what have they been doing since?" Dinah frowned.

"My guess is preparing for the ZX gas heist."

"And finding the tech they need to do it," Rene nodded. "Why weren't they blinded by the flashbangs like we were?"

"Also, if these guys got away with one hundred million in gold, why would they risk it by trying to steal nerve gas?" Curtis wondered.

"Fine," Dig said. "See if you can pick up any chatter on the dark web, encrypted message boards, whatever. I'll check with Lyla, see if any intel has changed." He went to go before stopping. "Also, I'm sorry about tonight. That wasn't me."

"Hey, when I said move on, I meant you, too," Dinah gave him a knowing look.

Dig nodded and continued to leave, leaving the rest of the team with Felicity.

* * *

 **A/N: Rene had some of the best one-liners in this episode, I swear. He's pretty fun.**


	18. Next of Kin - Part Two

**Well, I promised an update on Christmas, and here you go. :) Oliver deals with the new legislation, Team Arrow has issues, and it's Supergirl to the rescue! . . . well, Kara Danvers, at least, since she's not in her suit.**

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

" _Fortunately, the two victims in critical condition are expected to recover. Multiple witnesses spotted Green Arrow and his team of vigilantes at the scene."_

Oliver switched the news off and turned to the group sitting with him at the table. "Becky, can you get the fire chief's latest report, please, and could . . . would you mind putting in an order for some coffee? One of the big boxes of coffee, please. Thank you."

Oliver, Thea, and Quentin watched the council members leave, then Quentin cleared his throat. "So, I guess being the Green Arrow involves something of a learning curve."

"We don't know the circumstances surrounding last night," Oliver told him.

"Yeah, but we know how it's gonna play out," Thea pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Oliver frowned.

Quentin pulled out his phone when it buzzed, and he barked in laughter. "Wow. Speak of the devil. Got to admire her sense of timing."

"Who?" Oliver asked.

"Pollard," Quentin answered. "She's seizing the moment. She's using last night's disaster as a pretext to introduce her anti-vigilante legislation to the council."

"Does she have the votes?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know."

"Can you make sure she doesn't?"

Quentin and Thea exchanged glances before nodding, standing up to go do just that.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig waited for Dinah finished twirling her bo staff before he cleared his throat. "Hey. Can we talk for a second?" Dinah didn't say anything, but he took that as his cue to keep speaking. "I just wanted to say thank you for having my back with the team." She nodded in response, and Dig kept going. "Now, truth be told, I was a bit surprised, considering you – "

"Well, don't be surprised," she told him. "And don't think I said what I said for you. I said it because this team needs a leader. Without a chain of command, we're easy pickings out there."

"OK," Dig nodded, following her back through the lair. "I guess that's why you decided not to tell anyone about my injury, right?"

"It is," Dinah confirmed. "But honestly, as worried as I am about your hand, after last night, I'm a little more worried about your head."

"I know," Dig sighed. "Hey, Dinah, I know. Look, every time I've had to give orders in the army, on this team, there was always someone there backing my plays. I'm not used to making the hard calls alone. No one is more disappointed in me than me."

"Well, next time, get it right," Dinah told him. "Our lives depend on it."

There was a beeping from the computers, then Felicity whooped. "She shoots, she scores!"

"What do we have?" Dig asked, he and Dinah running up to join her, Curtis and Rene coming from the other direction.

"OK, these are our new friends back in 2015," Felicity gestured to her screen. "But last night, you said there were only five."

"You think when that leader went rogue, not everyone went with her," Rene guessed.

"Woof, Wild Dog for the win," Felicity nodded. "Three of her original members defected back to the CIA for a little while, at least."

"What do you mean, for a little while?" Dig frowned.

"OK, 'cause this guy and this guy," Felicity pulled up photos, "were both killed in separate poison gas attacks last year, one in Mosul, one in Tripoli. The video footage is . . . it's really gruesome."

"Well, poison gas can't be a coincidence," Dinah sighed.

"No," Felicity agreed. "I mean, ISIS is linked to both of them, but I'm pretty sure this is how Onyx likes to solve her problems."

"So she staged two terrorist attacks just to settle a grudge?" Curtis frowned.

"No, not just a grudge," Dig shook his head. "These are the only two that can pin her to the stolen gold."

"Bingo," Felicity nodded.

"All right, so she's wiping out defectors."

"Got one left," Felicity pulled up another photo. "Rob Reynolds, whereabouts unknown."

"Yeah, but you got to figure Star City or somewhere close by," Rene pointed out.

"Well, I'm guessing we should worry what this gas could do to a populated area," Dinah said.

"Oh, yeah," Felicity nodded, typing a command and pointing to another monitor. "Look."

The five team members walked over to look, all of their eyes wide as they took in the multiple bodies being covered in white sheets.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver knocked on William's door, seeing him absently twirling a pencil. "Hey, buddy," he said.

"Hi," William smiled.

"How's it going?"

He sighed. "Fine."

"You still worried about the test?"

"Yeah."

"Anything that I can do to help?" Oliver asked, walking further in.

"Uh," William scratched his head. "Do you know quadratic equations?"

"Wow," Oliver blinked. "Um . . . those sound vaguely familiar, but then again, I wasn't the most enthusiastic math student, so . . . "

William sighed. "What would help is if I can talk to anyone who can help me right now."

Oliver nodded, considering. "I'll leave you to it."

"Thanks, Dad," William smiled as Oliver left.

The doorbell rang the moment Oliver left his room. Frowning, Oliver headed for the door and opened it, blinking when he saw Rene on the other side. The other man spoke first. "Got a minute, Hoss?"

"Sure," Oliver nodded, letting him step inside. "This about Pollard's bill?"  
"No," Rene shook his head. "Uh, sorry, I've been out of the office. No, this is about John."

"What about him?" Oliver asked in concern, folding his arms.

"It's not working out," Rene said bluntly.

"You talking about last night?"

"I'm talking about something – !" Rene started raising his voice, and Oliver pointed towards William's room, raising an eyebrow. Rene nodded and took a deep breath, lowering his voice back down. "I'm talking about something a hell of a lot worse than what happened last night. That poison gas could kill _thousands."_

"John can handle it," Oliver said confidently.

"That's why I'm here, Hoss!" Rene hissed. "He can't! He's in over his head! We're lucky nobody died last night, but luck runs out. We need you to come back."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver headed towards the Arrowcave, thinking back and forth in his head before pulling out his phone and dialing. Once again, his girlfriend answered quickly. "Hey!" she greeted cheerfully. "So, good news! I got my article finished early, so as soon as I turn it in and check in with J'onn, I can head over."

"That's great," Oliver grinned. "Really great. It would really help to have you here."

"Is everything OK?" Kara asked.

"Well, I asked William what he needs, and he needs a tutor," Oliver told her.

"Aw," Kara sounded like she was grinning. "Well, lucky for you and for him, you are speaking to the Kryptonian who was doing calculus at age four."

Oliver balked, stopping in the middle of the street. "I'm sorry, at _four?!"_

"Yeah, I found it hilarious they called it Advanced Placement in high school when I came to Earth," Kara giggled. "Give me about an hour or two and I'll be over there to help William."

"Once again, you keep proving me right," Oliver said fondly. "You are an angel."

Kara's laughter came over the phone. "Love you, too, Oliver."

Felicity heard footsteps behind her and started talking immediately. "I'm still working on a twenty with Reynolds, it's gonna take a while. These black op guys are really hard to find."

It wasn't Dig who spoke. "Hey."

Felicity jumped, surprised, when she saw Oliver standing behind her. "Hey," she sputtered. "Wow. I'm just surprised to see you here, and I'm also surprised that you remembered the access code."

"It's been, like, a week," Oliver frowned.

"Yeah," Felicity winced. "It was a joke. I'm guessing you're here for . . . "

Oliver looked past her to Dig, where he was fiddling with the arrows, then nodded. "Yeah," he nodded.

"OK," Felicity nodded, going back to her work.

Oliver nodded, walking past her towards Dig. "This is weird," he remarked.

"Being back down here?" Dig guessed.

Oliver chuckled. "How many times have you come down here to find me brooding?"

"I'm not brooding, Oliver," Dig gave him a look. "I'm thinking."

"Yeah?" Oliver smirked slightly, pulling up a chair to sit.

Dig sighed. "OK, maybe I'm brooding a little bit.

"Well, if you haven't figured it out already, that expression is as much a part of the uniform as the green hood," Oliver informed him.

"Every time you were down here brooding, it was because you made some kind of a mistake," Dig recalled. "I think you made another one, man."

"No," Oliver shook his head instantly. "Not even close."

"Who came to you? Rene?"

"I was about to come and ask Felicity a favor, but I called Kara and worked something out with her instead," Oliver said. "Came down here anyway, and then, of course, I saw that very familiar expression. It makes me wonder if maybe I asked too much of you."

"What do you mean?" Dig frowned.

"I gave up being the Green Arrow for William, but you have J.J., you have Lyla," Oliver told him. "It doesn't exactly seem fair."

"That's not the issue at all, Oliver," Dig assured him. "I made my peace with this whole life a long time ago."

"So what's the problem?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know how you did it," Dig confessed, making Oliver blink. "You never hesitated to make the call. You were always so sure."  
"I'm not," Oliver admitted. "I was never sure, not one time. I'm very flattered that it looked that way on the outside, but on the inside, it was . . . it was instinct. It was instinct, and it was fear."

"Yeah, but you worked past it," Dig told him.

"Well, you'll work past it, too," Oliver told him confidently. "Now, I'm not gonna sit here and say that you won't make mistakes, that you won't lose people along the way. You know, most . . . most will be strangers, but some . . . well, some won't be. Because, John, you're one of the main reasons that the Green Arrow even exists."

"What are you talking about?" Dig did a double take.

"The Restons," Oliver answered.

"The bank robbers?"

"The bank robbers, yeah. You were the first person who convinced me to look past just the names on my father's list. You helped me discover that the hood, that persona, he wasn't a hero. You helped me find one. All of this, the Green Arrow, the idea of it . . . it exists because you had faith in me. Now you got to have the same kind of faith in yourself. Because if you do, you can be a better leader. You can be a better hero than I ever was."

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

William was bent anxiously over his textbook when he heard a familiar whooshing sound from the living room. He ran out of his bedroom, eyes wide as Kara stepped out of the breach that was floating just past the island. "Kara!" he grinned.

"Hey, William!" she smiled, holding out her arms for a hug. "How're you doing?"

"Been better," he answered, giving her a quick hug.

"Ah, yes," Kara nodded, putting her duffel on the ground. "Your dad told me you've got a math test coming up?"

"Yeah," William confirmed.

"Well," Kara fiddled with her glasses. "If only you knew an alien who was learning calculus at age four."

William's jaw dropped. "No way."

"Yes way," Kara nodded, grinning.

"You're kidding!"

"I'm not!" Kara assured him, giggling. "Come on, show me what you're working on."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"OK," Kara flipped to a new page in William's textbook about thirty minutes later, pointing to a problem with a pencil. "And after you divide by x . . . "

"Uh," William frowned. "Solve for x?"

"Yes," Kara nodded. "But first?"

"Is it . . . factor the binomials?"

"Yeah, right," Kara nodded with a smile. "That's exactly right."

"But why can't I just solve for x?"

"Oh, you will," Kara assured him. "Eventually, probably in high school, but first, you have to master the binomials."

"Oh, I'm gonna bomb this!" William groaned in frustration.

"Hey," Kara put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it sucks, because you're new and probably a little behind, but you know being frustrated means? You can see how useful math could be, which means, unfortunately, you're really good at it."

William sighed and took the pencil he offered her. "Dad said school doesn't matter in the real world."

Kara snorted. "Well, your dad didn't grow up in the real world. I didn't, either, not for thirteen years. I grew up on an entirely different planet. To a Kryptonian, this is just simple addition and subtraction. But when I came to Earth, school was how I adjusted to my new life. School helped me become who I am now."

"I used to love school," William sighed.

"You will again," Kara assured him. "I promise."

William smiled at her, then they heard a knock on the door. "Hey," Oliver smiled as he walked in over to Kara. "How's it going in here?"

"Good," William answered.

"Yeah," Kara smiled at Oliver as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I'd say we're making progress."

"Good," Oliver smiled back, kissing her.

"Kara?" William asked, making her look at him. "Could you tutor me some more before the test?"

"Sure," Kara nodded. "Absolutely. Of course," she raised an eyebrow at Oliver teasingly. "If it's cool with your dad, it's cool with me."

"If it's cool with you, it's totally cool with me," Oliver chuckled, making Kara smile. "Have either of you eaten anything recently?"

"Not since an entire bag of Chinese takeout," Kara shook her head.

"Well, we can't have that," Oliver snorted. "How about Monte Cristos?"

Kara squealed, eyes lighting up. "Yes! Yes, please!"

"What's a Monte Cristo?" William frowned.

"What?" Kara squawked, looking at him. "You've never had – ?" She looked up at Oliver. "He's never had?"

"Apparently not," Oliver laughed.

"OK, Monte Cristos are the best nighttime snack you can ever have," Kara told William, looking up at Oliver. "And please use waffles."

Oliver smirked. "Well, that is how we do it in the not real world."

Kara blushed, and William snickered. "Busted."

Kara gasped and playfully swatted at him, which William ducked. "I'll call J'onn quickly and tell him I'll need nights off to help," she told him, standing up and reaching for her phone. "Sound good?"

"Any time you're over here, it's good," Oliver smiled.

"Great," Kara smiled before giving William a thumbs up. "You're awesome."

"Thank you!" he beamed. Kara beamed back and went off, dialing on her phone, and William grinned at Oliver. "She's still really cool."

"Yeah, she is," Oliver agreed with a matching grin. He had the best girlfriend ever.

* * *

 **A/N: At first, I figured it would still be Felicity helping William, and then "Midvale" dropped the fun fact about Kryptonians, and I thought, bingo!**


	19. Next of Kin - Part Three

**Hey, guys! I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and happy holidays!**

 **Also, there have been some guest reviewers requesting that Earth-2 Laurel should be Oliver's lawyer in an upcoming episode. Believe me, that would be _awesome_ to stick to Watson, but the problem with that is that Watson is already annoyed Oliver's doing what he can to try and stop her. Laurel suddenly being alive would complicate things a _ton,_ especially after what happens in this chapter.**

 **Speaking of this chapter . . . Team Arrow vs Onyx, and we find out what the rest of the redeemed villains have been doing behind the scenes.**

* * *

 _ **Rene Ramirez**_

"Traffic cams picked up Reynolds heading north on Hillcrest," Curtis told the team. "The only things out there are souvenirs and the Haselby Grand."

"A hotel's a great place for an ex-spook to stash a go-bag and try to slip out with the tourist crowd," Rene remarked.

"Makes you wonder if his old crew tipped him off, or he's just the luckiest target in the world," Felicity snorted.

"Either way, there are hundreds of people in that hotel, so if they disperse the gas – "

"They won't," Dig cut her off. "Let's move out."

Curtis tilted his head, thinking. "Did he forget to say 'suit up,' or was 'let's move,' like, his version of 'suit up?' Because, personally, I like 'let's suit up,' 'cause then it just lets you know that you – "

"Go suit up, Curtis," Dinah and Rene said at the same time.

"Yeah, I have to go suit up," he hurried off to do just that.

As Rene went to do the same, Dinah ran to catch up to him. "Hey," she stopped him. "Hey, can you handle this?"

Rene sighed. "I asked Oliver to come back."

"Well, the fact that he didn't should tell you something, right?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe," Rene sighed. "Look, all I know for sure . . . if John doesn't straighten himself out, it's gonna be another rough night."

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"What do we know, Overwatch?" Dig asked.

"Lots," Felicity answered. "Thermal reads a potential 166 casualties inside, and Onyx's team cut the CCTV."

"So we're going in blind," Rene grumbled as he drove towards the hotel.

"Literally, if we get hit with those flashbangs of hers again," Curtis added.

"Your dorky-ass glasses better work," Rene threatened.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Curtis tossed two of his spheres into the air, both of them lighting up. "Got visuals, thanks to Mr. Terrific's T-spheres," Felicity said. "Go, now!"

Dinah launched over the railing, Dig, Rene, and Curtis doing the same. "We need locations on Reynolds and the gas!" Dig ordered.

"I have him," Felicity said. "Upper lobby, but I got no way of detecting the gas."

"Canary, Terrific, see if you can locate the gas," Dig ordered. "Dog, you're with me on evac after we clear Reynolds."

"Oh, I really hope he's not making decisions based on animal code names," Felicity sighed.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah and Curtis ran on, stopping when they saw two of the flashbangs roll in front of them. "Incoming!" she yelled, turning around.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Rene grimaced when the light hit. "All right, Hoss, let's check these out!"

Dig nodded, he and Rene sliding Curtis's glasses on. "Guys, you got two hostiles in the lobby," Felicity warned.

Across the lobby, Dinah and Curtis were able to take down their operatives, thanks to the glasses they had. Rene shot down two approaching Dig, leaving Dig to take on Onyx when she launched at him. He kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the ground. "Guess your old tricks don't work," he told her.

"I don't need tricks," Onyx smirked, holding up a device of some kind. "Just collateral."

The red light on it turned green, and a hissing sound made Dig look over the railing. He was just in time to watch billowing gas billow out on the floor below. "Oh," he grimaced.

"Onyx just released the gas," Curtis said as Onyx grinned and ran off. "What should we do?"

"The gas is spreading," Dinah warned. "Do you copy? Arrow? Arrow, do you copy?!"

Dig took a deep breath, then backed up. "Handle the gas," he ordered. "We've got Reynolds. Move!"

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"The gas is coming from the trash can!" Curtis pointed as he and Dinah ran on.

"Everybody, get behind me, now!" Dinah shouted, gesturing. "Get behind me, now!"

Curtis helped get people behind her, and Dinah screamed at the trash can with the gas, bouncing it up the stairs and away from civilians.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

Rene ran down the stairs when he saw Reynolds running, then fired at the operatives trying to stop him. One operative crashed into him, knocking him down. Rene grabbed his wrist, stopping him from firing, then twisted, making him release the gun. "I'm going after Reynolds!" Dig shouted to Rene as he ran past.

Rene watched him go, then smirked down at the op he held down. "Night night!" he said, punching him out.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"Overwatch, we need a way to neutralize the nerve gas!" Curtis called.

"You could burn it," Felicity suggested. "But I don't suggest it, since you're still inside the building."

"We won't be for long, I hope," Curtis sighed, turning to Dinah, who was still trying to keep the gas away.

She panted, taking a breather. "The breaches are too small to evacuate all these people."

"Which is why we're gonna make them bigger," Curtis nodded.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig ran out just in time to see Onyx raise a gun on Reynolds. He ran up to her and knocked her aim off, pulling her away from Reynolds. They exchanged punches, one of Dig's going through the window and smashing the glass. Another kick from him towards her head shattered the windshield.

A moment later, both crashed in through the roof of the car, making Reynolds flinch. Dig finally pinned Onyx to the steering wheel. He watched her struggle for a few minutes before punching her across the face, knocking her out. He panted slightly, then looked behind him at Reynolds. "You all right?"

Reynolds nodded, and Dig nodded back before tossing him out of the car. He followed, walking back towards the hotel. "Who the hell are you?" Reynolds called out.

Dig paused, then looked back as Rene ran out. "I'm the Green Arrow," he answered.

"I got one of Onyx's flashbangs," Curtis ran up to Dinah. "It should be enough to ignite the gas. OK," he turned to the civilians. "Everyone, when I count to three, that wall is going bye-bye, so I need you all to haul ass!"

"There is nerve gas followed by a huge explosion," Dinah reminded him. "I don't think they need the motivation."

"Good point," Curtis admitted, then held up a hand, counting down. "One, two, three!"

He threw the flashbang towards the gas, he and Dinah covering their heads when the gas ignited.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Rene started when he heard the explosion, looking up at Dig. Dig waited worriedly, then heard Dinah's voice. "Gas dispersed. All civilians accounted for."

Dig smiled. "Good work."

"The other four are down," Rene told him.

"Onyx is in the limo," Dig added.

"What about this guy?" Rene looked at Reynolds.

"He helped steal millions in foreign gold and turned a blind eye when his comrades were being killed off in fake terrorist attacks," Dig reminded him. "That's good work back there."

"Just following your lead, Hoss," Rene nodded.

Dig smiled and nodded back.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"Can we do this after every win?" Rene asked as Felicity poured champagne.

"Oh, a new tradition for a new era," Felicity mused. "I like that."

"To go with our new Team Arrow victory dance," Curtis nodded.

"I didn't know we had an old one," Dinah tilted her head.

"We don't, never will," Dig snorted. "Things won't be changing around here that much."

Rene cleared his throat, walking up. "Look, there's something you should know – "

"You went to Oliver," Dig raised an eyebrow.

Rene looked at Dinah accusingly. "You told him."

"She didn't have to," Dig shook his head. "I know you, Rene. I know all of you. It's a leader's job to."

Dinah smiled and raised her glass to that before taking a drink. "Gift time!" Curtis suddenly announced, putting his glass down.

"Oh, yes!" Felicity nodded. "So, Curtis and I have been working on a little something in our spare time. Very little spare time, may I add?"

"We call it the Green Monster," Curtis said, returning with a large crossbow. "Or something cooler than that. Like, pretty much whatever you want to call it. The important part is it shoots arrows instead of crossbow bolts."

"260-pound draw weight," Felicity continued as Dig picked up the crossbow, examining it. "The arrows exit the gate at 400 fps. That's feet per second. Integrated recoil energy dissipation system."

"Adjustable mount scope, quick detach quivers, pistol grip, finger guards, non-slip rubber insert," Curtis went on.

"You two want a moment alone?" Rene raised an eyebrow as Dig checked the scope.

"You want to take it for a spin?" Felicity asked.

Dig smirked.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Four tennis balls shot out of the cannon, and Dig shot the crossbow, piercing a tennis ball each time he did. "Damn, Hoss," Rene whistled, impressed.

"Did you guys put stabilizers on that crossbow?" Dinah asked.

"Nope," Curtis shook his head. "That aim there is pure John Diggle."

"Not a bad idea, though, for the next upgrade," Felicity said thoughtfully.

Dig set the crossbow down and went to the arrows, checking to see how far they stuck in the wall. "Nice going," Dinah complimented as she walked up. "Steady."

"See?" Dig smiled. "Told you. The tremor's gone."

"Well, I'm convinced," Dinah nodded. "You were wrong about one thing, though."

"What's that?" he frowned.

She smirked as she pulled one of the arrows out, tennis ball included, and held it out to him. "You can make the hard calls on your own just fine."

Dig smiled, taking the arrow.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Thank you," Oliver handed a file to an assistant, watching her go.

"So," Quentin began as he walked in. "Your friends did good last night."

"I had a feeling John would get it together," Oliver nodded. "How did you manage?"

"Well, too many councilmen owe Pollard too many favors," Quentin said grimly. "It's gonna pass, Oliver."

"Well, I'll veto it," he shrugged.

Quentin scoffed. "You've got enough PR problems as it is, don't you think? Besides, they've got enough votes for an override."

"There has to be something that we can do," Oliver insisted.

Quentin smirked. "Matter of fact . . . "

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Let the record show there are no nays on the anti-vigilante measure," the woman at the head of the committee said as Oliver entered, Quentin behind him. "Those in favor?"

"Point of order," Oliver called.

The woman blinked, then sighed. "Does it address the matter at hand, Mr. Mayor?"

"It does, madame parliamentarian," Quentin confirmed.

She sighed and nodded, and Oliver nodded at Quentin, stepping forward to the podium. "Thank you," he said. "And good morning. As you know, I have been accused of a great many things recently, including but not limited to supporting vigilantes at the expense of our men and women in uniform. This was never my intention. In the wake of the attacks on the SCPD, putting this police force back on its feet is my number one priority as mayor. We need the women and men of the SCPD on our streets protecting us, but they can't do that if they are busy hunting vigilantes. That is why I oppose this bill, and that is why I am invoking Chapter 9 of the city charter."

Rene and Thea walked over to stand with Quentin as the parliamentarian frowned. "And you are aware that will convert Councilwoman Pollard's bill to a citywide referendum?"

"I certainly am," Oliver nodded as Thea bit her lip to hide a smirk. "Because last night, a group of vigilantes saved hundreds of lives. So, if we are going to decide on diverting police resources towards stopping them, we are not going to do that until the people of Star City have spoken."

The parliamentarian nodded and smacked the gavel, putting the motion forward. "What the hell was that?" Rene whispered.

"Stay of execution," Quentin answered just as quietly.

Oliver and Thea exchanged smiles, and the four left the room as cameras flashed.

* * *

 ** _Samandra Watson_**

" _The mayor's procedural maneuver took both the council and the public by surprise,"_ Channel 52 reported as Watson watched, frowning as she examined one of two photographs in her hand. _"How the public will decide on the issue of vigilantism is anyone's guess. According to multiple reports, the city council was set to pass strict measures against the Green Arrow and his team. This anti-vigilante legislation was introduced – "_

"Who are you protecting?" Watson wondered as she walked over to her board, first pinning a picture of Dig on Oliver's right.

On the left, she pinned a picture of the mayor's girlfriend, one Kara Danvers.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel walked into Malcolm's penthouse. "I got your message," she said, holding up her phone. "What is it?"

"This," Malcolm answered, tapping a key on the laptop he was using.

Laurel bent down, looking over his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes, watching Watson pin something to a board. "You bugged Watson's office?"

"You'd think the FBI would have better security," was all Malcolm responded with.

Laurel rolled her eyes, then inhaled sharply when Watson pinned something else up. "Is that – ?"

"Exactly who you think it is," Malcolm nodded grimly.

"Ohoho, no," Laurel shook her head angrily when she saw Kara's picture by Oliver's. "No, no, no. No _way."_

"Agreed," Malcolm nodded, standing up and grabbing his coat as he pulled out a flash drive from the laptop. "Come on. We gotta tell Oliver."

Laurel nodded, running after him as they left the penthouse. As they went, Malcolm dialed on his phone, holding the door open for Laurel. "Yeah, I know you said not to contact you unless it was an emergency, but this really isn't a social call. I'm assuming you've seen the news about Oliver? Got a new problem with that now, thought it was something you might wanna know . . . "

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara turned off the television, turning to Oliver as he took off his suit jacket. "That's bold," she told him.

"It's what I could do with what I had," Oliver shrugged. "Tell that to Quentin. He and Thea turned up every stone to find a way to get around that bill."

"Let's hope the public votes against it," Kara held up her hand. "Fingers crossed."

Oliver nodded, then turned when the door to the apartment opened. "Hey, buddy," he greeted when William entered.

"Hey, Dad," William grinned. "Hey, Kara."

"Oh, that's a smile," Kara perked up. "That's a really big smile."

"I got an A on my test," he nodded, grinning wider.

"Yay!" Kara cheered, clapping excitedly.

"Awesome, buddy!" Oliver grinned proudly, giving William a hug when he walked over.

"That is amazing," Kara hugged him next. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thank you for helping me," he told her.

"Oh, any time," Kara patted his shoulder. "I'm happy for you."

William beamed, then went to his room to work on homework. "You," Oliver took her hand and pulled her to him, "are a literal superhero."

"I'm pretty sure that's my night job," Kara grinned teasingly, melting into him as he kissed her.

"And your day job to him," Oliver told her. "Especially to him."

"Well," Kara shrugged, putting her arms around his neck. "I'm not gonna be the girlfriend who absolutely despises her boyfriend's kid. That's not me."

"That would terrify me if it was," Oliver admitted, making her giggle. "But I am so happy that you are getting along with him like you are. I am 100% sure his life is better with you in it, just like mine."

"Aw," Kara smiled, kissing him.

Oliver chuckled, kissing her back, only pulling away when the doorbell rang at the same time as someone knocked. "OK," he frowned, pulling away from Kara to open the door.

"That doesn't sound good," Kara agreed, folding her arms.

Oliver opened the door, blinking when he saw both Malcolm and Laurel there. "We need to talk," Malcolm said at once.

"That really doesn't sound good," Kara whispered.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig walked down the steps into a dark alley that night, approaching a man in a suit waiting for him. He handed over a wad of cash, which the man examined before handing him a metal case. Dig took it, set it down on a crate nearby, and opened it. He took out the syringe inside, then held out his right arm. His entire arm shook as he stuck the needle in and injected the liquid inside.

The tremor stopped at once, and Dig made a fist, closing his eyes as he did.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Not good," Kara shook her head a few moments later as she and Oliver watched the footage Malcolm had recovered.

"Really not good," Oliver agreed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "When was this taken?"

"This afternoon, right after the news hit about the citywide referendum," Malcolm answered.

"I'm still comprehending the fact you bugged an FBI agent's office."

"Hey, I made sure she won't find them," Malcolm held up his hands. "And with the lengths she's going in this investigation? I don't like it."

"This shows why," Laurel nodded at the computer. "Oliver, what are we going to do?"

"Kara doesn't exist on this Earth," Malcolm agreed. "Hell, she's not even _from_ Earth."

"I know," Oliver nodded, sighing. "I'll talk to Felicity, and Cisco, see if they can come up with something. Worst case scenario is that we have to make sure that we make sure Agent Watson never sees Kara again under any circumstances."

"That'll be difficult," Laurel warned.

"The only other option is Kara isn't seen in Star City, at all," Oliver said heavily. "I doubt I'm the only one on the team that doesn't want that."

" _I_ don't want that," Kara whispered, curling up on her chair.

"She's not gonna get you, almas," Malcolm promised, picking up his phone when it buzzed. "We'll figure something out."

"Absolutely," Oliver put his arm around Kara, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. "The only thing you should have to worry about while you're here is us, not FBI agents."

Kara nodded, biting her lip and laying her head on Oliver's shoulder as Malcolm checked his phone. He looked at Laurel and nodded, and she hid a smirk as she reached over and patted Kara's hand, Malcolm taking her other one and squeezing it.

There was no way any FBI agent was getting their hands on the Kryptonian.

* * *

 **A/N: I love writing Malcolm and Laurel like this. They're so much fun. It'll be great when Slade makes it back. :)**

 **Supergirl's "The Faithful" is the next episode to be up!**


	20. Supergirl - The Faithful - Part One

**This was one of my favorite Supergirl episodes this season, along with "Triggers" and "Far From The Tree" . . . actually, Supergirl Season 3 is just pretty good overall.**

 **Kara and friends discover something disturbing, girls night happens, and Kara arrives at an accident that may not be so accidental.**

* * *

 _ **Samantha Arias**_

"Come on, Ruby!" Sam whooped as her daughter led the way down the soccer field, the ball rolling in front of her. "Get' em, baby girl! Yeah!" She stopped when her phone rang, and sighing, she held it to her ear as she looked at her laptop. "Hello? Well, if JQB has a problem with the conditions of the deal, they can call me directly, any time."

The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers, then Ruby shouted, "Mom, did you see that!"

Sam looked up and quickly hid her phone behind her back, seeing Ruby had scored a goal, and she'd been on the phone and didn't notice. "Yes!" she nodded quickly. "Amazing! Good job, baby!" Ruby grinned and ran on, and Sam quickly pulled her phone back out. "Yes, Paul. No, I'm still here. Yes, you can send the final docs to my assistant this afternoon."

"Which one's yours?" a woman in a bright blue jacket and her hair in a ponytail asked, standing by Sam's chair.

"Oh, uh, she's the forward, right there," Sam pointed. "I swear to God, I don't know how she's so coordinated. I struggle to think and chew at the same time. How about you? Which one's yours?"

"Ruby is special," the woman said instead.

"Yeah, she is," Sam agreed before blinking. "Wait, I don't think I told you her name."

"She is chosen," the woman smiled. "So are you."

Sam frowned as she pulled out a pamphlet and handed it to her. "I'm sorry, who did you say you were?"

"A follower," she answered. "Please, bring Ruby to our community so that she may learn her path."

"Thanks," Sam smiled tensely. The woman didn't seem to notice as she smiled and walked off. Sam just made a face at the pamphlet she now held.

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"I just have to sign some papers, and then we can get back to work," Lena told Kara, walking into her office.

"Yeah, no problem," Kara nodded, smirking in a teasing way. "But my boss really doesn't like when I'm late, so . . . "

Lena made a face at her, and both shared a giggle. "Sorry!" Sam's voice suddenly said, and they turned to see her rush in.

"Hey," Lena smiled.

"Ruby had a soccer game, and then the kids wanted to get ice cream to celebrate," Sam continued.

"No worries," Lena assured her. "You remember Kara?"

"Yes, of course I do," Sam smiled, looking through her bag. "Nice to see you."

"Good to see you," Kara nodded.

"OK, so the JQB merger should be finalized any minute," Sam told Lena, pulling out a file and handing it to her. "Unless Paul tries to pull something, which I will not allow."

"Ugh," Lena grimaced. "Paul's, like, the one thing I do not miss." She looked up at Kara and said two words. "Skeezeball lawyer."

"Ah," Kara giggled. "Gotcha."

"So," Lena asked as she bent down to sign the form in the file. "How do you plan on celebrating your first big merger as my CFO?"

Sam gave her an incredulous look, and Kara perked up. "We're having a girls night at my place tonight," she offered. "Do you wanna come?"

"No," Sam held up her hands. "I couldn't intrude – "

"You do realize Lena's not gonna take no for an answer, right?" Kara smirked.

"Accurate," Lena pointed at Kara.

All three laughed, and Sam sighed, smiling and nodding. "All right, I'll go. Um, what should I bring?"

"Booze," Lena answered, and Kara's attention was caught by a pamphlet on the desk. "Just no tequila, OK? Please."

"Where did you get this?" Kara asked, reaching out to pick up the pamphlet.

"Oh, some weirdo at Ruby's soccer game," Sam rolled her eyes as she set up her laptop. "She came up to me, tried to enlist me in some self-help meeting."

"I hate those things," Lena wrinkled her nose, walking over to look at it as Kara opened it up. "Like a waste of trees, and of our time."

"You mind if I keep this?" Kara asked in an odd voice, making Lena pause as she walked out the door.

"Yeah, go ahead," Sam nodded.

"See you later!" Lena waved as Kara walked out, still staring at the front of the pamphlet. "Hey, what's up?" Lena asked in concern. "It's just a pamphlet."

"Yeah," Kara looked up at her. "With a Kryptonian symbol on it."

Lena did a double take. "With _what?!"_

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"What do you say we go fight some crime?" James asked Winn as they walked out of James's office at the end of the night.

"Nothing to fight, dude," Winn shook his head. "I've been on the police dispatch all day, and crickets."

"Mmm," James frowned, then suggested, "Bowling?"

Winn laughed, and the two of them clapped hands. "Oh, yes, sir, yes, sir!"

They passed by Kara's desk, and both were surprised to see not only Kara bent over her laptop, completely focused on the screen, but also Lena standing behind her, looking through a pamphlet of some time. "Kara, what're you still doing here?" James asked. "I thought you already turned in your piece for the hospital closure."

"I did," Kara nodded. "Uh, this is something personal. Lena's been helping me."

"This," Lena held up the pamphlet.

"Whoa," Winn held out his hand, and Lena handed it over. "Hey, where did you get this?"

"What's that?" James frowned at the symbol on front.

"It's the Kryptonian symbol for Rao," Kara answered.

"The God of Krypton," Winn explained.

"Yeah, I know, but what's it doing on a pamphlet?" James wondered.

"That's what I've been trying to research all afternoon," Kara sighed. "Lena's been helping me from her end, but – "

"Neither of us can find anything," Lena finished.

"Just a time and an address," Winn opened up the pamphlet. "That's kinda ominous."

"Just how ominous it is, I'm about to find out," Kara shut her laptop and picked up her coat, standing up.

"Wait, wait, you're gonna . . . you're going to go there?" Winn asked in surprise.

"We're coming with you," James said at once.

"I don't need your protection," Kara frowned.

Lena scoffed, putting her own coat on and following, the boys behind her. "Yeah, we know."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

The address led them to what appeared to be a meeting building of some kind. Kara led the way inside, Winn and Lena behind her, James in the rear. They walked down a hallway slowly and came to a set of double doors. Inside the room were rows of chairs, dozens of people speaking together. "Looks like an AA meeting," James noted.

"Aliens Anonymous?" Winn tried out.

"With candles?" Lena looked around.

A girl with blonde hair noticed them and walked up. "Hi," Kara told her, stopping.

"Hi," the girl answered. "Are you new here?"

"Yeah," Kara smiled.

"Lucky you," the girl beamed. "My first meeting was transformative."

"Really?" Kara raised an eyebrow. "So, what exactly happens during the meetings?"

"Oh, um . . . " The girl looked around. "It's actually more powerful if you experience it yourself." A man in a white shirt entered the room from the opposite end, and she brightened. "It's starting! Sit!"

"OK," Kara looked around, then gestured to four open chairs in back.

The quartet settled in, and the man stood at the podium in front. "Welcome, children of Rao," he greeted.

Kara's eyes widened, and James grimaced. "This is starting to feel a little . . . "

"Cult-y?" Winn suggested.

"Yeah."

"We are here, all of us, by Her grace," the man continued. "We are here together, standing in the light, for just one reason. We are here because Supergirl saved us!"

Kara balked, eyes widening to saucers. "What the hell?" Lena put a hand over her mouth to avoid saying anything louder.

"Let us begin by reaffirming our faith," the man said, lighting a candle. "Though we go forth alone, our soul unites under Rao's gladsome rays." Kara closed her eyes, hearing her mother's voice in her head as the man continued. "For Rao sees all, feels all. His love is eternal. May Rao protect us so that we might protect others." She opened her eyes when the man continued. "Many of us don't get second chances in life. Many of us stay lost. And I'm not talking about driving around in circles because you are running out of gas and you have no GPS. I'm talking about being spiritually lost, and needing to find your way back home. Like Olivia," he laid his hand on the blonde girl's shoulder. "Don't be shy." He led her to the podium at the front. "It's OK."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "Hello," she smiled. "Uh . . . it was, um . . . it was spring break when I caught my boyfriend cheating on me with my best friend, and I took it hard. I snuck into a rooftop party. And I got totally wasted, and I stood on the ledge as a joke. And the next thing I knew, I was falling. And as I fell, I thought, I hoped . . . if this is it, that it's quick. But it wasn't quick, and that fall lasted an eternity . . . and then She caught me, and She told me that everything is going to be OK." She sniffed, rubbing at her tears. "Because of Supergirl, I realized I still deserved to be loved. Supergirl saved me."

The quartet looked around in shock as everyone in the room applauded. "Do you remember saving her?" Lena asked.

"I – " Kara swallowed, completely overwhelmed. "I remember all of them."

"And now, every day, our Sister Olivia lives in the light of Rao's presence on Earth," the man helped Olivia away from the podium. "The light that shines through Supergirl." He led her to her seat, then held out his hands. "In the name of Supergirl, our Savior."

"In the name of Supergirl, our Savior," those in the room repeated, making Kara grow steadily paler.

"We give thanks."

"We give thanks."

"Wait a minute," Winn looked around. "Who . . . who exactly are they praying to?"

"Me," Kara whispered hoarsely, fumbling for her phone. "They're praying to _me."_

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Malcolm narrowed his eyes as he kept his gaze on his monitor, watching Watson for any sign of . . . well, _anything_ that wasn't good. So far, the only thing that had grated on his nerves was her trying to dig up anything on Kara. Luckily, Oliver had gotten in contact with Felicity and Winn immediately, and they had started making Kara an identity that the FBI wouldn't be able to find suspicious. Hopefully.

His phone beeping made him reach absently for it, looking at the text message he had gotten.

 _I need you._

Malcolm shot out of his seat, and Laurel, who had been watching another monitor nearby, jumped slightly. "Malcolm!" she glared at him.

"Kara," he said in explanation, dialing her number and holding the phone to his ear. Laurel immediately jumped up as well, running to get her phone and let Oliver know. "Kara?" he asked as soon as the line connected.

"Malcolm," her voice wobbled slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what time it is – "

"Don't worry about the time, what's wrong?" Malcolm asked as he grabbed his coat.

"Um." He heard her swallow. "It's . . . it's hard to explain, but I don't . . . it's – "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Malcolm hurried to calm her as he headed for his room, seeing Laurel grab her duffel. She had already been planning on going to the girls night at Kara's, but he saw her speaking into her phone as well. She probably already had Oliver on the line. "Slow down. Hey, slow down."

"Malcolm?" Lena's voice was suddenly on the other end. "That you?"

"Lena," Malcolm started packing his own bag, making sure to include his suit. "Kara sent a message. Is something wrong?"

"She just got spooked by something, and it's not settling well with any of us," Lena said. "The sooner you get here, the better it'll probably be."

"Let her know we'll be there as soon as we can," Malcolm said.

"Copy that."

Malcolm hung up, slinging his bag over his shoulder and grabbing his keys, seeing Laurel hang up as well. "Oliver's calling Thea to watch William," she told him, grabbing her bag as well. "We're meeting at his apartment."

"Good," Malcolm nodded, switching off the lights. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara was pacing the D.E.O. floor anxiously, waiting for Winn to return with the identification of the man who had just led a cult to worship her. "Calm down," Lena told her as J'onn and James watched on worriedly.

"How am I supposed to be calm about this?" Kara ran a hand over her face anxiously.

Before Lena could answer, a breach appeared in the center of the room, and Oliver, Malcolm, and Laurel skidded out, all three of them with duffels. Oliver immediately whipped around, eyes scanning the room. "Kara!" he dropped his bag, running for her.

"Oh, thank Rao," Kara gasped, barreling into him.

"Whoa," Oliver stumbled slightly, wrapping his arms around her as she trembled. "Hey, it's OK. I've got you, angel. I got you."

"Thank you for coming," she whispered, burying her face in his neck.

"Any time," he kissed the top of her head, squeezing her slightly.

"Boy, is it good to see you three," James said in relief, walking up.

"What happened?" Malcolm asked, rubbing circles on the back of Kara's neck, Laurel hovering by them, ready to help if needed.

"Kara just got worshipped by a cult," Lena answered.

Oliver's head shot up, and he blinked rapidly. "Excuse me?"

"Come again?" Malcolm's jaw dropped.

"You're kidding," Laurel said at the same time.

"Definitely not," James handed them the pamphlet.

Laurel took it, showing it to Oliver and Malcolm. "What's that?" Malcolm frowned, seeing the symbol on the front.

"The symbol for Rao," J'onn answered.

"It was handed to my CFO this morning," Lena explained. "Kara took it when she saw it, and we went to the meeting tonight."

"It was . . . quite a shock, to put it lightly," James grimaced.

"Oh, dear," Laurel sighed.

"Hey," Oliver stroked Kara's hair lightly. "We've got your back for this, OK?"

"OK," Kara mumbled, sniffing and wiping her eyes. Oliver kissed the top of her head again, and Kara turned to give Malcolm a watery smile. "That was quick."

"You needed us," Malcolm gave her a hug as well. "No better reason to be quick."

"OK, so I ran a facial recognition!" Winn's voice carried as he entered the room, then he sighed in relief. "Oh, it's good to see you three."

"Hey, Winn," Oliver nodded. "You were saying?"

"Thomas Coville," Winn nodded back, getting right to it, reading from the tablet he held. "44 years old, born and raised in National City. Definitely not alien . . . no offense."

"Any red flags, Agent Schott?" J'onn asked as they followed him into the main room. "Criminal record? Arrests?"

"Well, he was pretty much a boy scout until about three years ago, when his wife filed for divorce, and then his life fell apart," Winn answered, snorting. "Let's see . . . he was disbarred from practicing law after a string of misdemeanor convictions for public drinking and disorderly conduct."

"Fell apart, no kidding," Laurel remarked.

"I don't understand how that connects to Supergirl," Kara frowned, holding tightly to Oliver's arm, her other hand holding Laurel's, Malcolm's on her shoulders. "I don't remember saving him."

"Sounds like you would remember him," Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"That is right," Winn nodded, pulling Coville's photo and information onto the large screens. "Yes, you didn't save him as an _individual._ But I looked into mass emergencies that Supergirl intervened in. You know, burning buildings, colliding trains, the usual. And I dug a little deeper." He put a picture on screen, along with a description. "Thomas Coville was on Flight 237."

Kara gasped, and Lena frowned. "What's so important about Flight 237?"

"It's the flight Alex was on that I saved," Kara whispered.

"When you became Supergirl?" Oliver clarified, and she nodded.

"So now we know why Coville is the leader of a religion that worships Supergirl," J'onn nodded.

"But it's not a religion, J'onn," Kara shook her head. "It's a cult. He's taking the teachings of Rao and twisting them."

"Yeah, and how does he know so much about it, right?" Winn asked. "And I don't mean just the symbol, but I'm talking about the sacred texts."

"Coville is handing out pamphlets and recruiting people that've been saved by Supergirl into his 'Cult of Rao,'" Kara released Oliver and Laurel to make quotation marks before quickly latching back on. "He's got to have a motive. Winn, can you keep digging on Coville?"

"I can dig it," Winn nodded.

"Good," Lena nodded, then reached over and gave Kara a tiny little shove. "And now Laurel and I are going to make sure you unwind."

"Come on," Laurel tugged Kara, making her stumble away from Oliver and Malcolm. "Let's go!"

"Have fun!" Oliver laughed, waving as Lena and Laurel dragged Kara partially.

"Love you!" Kara waved back, managing to get upright and run after the two.

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"Who was it?" Maggie's eyes widened as she listened to Lena's story.

"So, this very handsome world leader who I shall not name invites me to dinner at The Baldwin, where he's staying, right?" Lena looked around at the assembled ladies: Alex and Maggie sharing the couch, Sam sitting on a chair nearby, and Kara, Lena, and Laurel sitting around Kara's coffee table. "So we get there, and he tells me he has this very important question to ask me. And I'm thinking 'OK, well, he's going to invite me up to his room.' So I'm considering my answer . . . when he turns around and asks me if I was _baptized."_

"What?" Kara's jaw dropped.

"No!" Sam gasped as Laurel laughed.

"Yes, yes!" Lena nodded, giggling. "So I just burst out laughing and said no, but apparently he only sleeps with good Catholics."

"That's insane!" Maggie shook her head.

"Yeah," Lena nodded. "Actually, I kind of found it attractive that he believed in something, so, cool with that."

"What about you, Kara?" Sam asked, tilting her head. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Yeah, Kara," Laurel smirked at her, nudging her in the side with her elbow. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Kara, having a secret boyfriend I don't know about?" Alex gasped dramatically.

"Oh, you shush!" Kara threw a nearby pillow at Alex, blushing hard. "Yes, I am," she told Sam with a smile. "His name's Oliver."

"Sam actually knows him," Laurel added.

"I do?" Sam blinked.

"She does?" Maggie asked at the same time.

"When was this?" Lena frowned.

"At the waterfront," Laurel answered. "The statue unveiling. William was trapped with . . . Ruby, was it?"

"Oh, that was him?" Sam's eyes brightened. "Oh, my God! Please, the next time you see him, tell him thank you so much again."

"I will do that," Kara nodded with a smile. "What about you?"

"Yeah, what about Ruby's father? Is he still in the picture?" Alex asked.

"Nope," Sam shook her head. "It's just me and Ruby."

"Wow," Alex smiled, impressed. "Raising a daughter by yourself. That's incredible."

"Yeah," Maggie agreed.

"I mean, how do you do that?"

"Uh, not very gracefully," Sam snorted. "I'm always behind on something. You guys will see when you have kids."

"Actually," Alex and Maggie exchanged glances before the former continued, "we're not gonna have kids."

"Yeah," Maggie smiled as Kara frowned at Alex in surprise. That was different than what she had last heard. "We'll just be the cool aunts."

"Great," Sam grinned. "I mean, that would – Ruby would love that. Also, sorry for assuming. "

"No worries," Alex assured her.

"Put me down for another cool aunt," Lena smirked.

"And the slightly nerdier aunt," Alex pointed at Kara.

Laurel choked on her wine, making Kara laugh, patting her on the back. "Wow, you guys are amazing," Sam grinned. "That's very cool."

A vague siren caught Kara's attention, and she frowned. "I, uh . . . I think I should get some ice."

"Yes," Alex nodded. "Yes, you should definitely do that."

"I'll be right back," Kara scrambled to her feet, walking off and taking off her glasses.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara flew towards a burning building in National City, able to see the flames from far away. A moment later, she heard a scream, and she flew forward faster, diving towards the man falling through the roof into the blaze.

She grabbed him before he fell into the flames, flying him away towards the fire trucks. She set him down, about to reassure him, when she noticed how calm he was when he smiled at her. "I was waiting for you," he told her.

Kara's eyes widened when he put his fist over his heart and bowed to her, stunned speechless. A clatter of heels made her look up, then Olivia was there, gasping as she helped him up. "You did it, babe!" she beamed, kissing him. "She saved you!"

"I knew she would," he smiled. "I never lost faith."

Kara resembled a gaping fish at the statement. "You're one of us now," Olivia smiled, turning to Supergirl. "Thank Rao."

"Thank Supergirl," her boyfriend finished, smiling.

Kara swallowed hard, watching them walk away, before pulling out her phone and tapping out a quick message.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver looked down at his phone when it beeped, and he straightened. "Oh, no," he sighed, heading for the door.

"What?" Malcolm jogged after him.

"That's Kara," he answered. "Got an address, and one word. Ten bucks says you guess it."

"Cult?"

"Close enough. Cultists."

"Yeah, close enough," Malcolm agreed, the two of them running out the doors.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"Arsonist," Maggie looked at her phone as Laurel checked hers, seeing the same message from Kara on her phone. "I need to go."

"I'll go check on Kara," Laurel looked up. "She's taking a while with that ice."

"Definitely, go," Alex nodded to both of them. "See you later."

Laurel nodded and followed Maggie, who looked at her. "Supergirl?" she guessed.

"Yeah," Laurel grimaced. "Something like that."

* * *

 **A/N: Next chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	21. The Faithful - Part Two

**I hope everyone's ready to have a happy New Year! This book is almost caught up to where I currently am in writing it, so updates will be coming slower, just as an FYI.**

 **Also, to the guests who are reviewing . . . I won't say anything about what's going to happen in Crisis on Earth-X, because where's the fun in spoilers? As for Kara being interrogated by Agent Watson, for now, there is no place for me to fit in an interrogation. In addition to the guests . . . I don't know if it's one person who's writing the same review over and over or multiple guests saying the same thing, but several reviews I have gotten are almost word for word the same. I like reviews, I do, it lets me know people are reading and enjoying the story . . . but if it is just one guest writing the same review over and over, please just leave one review. It gets annoying reading the same review and getting email notifications about the same review, too.**

 **Anyway, on with the story! Here's part two of "The Faithful!"**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"This is ridiculous," Malcolm shook his head, watching as Maggie walked over.

"I know," Kara nodded.

"I've never seen an arsonist so excited to get caught," Maggie remarked.

"That's because it was a religious experience for him," Kara told her. "He set the fire to join a cult that worships me. The man who leads it, this guy named Coville, thinks that being saved by Supergirl anoints you, so he set the fire so I would save him."

"What if you weren't here?" Maggie frowned.

"That's what's worrying me," Oliver said grimly.

"Coville is telling people to put themselves at risk," Kara told Maggie. "He needs to be arrested."

"Unless Coville specifically told that kid to harm himself and others, he's protected," Maggie shook his head. "It's freedom of speech."

"But he holds sway over these people as their pastor!"

"People can worship whatever they want," Maggie shrugged. "It's called freedom of religion."

"There's gotta be something you can do before this escalates!"

"Until Coville breaks the law, my hands are tied," Maggie shook her head, stepping into her cruiser. "I'm sorry."

Kara sighed, watching Maggie drive off. "Come on," Oliver put a hand on Kara's shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Samantha_** ** _Arias_**

"OK, I just finished my homework," Ruby looked up from where she sat on the floor of Sam's office. "Can we practice my song now?"

"What about your extra credit project for French?" Sam asked, not looking up from her computer. Ruby responded in French, making Sam blink. "OK . . . I'm assuming that means you're done with that as well. I'm sorry, babe. I have this pile of work to do. Can you start your research paper?"

"But you said we'd practice my song!" Ruby complained.

"I know," Sam winced.

"Excuse me, Ms. Arias?" a man knocked on the door. "I just got a call from JQB. There's a problem with the merger."

"What kind of problem?" Sam knitted her eyebrows.

"Morgan Edge just lodged an anti-trust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission."

"He did what?" Sam scowled, taking the paper handed to her.

"Mom?" Ruby whispered.

"I'm sorry, babe, I have to deal with this," Sam apologized, standing up.

"Mom!"

"Ruby, this is really important," Sam insisted, following the man out. "OK, we start by getting the commissioner on the phone, so get me a number. I am not letting this merger fall apart."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"We'll be right here if you need us," Oliver told Kara, kissing her cheek as they stopped outside where the cult was held.

"Just call," Malcolm nodded.

"OK," Kara took a deep breath as Laurel gave her an encouraging smile.

Kara entered the building, letting Oliver, Malcolm, and Laurel stand in the doorway, then walked further in. Coville was inside, looking like he was setting up for another meeting. "Can I help you?" he asked, turning when he saw her.

"Hi," Kara walked up to him. "My name is Kara Danvers."

"Oh, yes," Coville nodded, shaking her hand. "I remember you from last night."

"Yes, I'm a reporter at CatCo Magazine."

"CatCo," Coville smiled. "I love that Cat Grant."

"Yeah," Kara nodded. "I'm actually researching an article about your religion. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?"

"Oh," Coville blinked, then smiled. "Always happy to talk about what we're up to."

"So," Kara cleared her throat. "One of your followers, he was in a fire last night. He almost died."

"I heard," Coville nodded. "He wanted to test his faith, and he was rewarded. Supergirl saved him."

"He burned the building down. Other people could've gotten hurt."

"But they didn't. As was Rao's way."

Kara stared at him blankly, then scoffed. "I . . . I think it's admirable that you want to help people. I mean, logically, Supergirl can't save everyone. There's only one of her."

Coville looked at her, then tilted his head. "Is this a test?" he asked.

Kara paused, blinking. "Excuse me?"

"Did you come here to test _my_ faith?" Coville asked. "Supergirl?"

Kara's heart skipped a beat, and she rapidly shook her head. "I'm not – I'm not!"

"I looked into your eyes from my seat on that plane," Coville walked up to her. "When you look into the eyes of God, you do not forget."

Kara swallowed hard and turned to leave. "Guys!" she called, her voice cracking. "Guys!"

"Wait!" Coville cried, and she froze in place, even when she heard running footsteps approach. "Don't worry! Your secret is safe with me!"

"He knows?" Oliver asked sharply as he rounded the corner, Malcolm and Laurel behind him.

"As Rao says, 'Let my God walk amongst you and shelter Her,'" Coville continued, not seeming to notice the three newcomers.

"I am not God," Kara hissed, storming up to him. "Rao is!"

"Rao says even his Gods can lose their way," Coville told her. "If you're lost, I can help you."

He walked away to retrieve something, and Malcolm frowned, seeing a prism-like device he retrieved. "What is that?"

"Better question, where did you _get_ that?" Kara asked.

"I found every artifact of Krypton there was to find," Coville answered, walking over. "This contains Rao's words. This can remind you of what Rao says."

"I know what Rao says!" Kara spat, yanking the device from his hands. "You are perverting it!" She took a deep breath, then took off her glasses. "You're going to stop having these meetings," she said. "You're going to stop telling people to put themselves in danger. If I am a God, you need to do as I say. You need to trust me."

"I trust you," Coville nodded.

Kara swallowed, then nodded jerkily, turning and heading for the door. Oliver, Malcolm, and Laurel were right behind her.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"Baby?" Sam said as she opened the door to her office. "I'm finally, finally – "

She cut off, seeing Ruby fast asleep on the couch in the office. She sighed and pulled off her jacket, placing it over Ruby. She heard the door open again, and looked up as Lena entered quietly. "Love that couch," Lena smiled. "So many stress naps happened there."

Sam smiled and nodded. "The update," she said, heading to her desk. "Morgan Edge tried to get the FTC to quash the merger, but I got the complaint dismissed. The merger is finally done."

"Congratulations," Lena smiled. "You saved the deal and a lot of jobs this week. Really good work, Sam." Sam nodded, but she didn't look happy. "Sam?" Lena blinked, concerned.

"I'm sorry," Sam choked out, rubbing her face as she blinked away tears. "Oh, this is so unprofessional!"

"What's the matter?" Lena asked, sitting down across from Sam.

"I'm just screwing up!" Sam groaned, her voice choked as she sat down. "Not with work, with Ruby. All she wanted to do was practice her song with me, and I kept saying 'no, later, later,' and . . . " She sighed. "I mean, look at her! I just feel like the worst mother." Sam frowned, seeing Lena's lips were curved upwards. "Why are you smiling?" she sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Because I actually had the worst mother, objectively speaking," Lena answered. "So I find your self appraisal a little funny."

"I let my kid fall asleep on my couch in the office," Sam reminded her. "It's not great."

"She fell asleep watching her mom work hard," Lena reminded her. "She may not understand the ins and outs, but she knows what's important, and you're the only one who can fix it. That's how you raise a girl to be a badass."

"Yeah," Sam smirked. "She already _is_ a badass."

"Yeah, 'cause she's loved," Lena smiled. "And she knows it."

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

James walked past CatCo's balcony, only to pause when he saw Kara out on it, fiddling with something in her hands. Frowning, he walked out to join her. "Hey, you OK?"

Kara looked up at him, then sighed. "Our religion was so important on Krypton," she said. "Not just spiritually, but it was our community."

"Yeah," James nodded. "That's how I felt every Sunday at my church."

"I didn't realize how much I missed it until I heard those prayers again," Kara confessed. "But Coville's teachings are so misguided. I tried to tell him, but he only hears what he wants to hear. I mean, how do I tell him that my sister was on a crashing plane and he just got lucky?" She sighed, then took the device and headed back inside. "He knows I'm Supergirl."

"Whoa, how?" James balked, hurrying after. "Wait, what? That's not good!"

"I can fight so many things, but I don't know how to fight someone's belief!" Kara huffed, plopping down on the couch inside James's office. "He's blinded by faith."

James sighed, sitting across from her. "Let me ask you . . . what makes somebody blind just because they believe? You know how I met Superman?"

"At the Daily Planet," Kara said in a "duh" voice.

"No, that's your cousin, Clark," James shook his head. "So one day, I climbed up this bridge spire to get this angle on this tanker fire. It was beautiful. It was great. There was a lot of smoke in the air. I got light-headed, and I lost my footing, and I fell, and I knew for sure that I was going to die. So I just prayed. I prayed to anything, to anyone who was listening, to save me. And then out of this smoke came this hand and grasped mine, and that was the first time Superman saved me, same way you did Coville."

"My biology absorbs solar radiation at a different rate than humans," Kara frowned. "What about that is miraculous?"

"In this life, prayer normally doesn't work," James shook his head. "Nobody shows up. But Clark did, and you do." Kara frowned, leaning back. "Kara, you're something that we can see, something that we can touch. How are you _not_ a miracle?" Kara didn't say anything, and James shrugged, reaching for her device. "And at least you got a part of your culture back. I mean, that's . . . that's something – "

He cut off when he held the device a certain way, and a holographic image of a man appeared. "Greetings, new friends," the figure said, and slowly, James placed the device down on the table. "If you're watching me, you've received a collection of works and history from Krypton."

"What is that?" James asked.

"I think I need to get back to the D.E.O.," Kara swallowed, grabbing the device and hurrying off.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Winn?"

"Mmm?" Winn looked up from his work.

"I need you to run a scan on a Betahedron signature," Kara answered.

"What's that?" he frowned. "A Beta-what?"

"It's like the Omegahedron that powered Fort Rozz, only smaller."

"Oh, that makes sense," Winn nodded, picking up his tablet.

"So, on Krypton, we used Betahedrons to power probes that scientists would send out into space that can contain Kryptonian artifacts like this one, embedded with information like our history, religion, so other worlds would learn our culture," Kara held up the artifact.

"Oh, yeah," Winn nodded. "On Earth, we had that, too. The Voyager probe."

"Well, the Kryptonian probe must've landed on Earth, and this obelisk was in it, and Coville had it."

"OK, so you're saying that Coville has an unlimited power supply, with absolutely no idea what it's capable of?"

"Yeah."

"Right, OK . . . oh, hey, I found it!" He flicked the image onto the screens and blanched. "Whoa. Guys, this is bad!" he shouted, drawing Alex, Oliver, Malcolm, and Laurel over. "It's degrading."

"If someone doesn't stabilize that, that's gonna breach," Alex frowned.

"He knows what it's capable of," Kara whispered. "He was willing to burn down a building for one recruit. Imagine how many recruits he'd get with a bomb. I'm going to the Community Center to find him."

"Kara," Winn turned to her. "The Betahedron's not there."

"Then where is it?" Kara frowned.

Winn swallowed, then pulled up the location, making even Oliver's jaw drop. "You're _kidding."_

"Suit up," Malcolm told Laurel, backing up.

"Yeah," Laurel nodded hastily, running off with Malcolm.

Kara flew off in another direction, Oliver and Alex running to find their own way out.


	22. The Faithful - Part Three

**Kara and company vs Coville, Alex makes a realization, and Kara gets a surprise at the end. :)**

 **To guest reviewers: you're right, Malcolm and Laurel are extremely protective of Kara, and it might seem to undermine their relationship with Oliver. I'm also trying to take into consideration Oliver's past experiences with the two as well: Oliver and Malcolm were rivals for an extremely long time, much longer than the months they've been allies since Prometheus. And Oliver barely knows Black Siren - while he believed there was a chance there was a bit of the Laurel he knew in her, she was still on Prometheus's side for a long time. Their relationships with Kara were much better when they first met her. Don't worry - Malcolm and Laurel's relationships with Oliver will definitely be worked with the further into the story we go.**

 **And to the other guest reviewer, they're not as worried about Watson as they were with Cadmus. However, the big problem is that Kara doesn't exist on Earth-1 . . . at least, it hasn't been confirmed that she exists on Earth-1. That would definitely be suspicious to Watson. Her main focus is still on Oliver, but Kara has made appearances as his girlfriend, and to have a girlfriend that doesn't actually exists would definitely stick out like a sore thumb. As for Rene . . . well, this story basically writes itself. However, there will be allies of Oliver's that definitely won't be happy with Rene, and that'll favor Oliver after that whole situation.**

 **With that being said . . . Happy New Year, everyone! Enjoy the final part of "The Faithful!"**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"I'm almost to the stadium," Kara reported as she flew. "You're sure that's where it is?"

"Yes," Winn confirmed. "And I checked attendance. The stadium is at full capacity. That is fifteen thousand people."

"Alex, Oliver, Dark Archer, Black Siren, you have ten minutes before the Betahedron breaches," J'onn said. "You need to get everybody out of that stadium right now."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Coville was standing with his arms held out when Kara flew in. "Coville!"

"Our prayers have been answered," he smiled, turning to face her.

"Whatever you did to the Betahedron, to the probe, you have to stop it, now!" Kara ordered, landing on the ground.

"Don't you see the beauty?" Coville smiled. "The same vessel that delivered Rao's word to Earth has now become an instrument for destruction. To give you the chance to deliver thousands to our ranks? A test to reaffirm to yourself what Rao sees in you."

"But Rao is peaceful," Kara told him. "Rao would never ask his followers to endanger other people. What you're doing is an insult to Him."

"What we're doing is in service _of_ Him, and in service of you."

Kara scoffed, rolling her eyes and walking past him. "Winn, you're going to have to tell me how to shut it down – "

She got within a few feet of the probe and halted, grunting in pain, her eyes flying wide. She gasped and collapsed, unable to stand. "What's wrong with her?" Olivia asked, crawling over.

"Don't worry," Coville shook his head, and Kara stared in shock at her hand as green rippled through her veins. "This is all part of Rao's plan!"

Kara gasped, trying to straighten up. "Winn? Winn!"

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Supergirl, what's happening?" Winn asked, standing up and looking at J'onn.

"It's . . . Kryptonite!" she ground out. "Kryptonite!"

"Alex, Oliver, something went wrong," J'onn announced.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Yeah, we heard," Oliver growled as he and Alex walked with the head of security.

"We need to stop this game," Alex told him.

"We got a packed house, Agent Danvers," the man shook his head, leading them out into the stadium. "You yell 'bomb' out here, people are going to get trampled."

Alex sighed as she looked around. "You're gonna have to shut that thing down. We won't get everybody out in time. Repeat, we will not evacuate in time."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara panted, turning to Coville, aware her veins were still glowing green. "We are all going to die," she forced out. "You need to shut it down!"

"You said she would save us!" Olivia glared. "That she would save everybody!"

"And she will," Coville nodded, walking over and crouching by Kara. "Those people up there, they need to be awoken. Only you can do that. You are the one to deliver Rao's light upon all of us."

Kara winced, reaching out with one hand and grabbing a nail off the floor. "Don't you see?" she asked, slicing her palm and holding her bleeding hand up. "I am no God!"

Coville blanched. "No," he whispered, shaking his head. "No!" Olivia whimpered, then stood up and fled, the other followers doing the same. "Wait!" he shouted. "Stop!" He swallowed, then turned to Kara, her face and eyes glowing green. "I believed in you!"

"Please," Kara groaned.

Coville swallowed, then went over to the pod, cuing up a holographic keypad. He typed something in, but the blue gem on the pod only glowed brighter. "That – that was supposed to turn it off," he stammered. "It's not turning off!"

"Winn?" Kara asked.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"It's starting to discharge," Winn swallowed.

"I'm heading there," J'onn growled, turning around.

"No," Winn put a hand on his shoulder. "You won't make it in time."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

A black arrow whizzed past Coville, making him yelp and spin around, hands up. "Get away from the probe and down on the ground!" Malcolm ordered, drawing another arrow, Laurel storming in with him.

"I'm just trying to help!" Coville flung his hands up.

"Now!" Laurel yelled.

Coville collapsed, and the two vigilantes ran in, followed by Alex and Oliver. "Oh, my God," Malcolm ran to Kara's side, crouching by her. "Supergirl?"

"Where is it?" Oliver asked, running a finger over her green veins.

"Inside," Kara weakly pointed to the probe. "Inside!"

Alex ran over to look, she and Laurel examining the pod. Finally, Alex pressed a button on the other side, and a panel slid open. Laurel took a capsule out, looking at it. "There's Kryptonian soil samples in the probe," she said. "It's laced with Kryptonite!"

"Get it away from her!" J'onn ordered. "Alex, Supergirl, the Betahedron is about to breach!"

Laurel ran off to get the sample away, and Kara winced as the pain faded. "You have to fly that thing out of here," Alex told her.

"I can't," Kara shook her head, unable to get higher than her knees. "I can't!"

"Guys, you need to get out of there, right now!" Winn shouted.

Kara swallowed, then waved her hand. "Get away from me."

"What?" Malcolm blinked. "Quick, get away!" Oliver, Malcolm, and Alex backed up, and Kara shakily got to her feet, wobbling slightly. She straightened enough to fire her heat vision straight into the ground, burning a hole deep into it. She kept going, despite her intense shaking, then cried out in pain and collapsed. "Now, now!" she pointed at the hole. "Push it in! Push it in!"

Alex and Malcolm ran to the probe, both of them adjusting to get a good grip on the probe, Oliver staying by Kara as she collapsed onto her side. "Come on," Malcolm grimaced, finding hand holds.

"Alex!" J'onn shouted.

"Siren, come on!" Malcolm shouted, watching Laurel run back in. "Push!"

Laurel ran to add her help, and together, the three of them strained and managed to push the probe into the hole. Alex dropped to the ground, Malcolm grabbing Laurel and bringing her down with him, Oliver flattening next to Kara. The fireball from the explosion blew right over them.

Oliver slowly straightened, looking over to where Malcolm was helping Laurel, before sitting up and rolling Kara onto her back. "Kara?" he whispered, seeing her unconscious.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara watched Coville be led to the phones in prison, and she reached to pick up her phone, Coville doing the same on the other side of the glass. "Are they treating you well?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," Coville nodded. "Thank you."

"I have to ask," Kara swallowed. "Are you going to tell anybody who I am?"  
"Hmm," Coville tilted his head. "I know you gave me a name at the rec center, but honestly, I can't even remember it. That's not who you are."

"You don't know who I am at all," Kara shook her head.

"Oh, I know that even Gods can lose their way. When I looked into your eyes that night on the plane, you were clear and free. But now, your eyes are clouded with doubt and loss. You're at a crossroads, and I finally understand Rao's will for me. To help you on your journey, to bring you back to clarity of purpose. Back to balance, back to peace. This isn't my prison, this is my salvation. And so I will continue to pray to you . . . but I will also pray _for_ you."

He stood up, hanging up the phone, and Kara lowered hers, watching him leave.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias/Kara Danvers_**

Sam was watching the musical at Ruby's school when movement caught her eye. She turned to see what it was, and she gasped when Lena, Kara, and Alex hurried into the auditorium. "You guys came!"

"Yeah, we said we would!" Lena whispered, grinning widely. "Ruby's got a lot of cool aunts."

"I know," Sam smiled as the three sat down.

"Look at that," Alex pointed at the girls, all in Supergirl costumes. "They're not worshipping you. They're _inspired_ by you."

Kara smiled as the dance finished, and she applauded with everyone else. "And now, please welcome Ruby Arias," one of the teachers announced.

Lena, Kara, and Alex applauded hard as Ruby stepped up to the mic, and Sam held up her phone, ready to record. Ruby smiled nervously before starting to sing. "Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look, and you'll see into your imagination. There is no life I know to compare with your imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be."

Everyone started to clap hard for Ruby, but Kara jumped slightly when Alex abruptly stood up and left. Kara followed her out of the auditorium, seeing her taking deep, heaving breaths. "Alex?" she asked. "Alex, what's wrong? What is it?"

Alex swallowed, turning around. "Um . . . Maggie doesn't want to have kids," she answered.

"I thought that was something you guys decided together," Kara frowned.

"No, it . . . " Alex sighed. "I agreed because it's what _she_ wanted."

"OK," Kara nodded. "Uh . . . OK. You guys will figure it out."

"Maggie's not gonna change her mind," Alex shook her head bitterly, tears welling up in her eyes. "The only way that we're gonna work through it is if I let it go . . . and I've tried, Kara. I – I love her so much that it hurts, and I convinced myself that living a life with her, it was enough. But watching Ruby . . . I want all the experiences that Mom had with us. You know? I want to take my kid camping, and I wanna show her the constellations. I want to teach her how to read, how to throw a punch, and how to make cheesy valentines . . . and I want to hold her when she has a bad dream, and I wanna tell her that the world's a better place because she's in it."

"Yeah," Kara nodded, biting her lip.

"I want all of it," Alex sobbed. "I want to be a mom. What am I going to do?"

Kara just swallowed, reaching out and hugging Alex, letting her sister sob into her shoulder.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara sank to her knees at the D.E.O., lighting a candle in front of her. She turned on the hologram in front of her, took a deep breath, and started to pray. "Though we go forth alone, our soul unites us under Rao's gladsome rays. We're never lost, never afraid, for we shrink not under the Sun of Righteousness."

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

J'onn walked into his father's room at the D.E.O., seeing him on his knees, hands clasped in prayer. M'yrnn looked up once to see J'onn join him, then he smiled, turning back as he and his son prayed together.

* * *

 _"Rao binds us to those we love. He gives us strength when we have none. And in the darkest places, he guides us."_

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex laid back in bed, tensing slightly when Maggie shifted and curled up into her. Alex closed her eyes to try and sleep, but the decision she had made earlier in the night made her eyes tear up, and she quickly covered her mouth, trying not to sob again and wake up her fiancée.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"For Rao sees all, feels all," Kara continued, in time with her mother's hologram. "His love eternal. Rao protect us so that we might protect others. And we shall rise, a fire in His heart, burning and free."

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam shut off the faucet, finishing filling up the bath in her bedroom. She straightened up and rolled out her neck, rubbing it as she went over to the mirror. She opened the mirror to find a bottle, then closed it.

She jumped in fear when she saw her reflection now included symbols on her face. She raised her hands in shock, seeing the symbols painted her skin. Gulping, she turned around –

Only to come face to face with a pale figure in black, black painted on their face. "From Rao's fire, you are born," the figure intoned. Sam slid down the vanity, whimpering, trying to hide her face from the figure, but the figure followed her down. "One day soon, you will _reign."_

Sam gasped again, whimpering and starting to cry in fear –

"Mom?"

Sam gasped and looked up, seeing Ruby in the doorway to her bedroom, eyes wide. Sam checked her skin again, gulping when she didn't see symbols any more. The figure was gone, too.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

Kara blew out her candle and sighed, standing up and heading for the door. She opened it, smiling when she saw Oliver on the other side. "Hi," she said bashfully.

"Hey," Oliver smiled, taking her hand. "How did it go?"

"It felt good," Kara admitted as they walked down the hall. "I'm happy I did that."

"Good," Oliver nodded. "I'm glad it worked out for you. Oh," he stopped. "I almost forgot . . . " He pulled an envelope out of his jacket and held it out to her. "That was sent to the apartment and had your name on it."

"Really?" Kara frowned. "Back on Earth-1?" When Oliver nodded, Kara frowned and opened the envelope. "What could it – " She trailed off, reading the invitation inside, and her jaw dropped. "No. Way."

"Way," Oliver chuckled as Kara's eyes lit up. "I got a matching one, but I'm not going unless you are."

"Oh, I'm going," Kara nodded eagerly. "I am _so_ going. I just need to get back to the loft and pack."

"Go on," Oliver chuckled, patting her shoulder.

Kara squealed and flew off, and Oliver laughed as he headed back to the main area of the D.E.O., Malcolm and Laurel dodging Kara flying by. "Whoa," Malcolm laughed. "She's doing better!"

"A lot," Oliver agreed.

"Hey, Oliver!" Winn ran up. "Got what you needed."

"Thanks, Winn," Oliver smiled, taking the flash drive Winn handed over.

"Yeah, no prob," Winn nodded. "Thing is, I get what the first thing's for . . . what about the second thing?"

"The second thing?" Oliver smirked. "That's a surprise."

"OK," Winn nodded slowly. "At least tell me it's a good one."

"Oh, it is," Oliver nodded. "It's definitely a good one."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara finished packing a duffel bag, still squealing. She zipped the bag up and took another look at the invitation, then took out her phone and dialed one of the first numbers in the speed dial list.

The other line clicked almost immediately. "Hello?"

"Hey, Iris," Kara grinned.

"Kara!" Iris cheered. "Hey! How've you been?"

"Pretty good," Kara admitted. "I could use a bit of a breather, though."

"Oh?" Iris asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Kara grinned. "So . . . is it too late to RSVP to your bachelorette party?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hehehe . . . surprise! Next episode isn't Arrow or Supergirl. It's over to Central City for "Girls Night Out!"**


	23. The Flash - Girls Night Out - Part One

**This episode was hilarious. Completely, utterly hilarious. Here's the first part of "Girls Night Out!"**

* * *

 _ **Barry Allen**_

About to get married, and still working on figuring out who his new big bad was. That was a pretty good summary of his life, Barry mused as he watched Cisco type on a keyboard, Harry on Cisco's other side. At least they had a name to work with this time, and it was a name he had heard before: DeVoe.

"Hey, you guys wanna see something really cool?"

Barry didn't look up when the new recruit to Team Flash, Ralph Dibny, spoke. "Uh . . . sure," he said. "Go for it."

"Stretch, Ralph, stretch," Ralph mumbled.

The sound of stretching made the three of them looked up, in time to see Ralph's head disappear around the track, his entire body stretched thin. "That _is_ pretty cool," Cisco admitted.

"Mmmhmm," Harry nodded.

"OK, look," Barry sighed. "Are you sure we can't find this DeVoe guy? I mean, we were warned. We had a heads-up that someday, someone named DeVoe would be one of my greatest foes."

"And the other thing to think about is, do you know how many people there are in this state alone with the name DeVoe?" Cisco raised an eyebrow.

"No," Barry admitted.

"Thousands," Harry told him. "And we still don't have an age."

"Unless one of your greatest foes is the three-month-old William DeVoe who lives four blocks from here?" Cisco suggested, reading off the monitor.

Barry snorted in amusement. "I don't think one of my greatest enemies is a _baby."_

"Ehhh," Harry tilted his head side to side.

"Evil killer baby?" Cisco mused.

"Could happen," Harry agreed.

"You're right," Barry admitted.

There was a loud knock on the door, and the three looked up to see Felicity standing there in pink and black, a bunch of balloons in her hand, along with a sparkling bag. "Hey!" she grinned.

"Ho!" Harry smiled.

"Yo!" Cisco waved.

"Felicity!" Barry cheered, going over to hug her. Felicity giggled, setting her stuff down to receive it. "How'd you get in here?"

"I literally walked in here," Felicity admonished. "You have – you have _no_ security, you have _no_ alarms, you have _nothing_ on your door. You guys might wanna consider _something,_ anything at all!"

"You came prepared," Barry noted.

"Well, yeah," Felicity grinned. "Team Arrow to Team Bride, you know. Very excited for that bachelorette party."

"Yep, getting inebriated with same gender to celebrate an archaic institution?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Priceless," Cisco agreed.

"I mean, you only get married once, so . . . " Felicity shrugged, then paused. "Well, actually, pretty much everyone gets divorced these days. 55% to be exact. I mean, that's just statistics – " She paused at Barry's deer in the headlights look, then saw Harry past him making a slashing motion across his throat. "But not – not you and Iris!" her eyes widened in horror. "That would just – that would never happen to you guys." She looked off to the side and paused, seeing a super stretched out body, and squeaked. "Whose feet are those?"

"That's Ralph Dibny," Barry sighed, heading back to the others.

Felicity peered around the corner to see how far he had stretched, then shook her head. "I'm gonna – I'm gonna go meet up with the ladies."

Barry gave her a thumbs up, and Harry saluted her as she picked up her things. "That," she whispered in disbelief, pulling out her phone to warn Kara and Oliver.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara dropped her bag on the bed, sighing and rubbing the back of her neck. She paused when her phone beeped, and she pulled it out, taking a look at the text she just got. "Oh," she blinked. "Got a warning from Felicity. Apparently Barry's got a new teammate that caught her off guard."

"Great," Oliver sighed as he closed the door to their hotel room, dropping the key cards on the bedside table. "Why did I agree to this?"

"Because it'll look bad on you when the second groomsman doesn't show up to the bachelor party," Kara smirked.

"Last I heard, Wally isn't going to be there," Oliver pointed out.

"You're going to it," Kara gave him a look. "I'm going for Iris, you're going for Barry, OK? Think of it this way, this can be our way of saying thank you for what happened with Cadmus. Iris and Cisco were both there to support us, and Iris is the bride, Cisco's the best man."

"Fine," Oliver sighed, and Kara squealed, giving him a hug. "If that's what it takes to get you to hug me, I'll complain more often," he joked, giving her a hug as well.

"You just need to ask, Oliver," Kara grinned, opening her bag and sorting through the clothes she had. "OK, I'm gonna head to S.T.A.R. Labs and meet up with the girls. I'll be back to get ready for dinner."

"Be careful," Oliver kissed her.

"It's a bachelorette party," Kara reminded him, taking off her glasses and opening her shirt to reveal her suit underneath. "What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

 ** _Caitlin Snow_**

In the cortex, Caitlin finished typing and sat back, looking on the monitor at the copy of a plane ticket she had to leave Central City that night. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that this was for the best –

"Well, here you are!" Caitlin quickly exited out and turned around as Iris and Felicity walked up, both smiling widely. "OK, are you ready for the ladies' night to end all ladies' nights?" Felicity grinned, putting her bag and balloons down.

"And by that, she means a quiet, low-key dinner at a very classy restaurant," Iris rolled her eyes fondly.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean," Felicity nodded. "Super low-key, super quiet."

A gasp from the other entrance made the three spin. "Are those boas?" Kara asked in delight, pointing at the bag Felicity had brought.

"Yes!" Felicity nodded, grinning. "Want one?"

"Uh, yes please!" Kara grinned, running up. "Oh, this is gonna be awesome!"

"Hey, Kara," Iris grinned, giving her a hug. "Thanks for coming!"

"Oh, please," Kara smiled. "Like I would miss this! Hey, Caitlin!"

"Hey, Kara," Caitlin gave her a small wave.

"Ooo, what have we got?" Kara went to Felicity's side, peering into the bag. "Oh, dibs on pink!"

"Really?" Felicity blinked. "I thought you'd want blue."

"Pink goes better with the dress I brought," Kara shrugged. "Classy restaurant, right?"

"Yep," Iris nodded.

"I'm set, then."

"What about you, Caitlin?" Felicity asked, handing a pink boa to Kara, Iris taking another pink one. "Do you want a pink or a blue feather boa?"

"Actually, Iris," Caitlin shifted slightly. "If it's OK, I don't think I'm gonna make it tonight. I'm just not feeling up to it."

"What?" Iris blinked.

"Aww," Felicity pouted.

"Are you feeling OK?" Kara asked in concern.

"No, I'm fine," Caitlin nodded. "I just . . . sometimes life catches up with you, you know?"

"It's 'cause you're not wearing the tiara," Felicity decided, pulling a tiara out of her bag and plopping it on Iris's head. "Put on the tiara, everything will change."

"Oh!" Iris giggled.

"Hang on," Kara reached up to adjust it. "There you go!"

"Wearing the tiara, thank you," Iris nodded.

"You're welcome," Felicity grinned.

"Caitlin, please," Iris turned to her. "Come on, we work together every day, and we never get to do a dinner just us girls. You have to come."

"She's right," Felicity nodded. "Just one dinner, pleeeeeeease?"

Caitlin looked back and forth between them, then paused when she saw the begging eyes Kara gave her. She sighed, then nodded. "Wouldn't miss it."

* * *

 ** _Joe West_**

At the West house, Joe's girlfriend Cecille was sitting on the couch, showing an ultrasound image to her daughter. "This is so insane," Joanie gasped. "I can't believe you're gonna be a mom again!"

"I know," Cecille agreed, grinning. "Well, you always wanted a sibling."

"And seven Doctor Whos later, you totally came through," Joanie grinned as the doorbell rang.

"You're a Doctor Who fan, Joanie?" Joe asked in surprise, walking down the stairs.

"Well, ever since he became a lady, I am," Joanie smirked, turning to her mom. "Hashtag feminism."

Joe smirked, opening the door, grinning when he saw who was on the other side. "Bachelor party!" Cisco whooped, heading in first. "Girls, get out."

"Oh, that's our cue," Joanie rolled her eyes fondly, she and Cecille getting up and leaving the guys to get comfortable. "Hey, Barry, congrats on getting hitched."

"Thank you!" Barry grinned. "I didn't realize you were in town!"

"Well, I just stopped by for the weekend," Joanie shrugged, giving him a hug.

"Awesome," Barry smiled. "Good to see you."

"You, too," Joanie smiled.

"Ah," Harry grinned, finding a crystal bottle filled with alcohol.

"Have a great time," Joe smiled, kissing Cecille. "Don't get too crazy. No drinking."

Cecille shook her head in agreement. "No, Iris promised me a totally chill night that even my pregnant little booty can handle. You should come with us, sweetie," she told Joanie. "You know, I'm sure Iris wouldn't mind."

"Uh, no, it's OK," Joanie shook her head. "I, um, I actually have plans, but I _will_ drop you off."

"OK," Cecille nodded, heading out the door. "Have fun!" she called to the boys.

"Later, guys!" Joanie added.

"Bye!" Barry waved as he crashed on the couch.

"OK, I'll get the lights," Cisco clapped his hands. "Harry will get the brandy . . . hey, Harry, before you pour the brandy, make sure you warm the glasses."

Harry just raised an eyebrow, handing one of the glasses over to Joe. "What?"

"For real?" Cisco sighed.

"It's cool," Joe told him. Harry just smirked and both men clinked their glasses together, sitting down.

"OK," Cisco walked up to the screen they had set up. "Barry Allen . . . " Barry smirked, waggling his eyebrows. "Are you ready to have your mind blown?" Cisco asked in an accent, grinning widely.

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen_**

"Meet Barry Allen!" Cisco announced in a dramatic voice, Barry's shoulders shaking in laughter as Cisco's reel of pictures and videos started. "Before he met Iris West, before he became an interdimensional time-traveling speedster, he was an adorable baby boy with Ewok-level chub."

Joe chuckled, watching a video of Barry as a child play. "Ugh, those cheeks!"

"Cisco, this is great, but where did you get these videos?" Barry asked his friend.

"Man, I'm a ninja," Cisco smirked before pointing. "Watch this part."

"Ah," Joe smiled fondly as Barry and Iris appeared before what appeared to be a dinosaur stuffed animal. "I forgot you two got married." Barry laughed, and Joe sighed as videos of Barry and Iris kept playing. "Ah, you two were _so_ young." He blinked when he appeared next, chasing after the two. "Damn. _I_ was so young."

Barry snickered, then straightened when there was a yelp from outside. Everyone spun around, in time to see the door open, and a familiar face looked inside. "Barry," Oliver greeted. "Was _this_ guy invited?"

"Oliver!" Barry brightened, then blinked when Oliver shoved another familiar person inside. _"Ralph?"_

"Dibny," Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Guessing he wasn't expected, then," Oliver glared at Ralph, shutting the door.

"No, he wasn't," Barry stood up. "You, on the other hand . . . thanks for coming."

"No problem," Oliver nodded. "Sorry I'm late, had to drop off the girls."

"Plural?" Barry raised an eyebrow.

"Kara's extrapolator spat her out in Star City," Oliver lied with ease, making Harry and Cisco turn around, looking at him, impressed. "So Felicity and I gave her a ride."

"Oh, that's nice of you," Barry nodded.

Oliver just nodded, then raised an eyebrow at Ralph. "So, what's _he_ doing here?"

"Oh, this is Ralph Dibny," Barry answered. "He's a new team member. And we weren't expecting him."

"You said see you later," Ralph shrugged. "I assumed this was a superhero hangout and this was a test for my highly attuned detective abilities, which, for the record, _nailed_ it!"

"OK," Harry rolled his eyes. "Or – "

"You weren't invited," Cisco said bluntly, which Harry raised his glass to.

"I can always throw him out?" Oliver suggested.

"Wow," Ralph looked around. "This house is, uh . . . "

"Bitchin'?" Cisco suggested.

"No," Ralph shook his head. "Small. Looks much bigger from the street." He frowned, pointing at the screen. "What's all this crap?"

"This is my bachelor party," Barry frowned, offended.

Ralph grinned, then it froze. "Oh, dear God, you're serious. This weinerfest is your bachelor party?"

"I _will_ throw you out," Oliver amended, giving him a glare.

"This weinerfest is about to indulge in some very fine cigars and a very nice steak dinner at The Oak," Cisco glared.

"OK, stop," Ralph held up a hand. "You're gonna pay $50 for a steak dinner?"

Harry leaned around Joe to look at Oliver. "Please do," he told him.

"I know a place where you can get all-you-can-eat steak and chicken for $4.99, and they even throw in napkins," Ralph scoffed before gesturing to the door. "Come on, ladies."

"No, really, Ralph," Barry shook his head. "We're gonna stay here, we're gonna go have – "

"No, Slim Jim, I insist," Ralph shook his head. "You can thank me later."

Oliver and Barry exchanged looks, then heard a slurp from the couch. "That was meant to be enjoyed!" Cisco stared at Harry as he downed the rest of his bourbon in one gulp.

"I enjoyed it," Harry rolled his eyes, putting the glass down.

"Cisco, don't worry," Ralph smirked. "Where we're going, the drinks flow freely, and the view is _spectacular."_

Cisco stared blankly after him as he opened the door. "Where did you get him?" Oliver asked Barry in disbelief.

"Don't ask," Barry sighed. "But really, man, thanks for coming."

"Took a bit to get me to come," Oliver shrugged. "But in the end, I wouldn't have missed it." He looked after Ralph. "Even if some parts of company could be better."

Barry made a noise of agreement as he and Joe headed out. "So," Cisco raised an eyebrow as he and Harry followed Oliver out. "Are we mentioning the Team SuperArrow or not?"

"Let's see how good Barry is," Oliver smirked. "Then we'll see."

"He won't get it," Harry snickered.

* * *

 ** _Iris West/Kara Danvers_**

"So fancy," Cecille complimented as their water poured five flutes of champagne.

"Yeah," Felicity agreed, all of them picking up their glasses. "A toast, to the future Mrs. Allen."

"West-Allen," Iris corrected.

"West-Allen," Felicity amended. "Although your life with Barry may be fast-paced, I hope you guys take the time to enjoy the special moments."

"Aw," Iris beamed. "Thank you guys for coming. It really means a lot."

"Cheers," Cecille smiled as they clinked glasses, Iris, Felicity, Kara, and Caitlin drinking. "Well, all right, who wants my champagne? Craziest thing I get to do tonight is order two desserts."

"I'll take it," Caitlin volunteered immediately, taking her glass.

"That's right, Iris told me you were pregnant," Felicity nodded, both Iris and Kara watching in surprise as Caitlin downed Cecille's drink in one go. A look at her own glass showed Caitlin had drank it in one go as well. "How's that going?"

"Yeah, it's good," Cecille nodded. "I mean, it wasn't exactly part of my plan, but I just could not be happier."

"I know exactly what you mean," Kara nodded, blushing slightly.

"Right," Iris smirked, raising an eyebrow at the off the shoulder green dress Kara was wearing. "You're right – pink definitely goes with that."

"Well," Kara adjusted her glasses. "I wear blue enough already. There's no green with my night job, anyway."

"Not any green that's supposed to be there, anyway," Felicity mumbled into her champagne.

"What?" Cecille blinked.

"Nothing," Felicity and Kara said at the same time.

Caitlin gulped suddenly, and the four others looked up to see a man in black stop by their table. "Uh, did you girls order a stripper?" Iris looked around.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Felicity frowned. "I would've brought all my singles."

"No, I – " Cecille sputtered.

"I literally just got here, it wasn't me," Kara held up her hands, blushing.

"Girl, you into some freaky stuff," Felicity looked up at the man.

The man, however, was looking only at Caitlin. "Amunet wants you," he said.

"Uh," Iris looked over at her. "Caitlin, do you know him?"

"You need to come with me," the man said.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Caitlin glared.

"Please tell me that this is just part of his act," Cecille closed her eyes.

"If it is, it's taking too long," Felicity remarked, then snapped her fingers. "Take it off!" All five ladies jumped when the man leaned over their table and dropped one of his eyes into Felicity's glass of champagne. "Gross!" the blonde shrieked. "I meant take off your pants, not your eye!" Out of the man's eye came a tentacle of some sort, making everyone jump back. "Oh, my God!" Felicity yelped.

Kara jumped up and flipped over the table, sending the man stumbling back. "Everybody out!" she shouted.

The screaming civilians were too happy to obey. "Stand back, baby mama, we got this," Felicity told Cecille before grabbing a chair and hitting the man with it.

Iris went in next, smacking the tentacle back with one of the menus. Kara stood in Iris's way when the tentacle lashed out, and she grabbed it with one hand, squeezing tightly. "I don't think so," she glared.

"Please don't do this," Caitlin begged.

"Didn't have to be this way," the man sneered in response.

Caitlin swallowed, then her eyes flashed silver. Kara did a double take when she saw the freezing mist curl around Caitlin's hands, so shocked that she released the man's tentacle. "What?" Cecille gawked.

Before their eyes, Caitlin's hair turned snow white, her lips a glittering dark blue. The man grinned, chuckling darkly. "I was hoping to see you again."

"Really?" Killer Frost asked, taking off her boa. "So I could give you another scar?"

The man's tentacle went to attack her, but Killer Frost threw out her hand, releasing a steady stream of ice that threw the man back and through the glass window, knocking him out of the restaurant. She smiled, proud of herself, then looked down at herself and rolled her eyes, ignoring the shocked looks the four other women were giving her. "Ugh," Killer Frost groaned. "I hate pink."

Kara swallowed as Killer Frost picked up the champagne bottle, downing another gulp and exhaling, releasing a frosty breath. "I take it back," she said shakily. "Something _could_ go wrong."

* * *

 **A/N: Famous last words, Kara. That's all I'm saying.**


	24. Girls Night Out - Part Two

**I still think this is one of the funniest episodes ever. XD The girls work on saving the city while the boys wonder what they've gotten into because of one Ralph Dibny.**

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen_**

Everyone save Ralph stared in complete shock at where the private investigator had taken them. "Doesn't it just take your breath away?" Ralph grinned.

"And now this is where I know my past is haunting me," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "Strip club. Great."

"Gentlemen, I welcome you to the Golden Booty," Ralph announced, leading them inside.

"There ain't nothing golden about _any_ of this," Joe shook his head.

"Nope," Ralph said cheerfully. "Came through for you, right, man?"

"He does know that over half this group is taken, right?" Cisco couldn't help but whisper.

"What do you think?" Ralph grinned at the others.

"I'm thinking it's going to be really bad if this gets out," Oliver grimaced.

"I think I should have brought some hand sanitizer," Cisco admitted.

Harry pulled out a bottle, squirted a portion into his hand, then put some on Cisco's. "Always come prepared," he said.

"Oh, yes," Cisco sighed in relief as Oliver silently held out his own hand, Harry giving him a bit, too.

"Ralph, this isn't really my speed," Barry looked around, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Speed jokes?" Ralph huffed. "You're better than that, Allen."

One stripper passed by and gave a seductive smile, running a hand over Ralph's chest. "Hey, Ralphy," she purred before walking off.

"Uh," Harry stopped, frowning. "Disney, you're a regular at this joint?"

"Oh," Ralph scoffed, walking over to a picture frame nearby. "So much more than that." All the others raised eyebrows when they saw the picture was of Ralph. "The girls may not be bottomless, but for yours truly, the French fries always are."

Harry grimaced, but a voice behind them made them turn. "Golden Booty policy," the black man told them. "Now, out of respect for the ladies, no touching, no pictures, no video . . . " He held out a basket. "And no cell phones."

"What?" Cisco blinked.

Harry immediately handed his over, followed by Joe. "I need a drink," Joe mumbled, following Harry to the bar.

"Yeah, me, too," Oliver sighed, dropping his phone in as well.

"I wish I could have a drink," Barry grumbled, he and Cisco dropping their phones in next, Ralph the last to do so.

"Bruh, do you really think I'd let you down like that?" Cisco raised an eyebrow, whipping out a vial with a bright red-orange liquid in it. "A special concoction. Guaranteed to give you that gentle, pleasant buzz _all night long."_

"What if we need the Flash?" Barry frowned.

"I volunteer to be designated superhero," Cisco shrugged.

"Make that two," Oliver nodded at Cisco. "Barry, I might not like where we are, but it's _your_ party. Enjoy it a little, at least."

"Go for it, Bar," Joe agreed as Barry hesitantly sniffed the drink. "You deserve it."

Barry sighed, then nodded. "To Barry and Iris?" Cisco raised his drink.

"To Barry and Iris," the others joined in, clinking their glasses together.

* * *

 _ **Iris West**_

"They're not picking up," Iris said worriedly as she looked at her phone, Kara biting her lip when Oliver didn't answer either.

"What the hell just happened?" Cecille demanded as they walked through the cortex. "Who was that Medusa man?"

"You know that is not a Cisco-approved name," Felicity shook her head.

"Don't worry about who that was," Killer Frost shook her head, walking over to a corner nearby, rolling her eyes. "Caitlin's taste in clothes is matched only by her taste in men – both _terrible."_

"Wait, how are you . . . you?" Iris asked, watching Killer Frost plop a suitcase onto a table. "I thought Caitlin was cured."

"Caitlin shouldn't be keeping secrets from her friend," Killer Frost remarked, unzipping the suitcase before tilting her head. "You _are_ friends, right?"

"Yeah, of course we are," Iris blinked.

Killer Frost smirked. "Your _friend_ was going out of town tonight."

"What?" Iris's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because she got herself into something she couldn't handle."

"Where are you going?" Cecille asked with a frown.

"To find Norvock's boss and to kill her," Killer Frost said without an ounce of care in her voice as she unbuttoned the back of her shirt.

"And you need a change of clothes for that because – ?" Kara began, only to whip around when Killer Frost tugged her shirt over her head. "OK, turning around!"

"Whoa!" Felicity flung up her hands as the rest of them turned. "Whoa! OK, apparently somebody doesn't have boundary issues!"

"Uh, OK, girls, can I talk to you in the cortex?" Iris whispered.

The four of them went through the door, and Felicity hissed, "Can we take it back for a minute? Since when did her superpowers make her a _supervillain?"_

"She is _not_ a villain, OK?" Iris glared.

"I remember being kidnapped by her last year," Cecille frowned.

"What?" Felicity squeaked.

"Yeah," Cecille nodded.

"OK, yes, but that is because she was being manipulated by Savitar, and in the end, we wouldn't have been able to stop him without her," Iris said, making Cecille sigh. "Look, I know that there is some good in there."

"I get it," Cecille sighed. "Technically, Caitlin is underneath all of that somewhere, but _she_ is still dangerous."

"And she is also our friend, OK?" Iris frowned. "I am not just gonna abandon our teammate."

"Fine," Cecille nodded. "I'm coming with you."

"No!" Iris immediately shook her head. "Cecille, you're pregnant!"

"And your father will kill me if you get killed at your own bachelorette party!"

"That is come crazy logic," Felicity turned to Iris. "And that means I'm in, too."

"And since I'm the only one with powers out of the four of us, I'm coming, too," Kara nodded.

"Oh, great," Iris scowled. "Happy bachelorette."

"What are you all talking about?" Killer Frost's voice asked from behind.

Felicity yelped and turned around, seeing her now dressed in a blue leather jacket and black pants and boots. "Oh, nothing, you know, just talking about how cool it is to kill people and such – no pun intended!"

Kara closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Killer Frost just raised an eyebrow and left. "It's been real, ladies."

"I'm gonna use the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to track her cold signature," Felicity winced, hurrying over to the computer.

"Great," Iris sighed, pulling out her phone. "I'm gonna try and call for backup again."

"Yeah, me, too," Kara checked hers.

"And I'll remember that it's Caitlin under there," Cecille took a deep breath.

* * *

 ** _Joe West/Cisco Ramon_**

"You gotta stop doing that," Joe scowled at Ralph.

"I'm just getting change for a five," he said innocently. "What, did you think I was stealing?"

"Yes," Oliver deadpanned, still wondering why he was still around.

"It's not about your sticky fingers, Ralph," Cisco scowled, gesturing to Ralph's arm, which was stressed all along the line of booths. "It's about your stretchy arm outwardly displayed."

"Oh, so I should be more like Captain Discreet over there?" Ralph raised an eyebrow as he brought the money back, pointing over to the bar.

They were just in time to see Barry shout "I'm the Flash!" and fling his arms into the air, the others by the bar cheering as Barry whooped, grinning like a lunatic.

"I may have _slightly_ miscalculated his bachelor elixir," Cisco winced.

" _Slightly?"_ Oliver repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"I got this one," Joe sighed, standing up and heading over to the bar. He smiled and walked over, putting his arm around Barry's shoulder. "Hey, buddy."

"Hey!" Barry grinned widely, putting his arm around him, too.

"How you feeling?"

"I feel _good,"_ Barry giggled.

"You're gonna need to walk this off," Joe couldn't help but laugh at Barry's predicament.

"Or run it off," Barry grinned. "Because I'm the Flash!"

The others around them laughed with him, and Joe sighed, pulling Barry off. "Let's get you back to the table."

"Again," Oliver gave Cisco a look. _"Slightly?"_

"Sorry," Cisco whispered.

The two sat down, then Barry made a whooshing sound. "Barry," Cisco frowned. "What did you just do?"

"I just went and got peanuts from the bar," Barry slurred.

Oliver's eyebrows shot up. "You didn't even move," Joe frowned.

"Or did I?" Barry smirked.

Harry rejoined them, two glasses in his hands as well as a beer. "Drink up," he announced, handing the glasses to Oliver and Cisco.

"Nope," Oliver held up his hands.

"I'm good," Cisco agreed.

"Ah, it's cranberry juice, buttercups." Cisco blinked at Harry calling Oliver that, and Oliver's glare switched from Cisco to Harry. The scientist wasn't even fazed. "So, I was talking to Charity – not her real name. She tells me the dancers here make more in a month than an average teacher – "

"Blah blah blah," Ralph rolled his eyes, speaking over Harry. "Less talky, more dancey."

"Next dancer, it's Jasmine!" the announcer called.

"Whoo!" Ralph cheered as a young black woman in skimpy gold clothes came up to the pole. "Oh, yeah, whoo!"

Joe, on the other hand, blanched. "Oh, hell no."

"Hey, she looks like Cecille's daughter," Barry began, then paused when it sank in that it really was Joanie up on stage, who had frozen when she saw the guys in the booth. "Oh."

* * *

 ** _Killer Frost_**

Killer Frost walked through the back door of a club, strutting through like she owned the place. One man reached out to grab her arm, and she spun, grabbing his arm as well, except she used her powers, freezing his hand. "I'm sorry," she scowled when he gasped in pain. "I thought touching without permission is what you wanted." The man released her, and Killer Frost walked into the club, moving through bodies to reach a clear part. She was blocked by a bodyguard, but raised an eyebrow. "I'd let me pass, unless you wanna know what it feels like when the liquid in your eyeballs crystallizes."

"Darling, you're here!" an excited, British female voice gasped in delight. "Let her in! Let her in, let her in!"

Killer Frost walked past the bodyguard to the woman in black reclining on a couch, who stood as she walked up. "Amunet," she scowled. "Next time you wanna talk, come yourself. Don't send your eye-hole to attack me."

Amunet gasped, turning to look at Norvock. "Did you start a fight? Honestly, Norvock, that's why you're my third favorite henchman. I mean, what do I always say?"

"Never start a fight you can't finish," Killer Frost smirked.

"Hmm?" Amunet nodded in agreement, turning to her. "And that, my dear, is why you are my favorite. You listen."

"Well, apparently, you don't," Killer Frost retorted. "I'm out, Amunet."  
"Out?" Amunet repeated, frowning. "Out of what? Out of opinions? Out of your mind? Out of the closet? There's just so many outs for the lady in blue."

"Are you asking me to dance?" Killer Frost quirked an eyebrow.

"You should know by now I don't ask for anything," Amunet smirked. "I tell, and I take. Now, come along," she grinned, picking up a bag. "I want to show you something that could make us both _very_ rich."

Killer Frost scowled, but she followed after Amunet as she walked off.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Around the same time, the four other girls walked into the club, still in their dresses from the bachelorette party. "All right, do you think they're gonna be able to tell that we don't exactly fit in here?" Felicity asked.

"It was your idea to wears boas," Kara reminded her, looking around. "So, no."

"Have we heard from the guys yet?" Cecille asked in concern.

"No," Iris sighed. "Look, ladies, OK, we are on our own, OK?"

One guy walked up, grinning and holding up a vial of a glowing blue substance. "How about a little love?"

"No!" Felicity shook her head, holding her hands up. "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

"No way!" Kara denied. "No love!"

"Engaged!" Iris held up her hand. "OK? Bye!"

Cecille frowned, looking around at everyone who was either drinking or holding a vial of the same liquid. "Is it just me, or does it seem like everybody here already bought what that guy is selling?"

Kara lowered her glasses slightly, looking through the crowd, then tensed. "I think I found where Frost is."

* * *

 ** _Killer Frost_**

"You got a pet," Killer Frost noted as they entered a back room. "Congratulations."

"I call him the Weeper," Amunet smirked. "I love naming metas."

"I know someone else like that," Killer Frost examined the extremely skinny young man held up by chains.

"Three weeks ago, this young man became a metahuman, and I acquired my new favorite product to sell in my network," Amunet smirked. "Did you notice? Love is quite literally in the air." She giggled, then tilted her head. "Do you know why?" Killer Frost shook her head, then Amunet kicked the meta hard in the chest.

The meta gasped and coughed, then looked up, panting hard. From one of his eyes came a glowing blue tear, which Amunet wiped off and inhaled. Killer Frost blinked when Amunet's skin briefly glowed the same blue color. "His tears are a drug?" she asked.

"His tears, my dear, are a gold mine," Amunet smiled. "One taste, and Central City will be hooked."

"Then why do you need me?"

"Really?" Amunet blinked. "Well, if I'm going to be selling something quite valuable, I'm going to need protection."

"That's what you've got good old snake-eye for."

"A deal like this requires a lady's touch. In your case, strength, and I'll cut you in for 10%." Killer Frost gave her a look, and Amunet huffed. "15%, and I throw in not killing you right now for your misguided rebellion, and that is only because I've got forgiveness in my kidneys, right?"

Killer Frost snorted. "I think you meant heart."

"No, there's no beat beat in this chest, sister."

"As much fun as it is to play 'I'm the bigger badass,' I'm bored. And like I said, I'm done."

"Do you know what everyone's mistake in business is?" Amunet scowled. "Hmm? Not realizing who has the power in the room."

Killer Frost brought her hand up, freezing mist curling around her fingers as Amunet held her hand out, the metal pieces in her bag rattling, ready to fly, when Iris's voice cut in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey!" Amunet frowned and turned as Iris ran into the room, followed by Kara, the alien taking her glasses off. "Ladies, ladies," Iris giggled nervously. "Let's put the meta abilities down."

"I'm sorry, who are these chicks?" Amunet frowned.

"Oh, uh . . . these chicks?" Iris blinked. "Oh."

"We're trying to stop a meta-fight from destroying your club," Kara answered, turning to Killer Frost. "Let's go."

Killer Frost scowled, not moving. "Frost," Iris insisted. "Let's go."

Killer Frost finally lowered her hand, and Amunet's metal stopped rattling. Iris and Kara walked off, and reluctantly, Killer Frost followed.

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"You're lucky she didn't kill you, West," Killer Frost grumbled.

"Who was that?" Iris demanded.

"That was Amunet Black."

"Of the underground market?" Cecille gasped.

"Oh, I'm guessing this chick has a criminal record," Felicity sighed.

"Yeah, she's been linked to the metahuman black market selling stolen technology, but we've never been able to nail her down," Cecille nodded.

"How do _you_ know her?" Kara asked Killer Frost.

"Though Caitlin," she answered. "Six months ago, Caitlin thought she had everything under control."

"Can't keep a good bad side down for long, am I right?" Felicity smiled tightly.

"She felt me becoming much stronger," Killer Frost continued. "She found out that Amunet had some tech that would let her stay in charge. She got desperate, so she decided to use it, but it came with a price tag."

"Which was?" Kara prompted.

"Being her muscle."

"Did you kill anyone?" Cecille asked worriedly.

"Some people lost their fingers and their toes, but no," Killer Frost shook her head. "No one died."

"And how are you here now?" Iris asked.

"While Caitlin sleeps, I am awake."

"Oh, my God, you're like the Incredible Hulk!" Felicity gasped in excitement.

"Way too much chutzpah, Felicity," Kara sighed.

"Dialing it back," she turned away.

"Look, what are Amunet's plans for the Weeper?" Iris asked.

"Not my problem," Killer Frost shrugged.

"Look, he was on that bus! We helped create him, we need to save him!"

"No, _I_ need to leave and escape Amunet," Killer Frost shook her head.

"And you're just gonna run away?" Cecille asked in disbelief.

"Listen, there's a reason the CCPD has not caught her, and that you idiots just realized there's a major crime lord living under your noses for the past three years," Killer Frost glared. "She's too powerful. We can't stop her."

Iris sighed as Killer Frost left. "Guys, we have a responsibility to the Weeper and to the city."

"Well, this isn't my city, and it's not my Earth," Kara folded her arms. "So, what do we do?"

"We need to rescue him before Amunet does whatever she's planning, OK?" Iris answered. "Cecille, you need to gather information on Amunet, and Felicity, you need to pull up the blueprint to the club. Kara, you're the best muscle we've got against Amunet. We need your help."

"You've got it," she nodded. "We all do."

"Yeah," Cecille sighed, nodding. "Hashtag feminism."

Iris smirked, holding out her fist. "Hashtag feminism."

"Hashtag feminism," Felicity agreed, and the four shared a fistbump.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"This isn't what you think, Joe," Joanie told Joe as they sat in a separate booth.

"Good, 'cause I thought I saw you dancing on that stage in a gold sequin bikini," Joe snorted.

"No, I'm writing a book on the female experience."

"I'd buy that book," Ralph spoke up.

Joe and Joanie both glared at him, and Ralph hastily turned away. "Why does your female experience include you dancing at the Golden Booty?" Joe frowned.

"Because we live in a society that's dictated by the male gaze," Joanie answered. "I wanna control the narrative of feminism, OK? I wanna show the world that a powerful, strong woman, she can wear anything, be it a bikini or a pantsuit."

"Or nothing," Ralph grinned. "Feminism."

"That's not how feminism works," Oliver glared, smacking Ralph in the arm, making him jump. "So cut it out."

"Yeah, Joanie's practically his daughter," Cisco agreed, then tilted his head. "Hey . . . Sad Flash." Oliver raised an eyebrow when they heard Barry sniffing. "Why the face?"

"Nothing," Barry shook his head, and Oliver sighed when he saw the barbecue sauce covering his face. "I just . . . " He let out a sob. "I just love chicken wings so much!"

Oliver blinked, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why?" he muttered, Cisco patting his shoulder sympathetically. "Cisco, _never_ give him that again."

Iris walked into the backroom, pausing when she saw Killer Frost flipping through papers. "Where are you gonna go?"

"I know a guy who can breach me to another Earth," she answered. "Start over, escape Amunet, be who I wanna be."

"And that's Killer Frost, right?"

The metahuman snorted. "Don't be cute, West. You can't stop me, and I don't want to go head to head with your pretty little Supergirl."

"I wasn't planning on it," Iris admitted. "And I don't think Kara wants to fight you, either. Look, I know you could kill me, just like you could've killed Amunet tonight, or Cisco six months ago, but you didn't. There is a part of you that is good, and decent. You just don't know how to accept it."

"You think you know me now?" Killer Frost scoffed.

"No," Iris shook her head. "But I _do_ know what Caitlin looks like when she's scared, and you have the same look in your eyes right now." She reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're just as afraid of being Caitlin as Caitlin is of being Killer Frost."

Killer Frost scowled. "If you still wanna have a hand for Barry to put a ring on, I suggest you move it."

Iris sighed, then took her hand away, letting Killer Frost storm off.

"There's a strong, powerful woman that we both love and fear, and her name is your mother," Joe gave Joanie a look. "Does she know you work here?"

"Of course not," she shook her head. "She would just jump to all the same conclusions that you are."

"Joanie, your mother and I just want you to be happy, but I think you need to ask yourself why you're keeping this a secret from her."

"Joe?" Barry's cracked voice came from behind, and almost dreading what would be next out of his adopted son's mouth, Joe turned to see Cisco and Oliver seemed just as concerned as him. Barry was crying, and didn't seem to be stopping any time soon. "Why didn't Rose make room for Jack on the door? There was plenty of room for both of them!"

"Chicken wings, now _Titanic?"_ Oliver shook his head, looking at Cisco incredulously. "When does this gift of yours stop giving?"  
"Man, I don't know!" Cisco shook his head. "I thought we'd be watching home movies right now!"

"Again, you are welcome!" Ralph smirked.

Before anyone could speak again, a stripper in a skimpy gold bikini stormed up. "You steal $20 from me, Ralphy?" she demanded.

"When?" Ralph blinked, then laughed nervously. "I mean, no."

"Yeah, you did," a man walked up behind her, holding Ralph's picture in his hands. "I saw it. I've been waiting a long time for this, Dibs."

He smashed the picture over his knee, making Barry yelp and Ralph scream. "You monster!"

Oliver ducked as Ralph flew at the man before scrambling out of his seat, heading for the exit of the club. The last thing he needed was for that FBI Agent Samandra Watson to hear he'd been involved in a bar fight.

An arm grabbed his, and Oliver whipped around, drawing a knife from the inside of his jacket, but Harry just held up his other hand. "You're welcome," the older man said before tugging Oliver into a space they couldn't be seen.

Oliver sighed and followed Harry, the two of them watching the club descend into complete chaos. Cisco seemed frozen in place, not seeming to know where to look. Joe finally stood up, holding up his hands. "Everybody, stop!" he yelled. "I'm a cop!"

Both men winced when another clubber tackled Joe to the ground. "Ooo," Harry shook his head. "That's gotta hurt."

Barry chose that moment to stand up, fling his arms in the air, and announce "I'm the Flash!"

Oliver sighed, face palming as Barry was the next to be tackled. "This is when I'm hoping the girls are having a better night," he grumbled.

"Same here, Queen," Harry agreed. "Same."

* * *

 ** _Killer Frost/Amunet Black_**

Killer Frost tilted her head when she heard footsteps behind her. "You're late," she remarked, turning.

She froze when she saw Amunet standing there, letting her bucket of metal drop to the ground. "I'm right on time," she growled. "What, were you expecting a different meta? Nobody walks away from me, Frost!"

Killer Frost's eyes turned silver, but before she could do anything, metal flew out of the bucket and formed a gauntlet over Amunet's hand, which she in turn morphed into a bullet-like projectile, firing it at Killer Frost, who flew back onto the ground. She quickly got to her feet, firing two blasts of ice at Amunet. She morphed her gauntlet into a shield, blocking the ice, then she turned it back into a gauntlet, forming several more metal projectiles, this time cutting Killer Frost. She gasped, collapsing again, this time not getting back up. "Did you really think I was going to let you just breach into the sunset?" Amunet snarled, walking up. "You owe me your life!"

She grabbed Killer Frost, punching her twice, then a third time. This time, Caitlin's hair morphed from white into her normal auburn, and a fourth punch knocked her out. "And I always take what I'm owed," Amunet hissed, raising her fist to punch again.

She was stopped by two police cars pulling up and one officer ordering, "Hands over your head, ma'am!"

Amunet sighed, then stood up and held up her hands, facing the officers. "Is there any part of the way that I'm dressed that leads you to believe I want to be called _ma'am?_ Hmm?"

She fired her gauntlet again, but there was a blur of blue and red, and suddenly the officers were gone. Amunet blinked, then turned around, only to see the same blur scoop up Killer Frost and disappear. Amunet growled in annoyance. "Kill you later, Caity!" she snarled.

* * *

 **A/N: I think the only reason I tolerate Ralph is because he's great comic relief. Other than that . . . not entirely sure.**


	25. Girls Night Out - Part Three

**The ladies face off with Amunet, and the boys eventually get out of prison. Plus, Kariver goodness to wrap the episode up.**

* * *

 _ **Iris West**_

Caitlin was sitting in the cortex, trying to stitch her wound when Iris walked in. "Let me help you," the bride-to-be whispered. When Caitlin opened her mouth to deny help, Iris insisted, "please."

Caitlin sighed, acquiescing. "OK. It's already knotted, you just have to pull it tight." Iris nodded, bending down and taking the tweezers, pulling the thread. "Thanks," Caitlin whispered.

"Yeah," Iris nodded, setting the tweezers down.

"What happened?" Caitlin asked timidly.

"You don't remember?" Iris asked, surprised.

"When she's in control, I don't remember much of what happens," Caitlin admitted. "Did she . . . _I_ hurt anyone?"

"Just that snake-eyed scumbag," Iris answered, and Caitlin scoffed. "Didn't kill him, though. So, the cure . . . it – "

"Didn't work," Caitlin said bitterly. "Not all the way."

"Which is why you wanted to leave tonight?" Iris guessed, and Caitlin sighed, nodding slightly. "And why it took you six months to come back?"

"When Cisco said he was gonna get Barry back from the Speed Force, I thought that maybe I could come back and make up for some of the pain that I caused," Caitlin explained. "But she's getting stronger." She scoffed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I never should've come back."

"That's not true, Caitlin," Iris shook her head. "You can always come back to your friends. Why didn't you tell any of us?"

"I didn't know who to talk to," Caitlin admitted.

"Could've talked to me," Iris offered. "I'm your friend, Caitlin."

"Work friend," Caitlin corrected. "I mean, it's not like you and I have become besties over the last few years."

"Yeah, I guess we haven't," Iris admitted, sighing.

* * *

 ** _Cisco Ramon_**

"Hey!" Ralph perked up when a security guard walked past the cell. "Jerry! Buddy! We gonna get that phone call or what?" The guard just kept on walking. "Hey! Come on, man! I know you can hear me!" he sang. "I'm right here! Hello!" He scoffed, turning around and walking back alongside the bars. "OK, great."

"You just know _everybody,_ don't you?" Cisco scowled from where he sat on the bench, another inmate asleep on his shoulder.

"I've been in here a few times," Ralph nodded, then examined the bars. "You know, I could wiggle through these bars and get us out of here. Maybe make my finger into a key . . . that'd be pretty sweet. A lot of pressure put on the index finger, though. Iron versus flesh! What do you think?" he asked, sitting down by Cisco.

"I think you should stop talking," Cisco deadpanned. _"Immediately."_

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen_**

Over by the toilet, Barry finished throwing up again and groaned in pain, holding his head as Joe patted his back comfortingly. "Ugh," he grimaced. "I don't ever have to drink again."

"Words uttered by everybody who's ever had too many," Joe couldn't help but smirk, holding out a towel. "Here."

"Ugh," Barry winced, unfolding the towel to wipe his mouth. "This was a bust, huh?"

"Bachelor party," Joe sighed. "Happens."

"What's up with you?" Barry asked, leaning on his fist and looking at him. "All night, you've seemed preoccupied."

Joe took a deep breath, then confessed, "I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Being a dad again. I'm almost fifty, Bar. When I saw that video Cisco made of you and Iris when you were kids, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was . . . I was young the first time I did this. And seeing Joanie? Ugh. It's hard raising humans, Bar."

"You'll be fine," Barry told him.

"I barely get enough sleep as it is, worrying about you three, especially with Wally being gone. Add to that a crazy baby schedule. Feeding, the crying . . . I'm honestly scared to death."

Barry looked at him, then spoke up. "Joe, when yo urasied Iris, you were alone. When you took me in, you were alone. And, you know, when Wally showed up, you were alone. You did that all by yourself, single parent. No one could've done a better job. _No one._ Now you've got a partner. You've got family. You've always been there for us when we've needed you, and now it's just our turn to do that for you. We will."

Joe smiled, holding out his arm, and Barry leaned into Joe, letting his foster father put his arm around him. "I know you will," Joe nodded, patting his hand.

The door to the room opened, and Barry and Joe both blinked as Oliver walked in with another guard. He raised an eyebrow as he looked in the cell, then pointed to Barry, Joe, and Cisco. "I'll take those three," he said before turning to leave.

Ralph cleared his throat loudly, and Oliver stopped, giving him a deadly look. He gave Barry a clear look that asked "really?" Barry just shrugged helplessly, and Oliver rolled his eyes, groaned, and pointed at Ralph. "Four," he grumbled.

Cisco immediately shot up, heading for the door. Ralph quickly caught the inmate's head, lying him down before following.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"These tears are more than just water," Felicity said, walking up with a Petri dish with a tear. "When ingested, the dark matter inside it alters the brain function like that of a psychoactive drug."

"Like an opioid?" Kara asked.

"It's like a love drug," Felicity said. "From tears."

"If this spreads, Central City's gonna have a _massive_ drug problem on its hands," Cecille swallowed.

"Oh, yeah," Felicity agreed.

"OK, well, we need to stop Amunet and save the Weeper before that happens," Iris said.

"How do we find her?" Cecille asked Caitlin.

"I don't know," she answered. "She's smart. Off the grid, always on the move, never leaves a trail."

"What about her powers?" Kara asked. "The metal she controls, do you know what kind it is?"

"Some kind of alnico alloy," Caitlin shrugged.

"Think you could use the satellites to track it?" Kara asked Felicity.

"You mean run a geological scan of the city for small-scale signatures of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt?" Felicity snorted. "Girl, please."

She typed on the computer, and it zoomed in on one area of the city. "There," Cecille pointed. "She's headed to Lawrence Hills. That's . . . that's all industrial out there. That's steel mills, docks, warehouses."

"OK, we need to stop her," Iris said.

"OK," Felicity nodded, following.

"Guys," Caitlin swallowed, stopping the four of them. "I can't go with you. If I lose control, I could become a liability. I'm sorry, Iris. I can't go."

"You don't have to," Iris nodded slowly. "We got this."

Kara nodded, following Iris out the door, Felicity and Cecille following.

"Ladies, what's your status?"

* * *

 ** _Iris West/Kara Danvers_**

"In position," Kara answered Cecille from high in the sky.

"We're in position," Iris added, looking at Amunet through the scope on her gun, Felicity wielding one of the cold guns.

"I think you'll be pleased," Amunet sang, walking to the back of her black truck, opening it to reveal the Weeper chained.

"This is him?" one of the Japanese men asked.

"Mmm," Amunet nodded.

One of her men punched the Weeper in the stomach, making him grunt. When he lifted his head, he had shed another tear. Amunet wiped it off with a finger with a smile. "Good boy." She turned to the Japanese man, lifting an eyebrow. "Sample?"

He conceded, and she walked over, letting him inhale. Blue rippled down his throat, and he exhaled, looking extremely cheerful. "I'll take him," he announced.

"On my count, we move," Iris said.

"OK," Felicity nodded.

"One, two – "

There was a rush of wind and two grunts from behind the girls, making them yelp and spin around. Kara had zoomed in and punched two henchmen out, their guns lying on the ground. Several other guns were soon pointed at her, and Kara stood protectively in front of Iris and Felicity, hands on her hips. "I remember you two," Amunet frowned, pointing between Kara and Iris. "You're the chicks from the bar, hmm?"

"Let the Weeper go," Kara ordered, narrowing her eyes.

Amunet narrowed her eyes right back, but before she could give an order, a voice from behind stopped her. "Hey, Amunet!" Everyone turned to see Caitlin walked in, dressed as Killer Frost. "This is between you and me. Let my friends go, and I'll come back and work for you."

"Oh," Amunet pouted. "It's too late for that, Caity. Do you know why no one has ever testified against me over the years, hmm? Well, it's because they're not alive to. Sorry." She turned around. "Take care of them."

Kara tensed as guns cocked, but a blast of cold air from behind made her grab Iris and Felicity and duck. The cold wave blasted Amunet's men back, and when the mist faded, Killer Frost stepped out, narrowing her eyes. "Well, _hello,_ Chilly," Amunet growled.

"Get out of here," Kara pushed Felicity and Iris, running back with them towards Killer Frost, the meta's hand outstretched to fire off ice if need be.

Amunet reached for her bag, summoning metal to form a gauntlet. "And I thought I wasn't going to be able to kill anyone today," she growled, firing off metal shards.

Kara flew forward to grab them, but skidded to a stop when ice formed in front of her. In fact, when she looked around, Killer Frost was forming a dome over all of them. "Kill them!" Amunet roared.

Kara narrowed her eyes as bullets started peppering the dome. "I don't think this is gonna hold much longer," Killer Frost warned.

"Well, this is a steel factory," Iris thought quickly. "And you move steel plates with – "

"Magnets," Felicity finished. "Really, really big magnets."

"And there's a really, really big magnet right up there," Kara grinned.

"Cecille, turn the crane on!" Iris shouted.

"What?" Cecille squawked. "How?"

"Uh, should be in the schematics," Felicity answered. "Just highlight it and turn it on!"

"OK," Cecille took a deep breath.

Killer Frost raised her hands and shot out blasts of ice, shattering the dome and knocking out the gunmen. "Oh," Amunet growled. "You and I could have been gods!"

"I used to work with a god," Killer Frost retorted. "Over it."

Amunet raised her gauntlet, and Iris shouted, "Cecille, _now!"_

There was a loud hum, then the metal shards flew off Amunet's hand and towards the crane, along with the metal shards in her bucket. Amunet blanched, attempting to summon them back, but nothing came to her. Killer Frost chuckled darkly, forming an icicle in her hand and walking forward. "Not so scary without your bling now, are ya, sister?"

She raised the icicle to stab Amunet, but Iris shouted, "Stop!" She ran forward so she was in Killer Frost's sight. "Caitlin, stop!"

"I'm not Caitlin," Killer Frost hissed. "And I'll never be free unless she dies."

"No, it's the opposite," Iris shook her head. "You are free right now. But if you do this, you will always be a killer. Killer Frost, Caitlin, you don't have to be one or the other. You get to decide who you are."

Killer Frost seethed, then dropped the icicle, letting it shatter on the ground. "Get out of here," she ground out.

"You've ruined this for me today," Amunet hissed. "And one day soon, I promise you I will ruin something for you."

Amunet left with Norvock, and Kara ran forward. "Hold on," she told the Weeper, reaching up to break the chains. "We're gonna help you."

But when the Weeper was released, he scrambled away from Kara. "Get away from me!" he spat, running off.

Felicity and Iris backed up when he burst past them, then Cecille ran in. "The police are on their way," she announced.

"We did it, guys," Felicity grinned. "We . . . _really_ did it."

"Actually," Iris smirked. "It's _girls."_

Kara grinned and walked up to Felicity, the two fistbumping. Iris gave Killer Frost a small smile, but she looked away instead of returning it.

* * *

 ** _Cisco Ramon_**

"I'm gonna have a headache now until my wedding day," Barry griped as the elevator descended into the cortex.

"Worth it," Ralph smirked.

"Agree to never speak about what happened tonight?" Cisco asked.

"Agreed," Barry nodded.

"If I have to," Ralph shrugged at the same time.

"What?" Barry stared at Ralph as they left the elevator, then straightened when he saw Iris waiting for them. "Hey!"

"Hey," Iris smiled, walking up to him.

"I saw you called seventeen times. Everything OK?"

"Oh, yeah, everything is fine," Iris nodded. "How was your night?"

"Ummm . . . " Barry exchanged glances with Cisco before answering, "good. Quiet."

"Uneventful," Ralph pitched in.

"Yours?" Cisco asked.

"Uh, yeah," Iris nodded. "Yeah, not much happened."

"You know what, we actually had a few scrapes," Barry winced.

"Honestly, so did we," Iris sighed.

"Some tears were involved," Ralph nodded.

"Yeah, us, too," Iris nodded back.

"More crying," Barry continued. "Then puking."

"Aww," Iris rubbed his back sympathetically.

"Lost access to the happiest place on Earth," Ralph added.

"Pretty sure nothing could've made tonight any worse," Cisco stated before stopping dead when he entered the cortex. He took one look at Killer Frost standing in the middle of the room, then groaned. "I'm so tired. I'm so tired, can we just do this tomorrow, please?"

"Aw, chicks with white hair," Ralph's eyes widened. _"Hot."_

"Why is Killer Frost here?" Barry frowned.

"Guys, she has something that she wants to tell you," Iris answered. "And you all should listen."

Barry and Cisco watched in amazement as Killer Frost's eyes turned from silver to their normal brown color, then her eyes shut as starting from her roots, white morphed into auburn. When she opened her eyes again, it was Caitlin standing in front of them, looking beat up. "Aww," Ralph pouted. "It's just Caitlin."

"I can explain everything," Caitlin smiled shyly, and Barry and Cisco nodded, walking towards her to listen.

Before Caitlin started, though, Cisco felt his phone buzz, and he pulled it out, quickly checking the text he had just received, then typed out a reply.

* * *

 ** _Joe West_**

"Hey, Joe."

Joe looked up when Joanie entered, and he sat up. "Hey."

"Uh, when you got arrested, I figured you'd be OK, 'cause you're a cop, but still?"

"Yeah, we're all fine," Joe nodded. "How was the rest of _your_ night?"

"It was fine," Joanie brushed it off. "Joe, I'm gonna do what I want."

"I know," Joe nodded, holding up his hands in surrender. "You're an adult. I was not trying to tell you what to do."

"But if I'm being honest, I know that I took it too far tonight," Joanie sighed.

"And what about your feminist research?" Joe asked.

"I still believe everything I was saying," Joanie answered. "But after we talked, I realized that's not why I'm working there, so I'm gonna quit." Joe nodded, and Joanie swallowed. "Are you gonna tell Mom?"

"That's not my secret to tell," Joe shook his head. "But your mom loves you, and she'll always listen if you let her."

Joanie considered, then the door opened, and Cecille walked in, holding up a bag of Big Belly Burger. "Just got my first craving," she announced, sighing as she walked in. "Hi, you two! How was your night?"

"Uh, it was fine," Joe answered. "Nothing happened. You?"

"Oh," Cecille smiled tightly as he kissed her cheek. "Same. Super chill."

"I'm gonna head to bed, but, um . . . " Joanie shifted slightly. "Do you wanna do breakfast in the morning and just talk?"

"Yeah, sweetie," Cecille beamed. "I'd like that."

"OK," Joanie smiled.

"OK."

"Good night, guys," Joanie waved.

"Good night," Cecille waved after her, then turned to Joe. "I gotta tell you something. This kid of ours? Definitely not a vegetarian."

"This kid of ours," Joe repeated, shaking his head. "Cecille, I gotta tell _you_ . . . I never thought I'd even have a second chance at love, and here you are. You're my everything. To top that miracle, we're having this baby. It's exciting." Cecille smiled, laying a hand on her stomach. "Is it OK to say that I'm scared?" Joe asked.

"I'm so glad you told me that, 'cause I am _terrified,"_ Cecille let out in a rush.

"Really?" Joe blinked.

"Yes, really! I thought that I'd finally hit this groove in my life and my career and with you, and now _this_ changes _everything!"_

"The last thing I thought at our age, we'd be having a baby," Joe admitted.

"I know!" Cecille laughed. "It's scary, but I figure pretty much all we gotta do is love this baby as much as we love each other."

"That's a lot of love," Joe grinned.

"Yeah," Cecille nodded, smiling and leaning over to kiss him.

* * *

 ** _Cisco Ramon_**

Cisco checked his phone, looking at the time, then walked around the corner into an alley behind S.T.A.R. Labs. "Guessing there's a reason we're meeting here instead of the hotel?" he asked.

"Kara doesn't know," Oliver answered, walking up to join Cisco, a duffel over his shoulder. "I don't keep secrets from her, but this is one I'd like to keep."

"It ain't a bad one, though," Cisco reminded him.

"Still," Oliver smirked, taking the duffel off and handing it over to Cisco. "This is a surprise." Cisco nodded, unzipping the bag and looking through it. "Everything's in there."

"You're sure about this?" Cisco asked, looking up at him. "I'm happy to do it, but is your team OK with it?"

"They all agreed with it," Oliver nodded, holding out one of the drives Winn had given him. "This has got everything you need on it."

"I'll get started right away," Cisco promised, zipping the bag and hefting it onto his shoulder, taking the drive from Oliver and putting it in his pocket. "Max amount of time it'll take is a few weeks. That good?"

"Just breach over when it's ready," Oliver nodded.

"Will do," Cisco nodded, then held up a finger. "One last thing." Oliver sighed, but nodded for him to continue. "There anything specific I should work with? Because I'm thinking there's gonna be a name involved."

"Well," Oliver tilted his head side to side. "I have it on good authority that its future owner's favorite animal is a dog."

Cisco grinned. "Way ahead of you, man." He waved. "Give my best to Kara when you leave!"

"Thanks, Cisco!" Oliver waved back, turning and heading back towards the hotel.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Quiet and classy," Kara mused as she walked with Iris and Caitlin towards the elevator, back in a conservative button-up and dress pants. "I think that was the epitome of _opposite."_

Caitlin laughed. "Not quite the bachelorette party you had in mind?"

"Well, saving the city wasn't a bad way to spend the night," Iris admitted. "But the best part of the night was spending it with the ladies of Team Flash and visitors from Team Arrow and Supergirl."

"It was," Caitlin admitted. "When we weren't almost getting killed."

"Yeah, we should do it more often," Iris agreed.

"We should," Caitlin nodded.

"The 'hanging out' part, not the 'almost getting killed' part."

"I'd like that," Caitlin smiled.

"And any time you want another ear, other than . . . the usual," Iris raised an eyebrow at Kara. "Feel free to drop in."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kara promised.

"Actually, I wanted to ask both of you favors about the wedding," Iris looked between them.

"Oh?" Caitlin and Kara exchanged glances. "You want a custom ice sculpture?"

"I'm pretty good at tracing things with my heat vision," Kara volunteered.

"No," Iris laughed. "Um . . . I wanted to know if you, Caitlin, wanted to be my maid of honor, and Kara . . . if you would be my second bridesmaid."

Both girls' eyes widened. "Me?" they both said simultaneously.

"Yeah," Iris smiled, looking at Kara. "Barry cares about you a lot, and I hope I can call you a friend as well, and it would mean the world if you were in the wedding party. And Caitlin, we're more than work friends, and we've been through a lot together. Weddings are all about new beginnings, right? So, what do you say? You two wanna stand up for me?"

"Absolutely," Kara grinned widely.

"I do," Caitlin nodded, then smirked. "I guess that's your line, though, right?"

Iris laughed, opening her arms, and the three of them shared a hug. "Thank you," Iris told them.

"Thanks for asking," Kara smiled as the doors opened.

"I'm so excited!" Caitlin gushed as they entered the elevator.

"I know!" Kara squealed, then turned to Iris. "Oh, but you've got to warn me when everyone's finding dresses, preferably in advance."

"Will do," Iris promised.

"Do I have a bridesmaid's dress?" Caitlin wondered.

"Of course!" Iris laughed as the doors closed.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver looked up from his phone when the hotel room door opened, and Kara bounced in. "I was just about to ask where you were," he held up his phone, then gently tossing it onto the bedside table. He paused, seeing the ecstatic grin on her face, then smirked. "What happened?"

"Iris asked me to be one of her bridesmaids," Kara grinned.

"Did she?" Oliver grinned, and when Kara nodded eagerly, he laughed and hugged her. "Good for you!"

"This just got even more exciting," Kara giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, and just when I thought it couldn't already top the evening."

"That eventful?" Oliver raised an eyebrow, watching her take off her jacket.

"Oh, you know," Kara shrugged, taking a moment to speed into her night clothes, dropping back onto the bed. "Just saving the city."

"Guess Cisco and I weren't the designated superheroes of the night after all," Oliver rolled his eyes, sliding under the sheets with her.

"Yeah, you guys failed at that," Kara giggled, then scrunched up her face and deepened her voice. "Green Arrow and Vibe, you have failed Central City!"

"Not my city," Oliver held up his hands as Kara laughed. "Just saying."

"So what happened with you guys?" Kara asked, reaching over to turn off her light.

"Met the new member of Barry's team," Oliver answered, snorting and rolling his eyes.

"Guessing you're not fond of him," Kara smirked.

"No," Oliver scoffed. "He took us to a strip club."

"A _what?"_ Kara shot upright.

"Kara, nothing happened," Oliver promised, sitting up as well and putting a hand on her cheek. "Those days are behind me. None of us _except_ Dibny wanted to be there, definitely not me. You're the only woman I ever want to look at like that, OK? I promise."

Kara smiled, nuzzling Oliver's hand. "I know," she whispered.

Oliver kissed her gently, and when they laid down again, Kara curled into him. "Then Ralph got into a fight, which ended with him, Barry, Cisco, and Joe getting arrested," he continued conversationally. "Wells and I got out before that happened, though."

" _Arrested?"_ Kara repeated.

"I know," Oliver smirked. "I was tempted to leave Ralph in jail."

"Probably good you didn't."

"I don't know, Wells isn't a fan of his." Oliver snickered. "And Barry got drunk."

"You're kidding!"

"Cisco made a 'special concoction.' Barry was a complete _idiot_ the majority of the evening."

"Oh, now I wanna know what drunk Barry is like," Kara whined.

"He thinks he takes peanuts from the bar with super speed, loves chicken wings, complains about the ending of _Titanic,_ and likes to go around shouting 'I'm the Flash!' at the top of his lungs."

" . . . no. Way."

"Way," Oliver laughed.

"Oh, man," Kara pouted. "Now I really wanna see that."

Oliver chuckled. "And how did your night go?"

"Well, the party was crashed by a meta with a snake in his eye," Kara thought, making Oliver blink. "Then we faced off with a crime lord who had the power to control metal, and had to save a meta who cries a love drug from her."

"I'd have traded you," Oliver said dryly.

Kara raised an eyebrow. "You with the ladies, and me in the middle of a strip club surrounded by guys paying to see scantily clad women?"

Oliver paused. "I take that back."

"Thought so," Kara giggled, sighing and closing her eyes. "All in a day's work, though."

"Yeah," Oliver agreed, reaching over to turn off his light, then wrapped his arm around Kara, closing his eyes.

Only a few seconds had gone by before Kara spoke again. "Oh, and we found out Caitlin still has her Killer Frost side."

Oliver did a double take. _"What?!"_

* * *

 **A/N: The moment I imagined this episode, I knew it was going to end with Kara dropping that on Oliver. It was too good to pass up.**

 **And if it seems like Kara wasn't using her full potential in the fight . . . you're right, she wasn't. Thing was, if she did, it would take away from what made "Girls Night Out" w** **hat it was - it was the ladies of Team Flash that helped save the day. To quote from the Season 4/Season 2 crossover, it's their city.**

 **Speaking of cities, it's back to National City next time!**


	26. Supergirl - Damage - Part One

**Alex breaks the news to Maggie, and Kara, Lena, and Sam learn something horrible from the successor of the devil, Morgan Edge.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara dove down onto the highway, landing in front of a prison escort truck, stopping it in its tracks. When she straightened from her crouch, she saw the driver look at her with wide eyes, one of the prisoners grabbing him out of his chair. She walked over to the doors and tore them open, climbing up into the bus. The prisoner grabbed the driver, and Kara paused, watching him put his knife to his throat. "You come closer, your eyes glow, you even flinch . . . and I open up his throat."

Kara tilted her head. "No, you won't."

Something exploded on top of the bus, and the prisoner turned around as part of the top collapsed. Alex dropped in and punched the guy out. Kara watched her demolish every prisoner who thought it was a good idea to try and take her down, then asked in a bored voice, "Anyone else?"

Unsurprisingly, no other prisoner moved from their seat.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara and Alex let the police handle the transport from there, and Kara walked down the sidewalk with her sister, feeling how tense and upset she was. "You holding up OK?" she asked.

"No," Alex said bluntly.

Kara looked at her sympathetically. "It's happening tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Alex confirmed.

Kara put her arm around her shoulders, squeezing her lightly.

* * *

 ** _Ruby Arias_**

Ruby looked up at her mother in concern on the way to school, then asked, "Mom, are you OK?"

"What?" Sam blinked, then nodded. "Yes. Babe, of course, I'm fine. I'm totally fine. It was just a dream."

"You were awake," Ruby pointed out.

"Ruby, I'm fine," she sighed. "It was a migraine. Look, we're up next. Get your backpack." Ruby smiled and grabbed her backpack from the back seat. "I love you," Sam smiled.

"Love you, too," Ruby giggled, getting out. "Bye!"

"Have a good day!" Sam waved. "Bye!"

Ruby walked towards the school, turning when she saw one of her friends run up to her. "Hey! Did you get your math homework done?" When Ruby nodded, he sheepishly said, "I couldn't get through it."

"Well, there's still time before the bell if you want me to help you," Ruby offered.

"Yeah," he grinned. "That'd be – "

Ruby frowned, seeing him stop midsentence, a strange look on his face. "You OK?" she asked. He tried to reach for her, then toppled backwards in a dead faint. "Luke!" she shrieked, lunging forward to try and catch him. "Mom, help! Mom!" Sam's eyes widened, and she hurried out of her car, pulling out her phone to call an ambulance. "It's OK, it's OK," she gasped, trying to figure out what to do to help Luke as he kept spasming. "It's OK. Oh, please," she sobbed, Sam running up and putting an arm around her. "It's OK. It's OK!"

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/James Olsen_**

"Ms. Luthor!" Lena turned when she heard her name being called, and James walked up to her, a small frown on his face. "Um, you approved an advertorial on page six."

"Is there a question coming?" Lena asked, a smirk on her face.

"Well, I – " James cleared his throat. "I just wish you would have told me first."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know ads were in your purview, Mr. Olsen."

"Well, they're _not_ in my purview," James admitted. "It's – it's not a big deal, it's just that if we're gonna disguise ads as articles, I think that it sends a bad message. People wanna know what they're getting, you know? They expect integrity from us. Just a perception thing."

"Seventy percent," Lena said suddenly.

James blinked, looking at her. "Excuse me?"  
"That's the deep discount on our print subscription rate," Lena informed him. "Seventy percent. That's what it takes just to get people to read, so I think an advertorial here and there is a necessary evil."

James chuckled slightly, but before another word could be said, there was a knock on the office door. "Everything OK?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Lena nodded.

"Absolutely," James said at the same time.

"Good," Kara nodded, walking in. "Uh, James, I just came to check and see if – " She stopped, seeing something on the screens behind them, and she gulped, pointing. "Actually, I think you're gonna wanna turn up the TV."

James and Lena turned to see Morgan Edge on the largest screen, and Lena narrowed her eyes, seeing the description line at the bottom. "What is that scumbag doing in my hospital?" she demanded as James grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.

"It was a nightmare," Edge was saying. "And we would've given anything for it to end, am I right? Then the Daxamites . . . the ships just up and left. You know why they left? It was a lead-dispersal bomb that drove 'em away. I have a colleague whose son was sick. Brought him here. There were other children in this hospital with the same symptoms. The doctors told me that there were other children in still other hospitals, all displaying the same symptoms. Lead poisoning." Lena blanched, watching as Edge backed up to crouch by a weak boy in a wheelchair. "You know, it's fitting that we're here, in this hospital. Lena Luthor built the bomb that poisoned these boys and girls."

As reporters erupted into questions, Lena set her jaw. "I've gotta get down there."

"Keep it down," Edge said, James watching Kara hurry after her, the Kryptonian pulling out her phone as she went. "Please respect the children. Let's take it outside, I'll answer your questions."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex stopped outside her apartment, twisting her key in her hands, before finally just opening the door and walking inside. Maggie twisted away from the table, and Alex swallowed, seeing she had one of the cards from their bridal shower in front of her. "I was hoping you'd take longer getting home," Maggie whispered.

"I thought about it," Alex admitted. "That's only gonna get harder."

"I don't wanna feel like this," Maggie sighed, standing up and walking towards her. "I love you!"

"Yeah, I love you, I love you back," Alex nodded, avoiding Maggie and brushing her hair out of her face. "I, uh . . . "

Maggie took deep breaths, tears in her eyes. "This can't be it," she denied. "This is stupid! This is – "

"We've talked this through, right?" Alex asked.

"Mmmhmm," Maggie nodded.

"I mean, for _days._ Can you do that again? Can – can you go another couple rounds? Because I can't. Are you ever gonna wanna have kids?"

Maggie opened her mouth, but she didn't answer. "I want you," she finally said, her voice choked up.

"Yeah, I know, babe," Alex nodded. "But I want kids. I'm always gonna want kids."

Maggie swallowed. "Then there's nothing else left." She looked at Alex, lifting her head high. "You have to say it."

"Maggie," Alex begged.

"You have to say it out loud. Please?"

Alex swallowed hard, then said it. "We can't be together."

* * *

 ** _Quentin Lance/Oliver Queen_**

"Hey, uh . . . something wrong?" Quentin asked as he entered Oliver's office, seeing the man tapping on his phone.

"Yeah, it sounded like something was," Thea added as she and Rene followed.

"Maybe," Oliver looked up. "Close the door?" Rene did, and Oliver sighed. "Kara texted, said she didn't have time to explain, but she said there's a major problem in National City, one Supergirl may not be much help for."

"That doesn't sound good," Quentin said bluntly.

"No, it doesn't," Oliver shook his head. "That's why I'm looking, seeing if anything's come – " He trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "Up."

"What's wrong, Hoss?" Rene asked.

Oliver walked over to them, tilting his phone horizontally so they could see Edge's statement at Lena's hospital. "Lead poisoning?" Thea whispered in shock. "Oh, my God."

"An outbreak?" Rene frowned.

"When the Daxamites attacked National City, Lena used a bomb to project lead into the atmosphere," Oliver explained. "According to Kara, it released a safe amount so it wouldn't affect humans, but it would kill the Daxamites unless they left. There hasn't been any signs of lead poisoning until now." He sighed, exiting the video. "I'm heading over."

Quentin thought for a moment, then turned. "Do you mind if I tag along?"

Oliver blinked, looking up. "What?"

"Well, it's like you said, there's been no sign of lead poisoning until now," Quentin shrugged. "And if Kara said it should have been safe for humans, I'm inclined to believe her. Maybe it's not the bomb after all, and if that's the case, I'm more than happy to help find out what's making all those children sick. Former police captain and detective doesn't hurt, either. Dinah could help, too."

"Maybe Felicity or Curtis could go with you, too," Thea suggested. "If it was Lena's tech that did this, maybe they could find out what happened with it."

Oliver sighed. "All right, fine. Call Dinah, I'll call Felicity. Let's go see what's going on. Can you two handle the office?" he looked at Thea and Rene.

"Please," Thea scoffed.

"We got it, Hoss," Rene nodded.

Oliver nodded, grabbing his suit jacket and heading out the door, Quentin following.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara was comforting Lena as they walked down the hall when they saw Sam back out of one of the rooms. "Sam?" Kara asked in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Lena asked.

"Hey," Sam walked up. "Luke, one of Ruby's friends, collapsed this morning. Lead poisoning. I came with the paramedics, his mom just got here. I saw Edge's stunt, too. This whole thing is awful."

"All right, where do I sign?" Edge's voice came from nearby.

Lena bristled when she saw him, and Kara swallowed. "Lena," she warned.

"Where the hell do you get off?" Lena spat, storming his way, Kara hurrying after her.

Edge had the gall to hold up a finger as he signed something, and Lena stopped, jaw hanging open. "Thank you," Edge handed the form back, then put his pen back in his pocket. "That was me paying the end of the medical expenses at _your_ hospital," he told her.

"So this is what your revenge looks like?" Lena scowled, Kara standing by her side.

"Have you ever heard of the cobra effect, Lena?" Edge raised an eyebrow, making Lena frown. "Colonial India, the British government, they realized there were snakes all over Delhi. They wanted them gone, so they offered a bounty for dead snakes. And then they realized people were breeding snakes for income. They thought everything was going really well. They realized they got slithering snakes all over Delhi. The whole thing backfired. Turns out, they made the problem worse. You understand?"

"You're a toxic predator," she answered.

"Unintended consequences," Edge told her. "You wanted to be a hero so bad, you didn't care who you hurt. Now people are gonna die."

"Even if all of this were true, Supergirl would be just as much to blame," Kara narrowed her eyes. She didn't like saying this, but she did anyway. "She made the call to use that device."

"Supergirl may have pushed the button, sure, but that tech was all Luthor," Edge shook his head.

"You're a bottom feeder," Lena hissed.

"But I didn't poison children," Edge said coldly, walking past them. "That was you."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Ms. Luthor, is there anything I can get for you?" Eve asked worriedly as the two returned to CatCo with Sam in tow.

"Call the CDC and get every report they have on the outbreak," Lena answered. "I also need the victims' medical reports, and I wanna see every bit of data Morgan Edge has seen."

"Right away," she nodded. "And, uh . . . I'm so sorry."

Lena sighed, walking into the main office. "There has to be another explanation," Kara said firmly.

"There could be hundreds of other reasons why these kids are getting sick besides your device," Sam agreed, she and Kara sitting across from Lena.

"I mean, Edge is manipulating people to get revenge on you for buying CatCo," Kara nodded.

"He's ruthless, Lena," Sam looked at her. "You know that."

"Look, what if it's true, OK?" Lena asked. "I told Supergirl that the lead in the device was safe for humans. She wouldn't have used it if it wasn't safe."

"Yes, but using it saved all of us," Sam reminded her.

"Ms. Luthor!" James called, walking into the office.

"Mr. Olsen," she sighed, watching him. "Come to tell Kara 'I told you so?' Another Luthor takes innocent lives, news at 11?"

"Ms. Luthor, despite our differences and after everything that has happened because of your family, I would hope by now that you would recognize that I see you as more than just an extension of them," James gave her a look. "However, I do think that you should get ahead of this thing. Which, in my opinion, I think you should step down from CatCo so whatever we report, good or bad, comes off as truthful."

"No!" Kara protested. "That would look like an admission of guilt!"

"No, Kara, he's right," Lena sighed. "Whatever's happening, whoever's responsible, this is a public crisis, and the public deserves to be able to trust the reporting so that they can prepare themselves. The expect integrity from us. They deserve it, and they need it now more than ever. Mr. Olsen," she turned to him. "You will run CatCo until this is resolved, and I think I should also step down from L-Corp."

"Lena, we need you," Sam shook her head at once. "We need you to help guide the research."

"No, no, L-Corp has a brain trust that's more than capable, OK?" Lena insisted. "If I'm involved, I could be accused of covering things up, or even profiting from the sick. This can't be like Flint, Michigan, OK, where bureaucracy got in the way. Helping people has to be the focus."

"Kara?" a familiar voice called out, and Kara blinked, standing up and watching as Felicity scrambled through the office, Dinah right behind her, with Oliver and Quentin bringing up the rear. "Kara!"

"Felicity?" Kara asked in disbelief, walking up. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We're here to help, Malcolm and Laurel, too, they're back waiting for us with William," Oliver answered, looking at Lena out of the corner of his eye. "But also a heads up, someone followed right behind us – "

"Where is she?" an angry voice shouted. "Where's Lena Luthor?"

"And that's him," Quentin sighed.

"Sir!" Eve ran up to stop the man from storming in, Dinah turning to help her. "Sir, please, calm down."

"I need to see her!" the man growled. "She needs to answer for my son!" Dinah sighed, then looked into the office. Lena stood up and headed out to see what he had to say, Sam and Kara behind her. The man stepped forward, narrowing his eyes, and Eve hastily ran off. "You know he stopped breathing?" he told her. "They had to put a tube down his throat." Felicity put her hands over her mouth, eyes wide, as Oliver and Quentin exchanged glances. This had gotten much worse since Oliver had found what Edge had said. "My boy is twelve years old. He is supposed to be laughing, outside playing, not stuck in some hospital with the doctors telling me they don't know how to fix him! You rich people, you think you can do whatever you want, that we don't matter. My son matters!"

"I am sorry," Lena finally managed to get a word in as security arrived, Eve following them. "I – "

"You're _sorry_?!" the man yelled angrily, fighting against security to keep shouting at her. "You're gonna answer for what you did to my son! For what you did to _all_ of them!"

Lena seemed frozen to the spot, shaking and swallowing. "Lena?" Felicity whispered.

She took a deep breath, then turned. "I want your best reporter covering this," she told James quietly. "I'm not hiding anything. Set a press conference for later today."

James sighed, then went to do as she asked, and Kara took a deep breath, turning to Oliver. "You didn't have to come," she whispered.

"Yeah, I did," Oliver put an arm around her shoulders, and Kara leaned into him, accepting his comfort. "Lena's your friend, you don't have to go through this alone."

"It's why we're here, Kara," Dinah smiled. "A few outside eyes and ears won't hurt."

"Thank you," Kara whispered. "It means a lot." She suddenly perked up. "Oh! Oliver, do you remember Sam?" she gestured to the other businesswoman. "She was at the waterfront with her daughter when the missiles hit."

"I remember," Oliver smiled, holding out a hand. "How is she? What was it, Ruby?"

"Yeah, Ruby," Sam smiled, nodding and shaking his hand. "She's doing fine, thank you for helping her, even if it was your son under there as well."

"Of course," Oliver nodded.

"And, uh, meet Quentin, Dinah, and Felicity," Kara made other introductions.

"Nice to meet you," Dinah smiled.

"You, too," Sam nodded. "Anything to help Lena."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor_**

"Lock her up!" the crowd was shouting as Oliver, Kara, Quentin, and Dinah worked their way through the crowd. "Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!"

Lena swallowed as she took in the protesters from where she stood with James and Sam. "It's time, Ms. Luthor," James told her.

Lena nodded, then took a deep breath, straightened her jacket, and walked towards the stage and the podium set up. Kara gave her a thumbs up from where she stood, Oliver nodding his support. Lena smiled slightly as she stood at the microphones, taking another deep breath. "Good afternoon," she said. "I'm – I'm Lena Luthor." She winced, hearing the shouting at her, then shouted as well so she could be heard. "I know a lot of you here are angry! I hear you! I would be, myself, if I felt someone had poisoned my children." Things settled down slightly, so Lena stopped shouting and continued. "So, my thoughts go out to everyone who is afflicted. I heard what Morgan Edge told you this morning. And I wish I was up here to say something different, but . . . the truth is I don't know if my device hurt children. And until I do, I realize that none of you can have faith in me."

A faint click made Kara tense and look around. "Kara?" Oliver frowned.

"I heard something," she frowned, adjusting her glasses.

"Your faith is something I have worked harder than you may realize to keep, and the fact that I might have lost it breaks my heart," Lena continued.

"On your nine," Laurel's voice suddenly said through their comms.

Quentin turned that way, frowning. "That's the guy from the office."

Kara turned as well, narrowing her eyes when she saw him put his hand in his jacket pocket. Kara lowered her glasses to see what he was reaching for, then relaxed when she saw it was just a phone. "And so," Lena went on. "Until the investigation into the poisonings is concluded, I shall be stepping down from – "

Gunshots started ringing out, and Sam dove to the ground, James running to grab Lena. The crowd started screaming as Quentin and Dinah drew their guns, looking around for the shooter. Kara quickly snatched a bullet out of thin air before it hit Oliver, and he jerked back, looking at her. "Thanks!" he blew out a breath.

"Yeah," Kara nodded shakily, dropping the bullet.

There was a smack nearby, and they turned to see a figure in a hooded sweater yelp and drop their gun, a black arrow knocking it away. Oliver took a quick look to the side, in time to see Malcolm and Laurel in their vigilante suits disappear in the chaos. One of the security guards grabbed the shooter, removing their hood to reveal a crying young woman.

"Help!" Lena suddenly screamed from the stage, and Oliver and Kara whipped around to see Lena bending over James, looking around frantically, her hands stained red. "Somebody help me!"

Kara ran for the stage, Oliver behind her, and she climbed up to Lena's side, blanching when she saw the gunshot wound in James's shoulder, his blood steadily staining his shirt. "James," she whispered in horror as Oliver quickly took off his jacket to stem the blood, Dinah and Quentin running up with more officers.

* * *

 **A/N: I figured this episode would be a great opportunity to allow more Earth-1ers over: Quentin and Dinah because Dinah's a lieutenant and Quentin used to be a detective and a police captain, and Felicity because her tech skills could come in handy.**

 **Part two will be up soon!**


	27. Damage - Part Two

**To one of the reviewers: unless there is an overwhelming yes from people to pair James and Lena together (which definitely didn't happen on Wattpad), I'm not going to pair them together. It just doesn't work for me.**

 **Winn and Felicity test the lead bomb, Kara and Sam do some digging, and turns out, they find something! Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and rainbows.**

* * *

 _ **Winn Schott**_

"Jeez," Winn whistled as James held up the bullet that had lodged in his shoulder. "If that bullet had a little more stopping power, your shoulder would be a mess."

"Yeah, that's what you said last time," James sighed.

"Edge riled them up, he knew what he was doing," Kara remarked.

"The shooter just found out that her son took a turn for the worse," James told her. "I'm not making any excuses, but she just went after who she thought was responsible."

"What are you saying?" Kara scowled. "You still think that Lena is responsible for what's happening?"

"I'm not saying that she did this," James shook his head. "I'm just saying that maybe this happened because of what she did."

"Semantics."

"She jerry-rigged that device to do something it was never intended to do," James pointed out. "Look, I know you don't wanna hear this, but that device was invented by Lex Luthor."

"Which is why we're testing it," Winn said, standing up. "Felicity and I are ready whenever you are."

"Then let's test it," Kara nodded.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"OK, so we sealed off the room to contain the lead cloud," Winn explained as he and Felicity led Kara, Oliver, and the other Earth-1ers through the D.E.O.

"And we have some sensors that will analyze the particulate," Felicity added.

"How will you know if the device is the cause?" Quentin asked.

"OK, so when Lena and I crunched the numbers during the invasion, like, 99.96% of the molecules bonded to Daxamite genes," Winn answered.

"Which basically means that if it hits a human, it evaporates," Felicity explained when everyone looked blankly at Winn. "No harm done."

"The rest, you know, 0.04% we chalked up to margin of error," Winn finished.

"So if that number is the same, it's not Lena's device," Oliver concluded.

"Exactly," Felicity nodded.

"OK, hit it," Kara ordered.

"Great," Winn pressed a button on his tablet.

The device whirred, then let out a cloud of dark grey particles in a flash of blue. Malcolm whistled, impressed. "That's clever."

"Anything?" Kara turned to Winn and Felicity as they bent over his tablet.

"Hold, please," Felicity said absently.

"It is . . . " Winn began, then his eyes widened.

"What?" Kara asked worriedly.

"Whoo," Felicity's eyes widened, and she and Winn exchanged looks.

"Guys, what's the percentage?" Oliver demanded.

Winn winced, then held up the tablet to show them. "89.79?!" Laurel's jaw dropped.

"There's a 10% chance the device is the cause?" Dinah breathed in shock.

"Actually, 10.21," Felicity smiled nervously.

Kara groaned, burying her face in her hands, Oliver rubbing her back comfortingly.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena finished washing her hands, shutting off the sink, then swallowed, looking down at her hands. "Someone just – " She swallowed hard. "Someone just tried to kill me. I shouldn't be putting you and Ruby in danger."

"That woman is in custody, thanks to one of those occasional vigilantes," Sam shook her head, closing the refrigerator door. "No one will be looking for you here. You're safe. So take your Louis Vuittons off, relax, and chug this."

"Really isn't necessary," Lena shook her head, even as she took the glass of water she held out.

"Stop it," Sam shook her head. "You're dehydrated."

"You could have been shot," Lena argued. "You shouldn't be hiding me!"

"You gave me a break when I needed it the most," Sam argued right back. "Let me return the favor."

Lena was about to argue again when she caught sight of movement behind Sam. Ruby entered the living room, her arms piled high with sheets and blankets. Sam smiled fondly at her daughter, and Lena sighed. "One night," she finally agreed.

"Great," Sam grinned. "See? This is what friends are for!"

"If Ruby was sick, would you still be my friend?" Lena asked quietly.

Sam bit her lip, looking down.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex tried to not look at Maggie as she kept packing one of her boxes, then suddenly, the music playing on her phone changed. She looked up from what she was doing, seeing Maggie toss back a shot like it was nothing before offering the bottle. Alex sighed, then took it, chugging a drink of her own, making Maggie laugh and start dancing. She held out her arms, and Alex took her hands, allowing Maggie to pull her into a dance, smiling.

She and Maggie spent a few minutes dancing before Alex pulled Maggie close, kissing her hard. She started pushing Maggie back towards her bed, and smiling, Maggie helped tug the auburn-haired woman's shirt off.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara slowly opened Sam's door, frowning when she saw the lights inside were off. She heard a glass shatter, then straightened. "Lena?"

She found Lena sitting at the island looking like a wreck. "Hey," she said. "Hey, look." She held up the wine bottle before pouring herself another glass. "I made a metaphor."

"Are you here alone?" Kara looked around.

"Sam's running my company, Ruby's at a friend's," Lena nodded. "What news from the front?"

Kara cleaned up the glass shards, then sighed. "Winn and Felicity tested the device again," she answered.

"And?" Lena pressed. When Kara didn't answer, she closed her eyes. "Great," she grumbled. "So I could be a child killer."

"No, Lena," Kara shook her head determinedly. "I'm not done. Not by a long shot. Until we know for sure, I will turn over every rock, and – "

"Just stop," Lena held up a hand, reaching out to take another drink.

Kara blinked, sitting down. "You are one of the strongest women I know," she looked at her in disbelief. "Why aren't you fighting?"

"Because I did it," Lena said bluntly. "Kara, I did it. You know, all I ever wanted to be was good. My whole life, I was a pariah. First, because I was rich, and because of my brother, so . . . and then, finally I did just – just one thing, _one thing_ that was good, and now I'm the monster that poisons children." She chuckled bitterly. "You know, even Lex Luthor never did that."

"Anyone who knows you knows that you would never – " Kara began, watching Lena take another swig.

"Maybe I'm the same," Lena interrupted, tears in her eyes. "People are sick. It's my fault."

"There's still a chance it wasn't you," Kara shook her head.

"I know you believe that everything is good, and kind, and that is one of the things I love about you," Lena shook her head. "But that's not the real world. In the real world, my last name is bin Laden, and everything I do hurts people. Hey, you know, it's – it's in my DNA, OK? So, please, just – just – just stop. Stop believing me, OK? I am _not_ worth it."

Kara could do nothing but watch sadly as Lena kept taking drink after drink.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

She was working on her laptop when Sam returned from L-Corp. "Hey," Sam whispered.

"Hey," Kara waved back.

"Thanks for staying," Sam told her, looking over the couch at where Lena was sleeping.

"Yeah," Kara sighed. "She didn't want me to, but . . . " She shrugged.

"You know, I've known Lena a long time, and I've never seen her like this," Sam mused.

"She wants everyone to think she's so tough," Kara nodded.

"Yeah, but she is mush on the inside," Sam agreed, making both chuckle. "Hey, uh, if you wanna go home, I can sit with her."

"No, it's totally fine," Kara shook her head. "Last night was the first real night of sleep I got now that Oliver's back in town, so I'm pretty wide awake right now. I have trouble sleeping without him."

"Aw," Sam giggled, making Kara blush slightly. "I've been having trouble sleeping, too. Bad dreams."

"Yeah, I get those, too," Kara agreed.

"OK, what's this?" Sam asked, referring to what Kara was searching.

"I've just been trying to skim through public records to get info on the families affected," Kara answered.

"I've been doing the same thing," Sam sat down next to her, opening a file and pulling out documents. "Um, the medical team at L-Corp was able to secure the addresses for all the sick children."

"So what happens when you connect the Xs?" Kara looked over her shoulder.

"Nothing," Sam sighed. "The movies lie. Usually, when something like this happens, those affected are from a specific area, but these kids are from all over the city. Luke, who I saw this morning at Ruby's school, he lives down the street. But then there are two kids who live across the city and go to Burgon Country Day. And then there's another one who lives all the way in Edgemont. I just . . . " She sighed, shaking her head. "Staring at this, trying to make sense of it . . . "

"There's gotta be some way these kids are connected," Kara insisted, wracking her brain. "Social media, school records, bank statements . . . maybe there's a link?"

"Bank statements," Sam decided. "Let's follow the money."

"Yes," Kara agreed, reaching for her phone. "I'll make a call."

"You don't have to," Sam shook her head, reaching for Kara's laptop and pulling up a link. "I'm on it."

Kara's jaw dropped when she saw the bank statements appear. "How did you . . . ?" She looked at Sam, but she was dead set on what she was doing, then she laughed. "I can see why Lena likes you."

"Hmm," Sam frowned, pulling something up.

Kara looked at the statement, then found something. "Delaney's Dumpling Truck."

"Food truck?" Sam frowned. "What about it?"

"Well," Kara pointed, "Luke's dad and another mom went there on the same day a couple of weeks ago, October 21st. Maybe – maybe it's just a coincidence."

"No, hold on," Sam frowned, typing again.

She pulled up other bank statements, and Kara's eyes widened. "They were all there."

"Could it be something in the food?" Sam wondered, typing some more. A link pulled up, and Sam read the ad that came up. "Oktoberfest at Frances Park."

"Could be something there," Kara said hopefully, she and Sam exchanging looks.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex and Maggie were both panting in bed later that night, then Maggie asked, "What are we doing?"

"I know," Alex smiled. "That was crazy."

Both of them laughed softly, then Maggie looked at her. "No, I mean, what are we doing? Are you _sure_ you wanna give up on this? You sure you wanna do this? Give up on something tangible and real? Some – _us._ It's _us,_ for some notion you have of being a mom?"

"It's not some notion," Alex whispered, rolling onto her side and running her hands over her hair. "Ever since I was little, when I would see a mom and her kids, this thing would happen to me. You know, it's – it's recognition that I was gonna be a mom, too. And it wasn't some, you know, 'oh, I want it, I want that' or 'I hope someday that I have that.' No, it's just something that I've always known. Even when everything else, whether it was boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever . . . when – when that was blurry, the part of me being a mom, that's always been crystal clear. If I deny that, I'm gonna feel it forever."

Maggie nodded, swallowing. "I wish I could change the way I feel," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah," Alex nodded, kissing Maggie's shoulder. "Me, too."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"So many vendors and rides here," Kara shook her head, looking around Frances Park as she and Sam walked down the street. "It could have been anything. For all we know, it's gone."

"Unless it wasn't something outside," Sam frowned, heading up the drive to the pool. She tried the door, then sighed. "It's locked."

"Huh," Kara frowned, then walked up to the door as Sam turned around. She used her fingers to bend the metal, then pulled the door open. "It was a sticky hinge," she lied to Sam, holding the door open and walking inside. She looked around, then smiled. "Eliza used to bring me to a place like this."

"Who's Eliza?" Sam frowned.

"My adoptive mom," Kara explained. "Every Tuesday and Thursday."

"You're adopted?" Sam's eyes lit up. "So am I!"

"Really?" Kara asked in delight.

"Except for my place was Mondays and Wednesdays," Sam chuckled. "Gosh, we really loved swimming. Every kid loves swimming."

Kara paused, then lowered her glasses slightly, looking over the top. She took in the overload of molecules in the pool, then nodded. "I'm gonna test the pool," she said.

"You're gonna test it?" Sam frowned as Kara crouched by the pool.

"I have a friend at the FBI who helps me on stories," Kara lied, reaching over to the pool, dipping one of Winn's devices into the water. "Tests stuff, lab work."

"That's a good friend to have," Sam nodded.

Kara dialed a number on her phone and lifted it to her ear. "Winn?" she said.

"Yo!" Winn answered. "What is going on?"  
"I'm gonna send you a water sample from a public pool."

"Really?" Winn asked in delight as Kara plugged the device into her phone. "You know what, when I made that device, J'onn tried to tell me that no one was ever gonna use it, and I said to him, I said 'J'onn, one day, someone's gonna need to take a sample on the go.' Here we – oh, we got it."

"Is it lead?" Kara asked, standing back up.

"Oh, my God!"

"What?"

"Um, this is an advanced hydromorphic carbon nitrate compound."

"What does that mean?" she asked impatiently, seeing Sam bouncing on her heels.

"It's a synthetic compound that, when combined with water, exhibits the exact same properties as, you guessed it, lead, and if someone's exposed to it, the exact same symptoms as lead poisoning."

"So it wasn't the lead bomb?" Kara clarified, and Sam's eyes lit up.

"No," Winn confirmed. "No, it wasn't."

Kara let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you," she told Winn gratefully, hanging up. "It wasn't Lena," she told Sam. "Someone put a dangerous chemical compound in the pool."

"How?" Sam asked.

Kara shrugged helplessly. "I – " She stopped, taking a look across the pool, then frowned. "Come with me."

She and Sam walked over to the supply closet, opening the doors, and both of them stared at the dozens of lidded buckets, all of them from the same company.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena stirred awake when her phone rang, and she frowned, reaching over to answer it. "Hello?" she asked glumly.

"Lena?" Kara's voice answered. "Sam and I are at this pool, and all the kids who got sick have been here."

"I thought I told you to stop," Lena groaned.

"It wasn't you!"

That made Lena sober up and sit up straight. "What?" she asked in shock.

"There's a synthetic chemical, when it touches water, it becomes toxic to the body. It mimics the same symptoms as lead poisoning."

"Well, how did it get in the swimming pool?" Lena demanded.

"It's in the chlorine containers," Kara answered. "They've been using it instead of chlorine. Sam and I are gonna try to track down the manufacturer – Acre Lee Chemical."

Lena blinked. "Acre Lee Chemical?" she repeated.

"Yeah. You know it?"

"No," Lena shook her head slowly. "No," she repeated, this time stronger. "Thank you, both of you." She hung up the phone, narrowing her eyes.

Oh, yes, she did know that name.

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

Edge was just starting to pack up when he heard his door open. He tilted his head, looking up when Lena entered. "Lena," he greeted. "You look horrible. Those sick kids really got you tied up in a knot, huh?"

"Acre Lee," Lena said.

"Acre what?" he frowned, standing up. "Acre Lee . . . Acre Lee, that's where the coyote gets all the stuff that he's gonna use to kill the roadrunner from, right?"

"It's a company you own," Lena answered. "I remembered it from due diligence before I invested in your buildings. Established in 1982, manufactures hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide . . . and also simple chlorine used for swimming pools. Acquired by Edge Global seven years ago."

"I'd have to check my records, you know," Edge brushed it off.

"You used it to poison kids in swimming pools in order to drag my name through the mud," Lena accused.

Edge stared at her, then laughed, walking closer to her. "Come on. That's it? That's what you're bringing? That's what you got? I say you did it, you say I did it? I expected better out of you." He stopped when Lena drew a gun and pointed it right at his face. "Now that's a disappointment."

"When that mom shot at me, I knew she was doing the right thing," Lena said softly. "Because whoever was responsible for this, they deserve to die. No trial, no jury. Just erased from the world."

"You need help, Lena," Edge shook his head. "Because you're not thinking clearly."

"I'm thinking like a Luthor," she said coldly, raising her gun and taking the safety off.

Before she could fire, she was hit in the back of the head by one of Edge's men, and he sighed as Lena collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena woke with a gasp, finding herself strapped down. When she looked around, she saw she definitely wasn't in Edge Global anymore. "Hello?" she called, unbuckling her restraints. "Hello?"

She stood up, looking around, then saw a small bit of light coming through a porthole nearby. She ran over and looked outside, blanching when she saw she was in a plane flying high above National City.

She turned back around, seeing the light flash across yellow barrels by the ramp. She walked over to get a closer look, only to freeze when she saw the logo on the barrels: Acre Lee Chemical.

She turned tail and headed for the other end of the plane, climbing up a ladder to the cockpit . . . the _empty_ cockpit, as a matter of fact.

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

"That's right, Lena," Edge chuckled, watching Lena from the camera installed in the cockpit. "Who the heck is flying this plane?" He turned to the man controlling the plane. "We never turned the 'fasten seat belts' sign off, did we?" The man smirked. "Give her a little turbulence."

"Yes, sir," he nodded.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena crashed into the pilot's chair when the plane rocked, then grabbed the headset above the seat. "Mayday, mayday, this is Lena Luthor," she said fearfully, looking around.

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

"Jam the transmission," Edge ordered.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"I'm in a cargo plane headed directly to the reservoir," Lena continued, biting her lip when she heard static over the headset. "They're gonna dump chemicals in the water!"

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

J'onn was speaking with Winn and Felicity, the others lingering nearby, when one of the agents hurried up. "Sir, receiving word that there's an unidentified aircraft in our airspace," he reported.

"Alien?" J'onn asked, catching everyone's attention.

"No, it's a C-130 cargo plane," the agent answered. "Not on the FAA fly list."

"Did you contact the Air Force?"

"Not yet, sir, but we have a message fragment. Distress call."

"What distress call?" Kara asked as she ran down the steps.

"I'm pulling it up," the agent answered.

Through static, some words came through. "Mayday, mayday, this is – "

"Oh, my God," Felicity's eyes widened.

"That's Lena!" Dinah breathed in horror.

Kara immediately tossed her glasses to the side, Oliver snatching them as she took off at once, the rest of them looking around at each other, hoping Lena was going to be OK.


	28. Damage - Part Three

**Kara to the rescue, Sanvers heartbreaking moment, and Sam makes a horrifying realization. And to guest reviewer Ellie Bishop, I hope this is really satisfying for you and others who really wanted to see something happen.**

* * *

 _ **Morgan Edge**_

"Initiate release sequence," Edge ordered. "Bring the plane up three degrees."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena ran back to the cargo bay, watching the plane open, the barrels starting to rattle. Quickly, she grabbed a metal pole and slammed it down as one of the caribiners released, jamming the release and stopping the barrels from flying out.

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

"The release isn't working," the man said to Edge's chagrin. "I can't dump the payload."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena ducked when someone flew past her, then Kara landed inside the plane, grabbing a lever on the floor and pulling it back. Lena sighed in relief as the ramp closed.

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

"She's closed the ramp," the man reported.

"Only one thing left to do," Edge narrowed his eyes. "Crash the plane."

"Are you sure?" the man looked at him.

"Crash the plane!" he barked, the man hurrying to do what he said.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

The plane rocked, and Kara yelped as she went flying into the side, Lena grabbing on to the nets on the side. "The barrels are treated to dissolve in water!" she called. "If the plane crashes, they'll poison everyone!"

Kara nodded, then leapt into the air, placing her palms against the top of the plane. "Strap in!" she shouted. Lena grabbed tighter to the nets, and Kara started to push, trying to get the plane level again. "I'm gonna get them to blow the engines!" Kara shouted.

Lena nodded again, holding on for dear life.

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

"It's not going down," the man shook his head.

"Oh, yes, it will," Edge growled. "Get up, get up, get up, get up!"

The man stood up, and Edge took his seat. He scowled when he saw one of the engines blow, then started tapping on the keyboard.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara blinked when she heard a cracking noise, then the top of the plane cracked open. She quickly grabbed both sides of the crack, watching the plane completely split. In one hand, Kara held the part of the plane with the barrels in it. In the other, she held the other part of the plane . . . with Lena tumbling to the bottom of it, screaming the entire way. "I can't hold both!" she shouted.

"Save the chemicals, not me!" Lena shouted back.

"No!" Kara shook her head desperately. "I'm not gonna drop you!"

"Let me go!" Lena insisted.

"No!" Kara shook her head violently, straining to hold onto both parts of the plane. "Climb, Lena! Climb!" Lena took a few deep breaths, then grabbed onto the netting on the side, pulling herself up towards Kara. "You can do it! Come on! Come on, you can do it!" Lena reached the top, gulping and stopping herself from looking down at the large drop. "You have to jump, now!"

Lena took a deep breath, then leaped and grabbed for Kara's hand. She released the plane to grab her, and as Lena clung to her friend, both watched the other part of the plane crash into the water. Kara pulled Lena closer to her, Lena laughing in sheer relief as Kara flew the rest of the wreckage away from the water.

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

The system crashed, and Edge narrowed his eyes, his anger building. "What do we do?" the man asked.

"Well, _you_ shoot the console," Edge answered, pulling out a handgun, cocking it, and handing it to the man.

Confused, the man took it, Edge stepping out of the way. The man shot the console, knocking out all the systems. "What was that for?" he asked.

Edge shrugged, taking out a handkerchief and taking the gun back. "Just needed a little gunshot residue on your hands."

"No!" the man protested as Edge shot him dead without a care in the world. He left the body inside, walking out to where his car was waiting.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Morgan Edge_**

Kara waited in the shadows of Edge Global, tapping her foot impatiently, her anger about to boil over when she heard a chirp from her phone. She pulled it out, smirking when she saw the text she received.

 _All of us are in position._

Kara texted back a positive, then strode into Edge Global like she owned it. She walked past the cleaners and right into Edge's office. "Poisoning innocent children for your vendetta against Lena Luthor?" she demanded. "It's even lower than I expected of you, Edge."

"You know," Edge turned around from pouring himself a drink, "I sold Acre Lee Chemical over two years ago."

"Convenient," Kara rolled her eyes.

"Besides, I heard they found the guy," Edge continued. "Yeah, he was some crazed, lone wolf, former Marine, Air Force. He had a bone to pick with her family. It's too bad he killed himself, 'cause we could have brought him to justice."

"Hmm," Kara scoffed. "Too bad."

"You know, I was thinking he must have really hated her," Edge remarked. "Do you ever wonder what that feels like? That kinda hate? Because I don't think you're capable of it."

"You have no idea what I am capable of," Kara hissed.

"Is this about me now?" Edge raised an eyebrow. "Because when you got mad at me, you dumped me on a cargo ship in the middle of the sea. What a hassle. It cost me a few hours. Thirty bucks of dry cleaning. I don't know what kind of hippy-dippy justice you practiced on your planet, sweetheart, but this is the real world. It's dog-eat-dog out here. Now, if _I_ had an enemy, I'd crush her without mercy. Let's say, for instance, I was _your_ enemy, hmm? The thing for you to do right now would be to kill me. But you capes . . . you don't have what it takes. Do you?" Kara glared at him, and her gaze suddenly slid past him. Edge scoffed, thinking she had backed down. "Yeah. I didn't think so. You can leave the way you came in. I think the cleaning crew enjoyed the show."

Kara nodded to herself, turning to leave. She stopped with one foot out the door, then turned around. "I _have_ hated," she informed Edge, making him turn around. "The first person I hated, you know what he did? He took the family and friends of a man I had met before, including his son. He became so desperate for help he came to me personally to ask me to help. That man I hated, he played a game, was always ten steps ahead of the person I went to help. Do you know what happened to that man, Edge?"

"Enlighten me," he said sarcastically.

"I made sure to break every bone in his body so he couldn't hurt anyone again," Kara grinned, enjoying seeing Edge choke on his drink. "Last I heard? He died in the prison he was being held in." She walked back towards him, seeing Edge was actually starting to look scared of her now. "There was one other person I hated," she held up a finger. "Just one. You know what her last name was? _Luthor._ Not Lena. Her mother. You see, she had this grudge against my cousin and I, said we ruined her family's lives. She took every chance she could to kill me. And when she finally got a taste of her own medicine, I got away." She folded her arms, smirking. "There's a reason no one's heard from her since then. Do you want to know what happened to Lillian Luthor, and the organization she led?" Edge didn't answer, but the color was starting to drain from his face. "Project Cadmus's headquarters was burned to the ground," she whispered, her grin widening. "The entire organization was decimated in less than two weeks. As for Lillian?" Edge looked very scared about how wide Kara was grinning now. "You remember who else was on that cargo ship with you, don't you?" When Edge's eyes widened, Kara laughed, turning around. "Guess which one killed her!"

Before Edge could say anything, something sharp pierced his wrist. Edge cried out, dropping his glass, which smashed on the ground. Kara walked out of the office, a satisfied smile on her face, and Edge stared horrified at his wrist, at the green arrow sticking out of it. He turned around, only to gasp and scramble backwards.

"Morgan Edge," the Green Arrow growled, drawing another arrow and aiming at him, joined by the Dark Archer as Black Canary and Black Siren flanking them. "You have failed this city!"

Kara closed the door to Edge's office, giving the cleaning crew a dainty wave as she strutted off, hearing Edge scream from the office.

Oh, she was glad Oliver had broken the suit out again, because that moment was completely _priceless._

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena watched the other members of CatCo clean up, then saw James sitting back at his desk. She blinked in surprise, walking into the office. "Mr. Olsen," she greeted. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"Well, the news never sleeps," James shrugged.

"How are you, really?" Lena asked, looking at his shoulder. "I was worried about you." James raised an eyebrow, and Lena rolled her eyes. "Really, I was. Slade Wilson and Malcolm Merlyn might have rubbed off on me a little, but I can still care."

James smirked. "Well, I'm kind of a hard man to keep down, Miss Luthor."

Lena smirked back. "You know, I have a rule. Whenever anyone takes a bullet for me, they get to call me Lena."

James chuckled. "OK, well, Lena it is. And, uh, my friends call me James. Or Jimmy."

"Well, feel better, Jimmy Olsen," Lena nodded, turning to walk out.

"Hey, uh, Lena!" James called, making her turn. James frowned, tapping his pen against the desk. "Has Kara heard anything from Slade?" he asked. "It's just been a while since he's been here."

"And not terrorizing you?" Lena teased, making James give her a look. Lena just giggled. "I'll ask her."

"OK," James nodded, and Lena nodded back, walking off.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Maggie put her bag down and took a deep breath. "That's everything."

"You sure you have a place to stay?" Alex asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I have a friend who's letting me crash," Maggie nodded.

"Good," Alex nodded absently. "That's good." She chewed her lip, then took a deep breath. "You know, I didn't, uh . . . " She blinked away tears, then tried again. "I didn't know I had it in me to be happy, or to be accepting of myself. I never would have gotten – " She let out a sob, then kept going. "I never would have gotten here without you."

Maggie was crying, too, though she smiled and spoke through her tears. "You made me deal with my own stuff. Confronted my past, stopped covering up the things I didn't wanna look at." She started crying some more, her words broken up. "I'm stronger – I'm stronger for it, you know. I'm really grateful. Thank you."

Alex nodded, then held out her arms. "Can I?"

"Yeah, you can," Maggie rushed to her.

Alex hugged her tightly, squeezing her eyes shut, tears falling despite that. She didn't want to let go, but eventually she had to. Maggie took a deep breath, picking up her bag and walking to the door. She stopped and turned around, giving one last brave smile. "See you around, Danvers," she said.

"Yeah," she sniffed. "See you, Mags."

Maggie opened the door and was nearly out before turning back around. "You're gonna be a great mom," she said before closing the door.

Alex took a deep breath, walking over to the door before turning around and leaning against it, dissolving into tears, looking at their engagement rings lying on the table by the door.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Score another for Team SuperArrow," Lena smirked as she and Kara crashed on Sam's couch, the other woman taking a call in the other room.

"Uh huh," Kara giggled. "Oh, you should have seen the picture Felicity managed to grab of Edge's face when the others showed up. It is pure _gold."_

"Oh, I wish," Lena giggled back. "Thanks for saving me. Again."

"Of course," Kara nudged her with her elbow. "I'm not losing another family member."

Lena smiled gratefully, then perked up. "Speaking of family . . . " Kara tilted her head. "Have you heard anything from Slade?" Lena asked, seeing Kara droop slightly at that. "Jimmy and I both noticed he hasn't been around as much anymore."

"Uh, no, he hasn't been in Star City, either," Kara shook her head. "It's personal, but I told him to call if he ever needed help. So far, silence." She sighed. "I hope he's OK."

"Something tells me Slade Wilson can handle himself," Lena smirked, making Kara laugh. "And the rest of the family?"

"Ah," Kara nodded. "Already went back over to Earth-1. Oliver and I worked it out. He and the others spent the majority of their time here, so I'll just go for an extended stay next time I go."

"Well, just let me know when, I'll sort it out at CatCo," Lena promised.

"Cheers," Kara grinned, reaching for her wine glass.

"Cheers," Lena responded, the two of them clinking glasses.

"Thank you," Sam's voice came from behind them, and they turned to see her hang up. "Good news," she announced, walking in. "The antidote L-Corp synthesized is working. The kids are getting better."

Kara sighed in relief. "Thank God," Lena smiled.

"Thank you," Sam took the offered glass from Kara.

"You guys, I need to say thank you for not giving up on me and not letting me give up on myself," Lena told them.

"Well, I think Kara and I made a pretty good team," Sam smirked.

"Uh, more than pretty good, if I do say so myself," Kara smirked back, holding out her glass.

Sam grinned, clinking their glasses together as Lena laughed. "I probably also should apologize to you," she told Kara. "I mean, I'm lucky you're still speaking to me."

"Hey, when you're family, you can say what you need to say, and the people that love you still will love you," Kara patted her shoulder.

"That's right," Sam agreed.

"I've never had anyone like that in my life," Lena sighed.

"That's because you've never had a sister," Kara tossed an arm over her shoulders.

Lena laughed, touched, only for Sam to curl in as well. "Two," she said smugly. "Two sisters."

The three of them laughed and cuddled together, Lena blushing from the attention. "Aw, it's too much," Kara giggled, only to straighten when her phone rang. "Oh, hang on." She reached over to check who it was, then answered. "Alex?" she asked, only to blanch when she heard her sister. "I gotta go," she turned.

They both saw the worried look on her face. "Go," they said almost at the same time, and Kara ran to get her coat.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara entered the alien bar, seeing Alex right at the bar, an arrangement of empty shot glasses in front of her. "Lost Maggie, at a bar, drinking," Alex muttered as Kara stopped by her. "I'm broken." She lifted her shot glass. "Guess now I can say I know how you felt when you lost Mon-El."

Kara kissed the top of Alex's head, then pulled out her phone. She dialed J'onn's number and put her phone to her ear. "J'onn, this is Kara," she said. "You're gonna have to get by at the D.E.O. without Alex and I for a couple of days. Yeah." She hung up, turning to Alex. "We are going back to your place, and you're gonna pack a bag."

"Where are we going?" Alex frowned.

"We're going home," Kara answered simply.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"Luke's gonna be OK?" Ruby asked as Sam tucked her in.

"Yeah, baby, he's gonna be OK," Sam nodded.

"I really like your friends," Ruby mumbled.

Sam laughed. "You know what? I like 'em, too. But I like you more."

She leaned down, kissing Ruby on the forehead, then Ruby frowned. "There's a hole in your shirt."

Sam blinked, looking down. Sure enough, there was a hole in the green fabric. "That's weird," she frowned, then turned to Ruby. "I love you."

"Love you," Ruby answered as Sam turned off the light.

Sam shut Ruby's door, then hurried back to the kitchen, looking for her jacket. She pulled it off the chair and checked its pockets, freezing when she heard something metal clatter onto the island. She slowly looked down, eyes widening when she saw the misshapen bullet there. Misshapen like it had hit something but hadn't done any damage . . .

Something like _her,_ Sam realized in horror, remembering the mother had taken aim at her first.

Quickly, she pulled up her shirt, searching for any sign of damage, but her skin was completely smooth, unblemished. Sam whimpered, looking back down at the bullet.

How could a bullet shot not hurt her?! It should have!

* * *

 **A/N: Bye bye, Sanvers. Thank goodness you broke up peacefully instead of making it one big hot ugly mess.**

 **I've combined "Midvale" and "Reversal" for the next chapter, but there's barely any "Reversal" at all, so it's basically just "Midvale." No flashbacks, either, so it's about the same length as a normal chapter. And then after that, everyone's favorite Australian is back!**


	29. Supergirl Arrow - Midvale

**This was an amazing chapter to write. :) I loved Midvale so much, and even though I didn't include the flashbacks, I still enjoyed writing it. I'm not even putting Reversal in the title, all that's part of it is just the very end of it, so it's basically Midvale with a microscopic bit of Reversal.**

 **So, without further, ado . . . enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara drove J'onn's car through the mountains, rarely passing other cars on the highway. She kept glancing over at Alex from time to time, but her sister wasn't speaking a word, instead opting to watch the scenery change.

When Kara saw the trees coming up, she finally managed some kind of a smile. "Welcome home," she said.

Alex just watched the sign for Midvale pass as Kara drove on.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Eliza was waiting for them when Kara pulled into the long driveway. Alex stepped out of the car, and Eliza smiled sympathetically, giving her a hug when she walked up. "Hey, honey," she whispered.

Alex didn't say a word, instead heading right into the house. Kara took their bags, locking the car behind her as she walked up to Eliza. She hugged her adoptive mother, happy to be home, then followed Alex inside.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara curled up on the porch outside, staring into the dark sky, then pulled out her phone and tapped out a message.

 _In Midvale with Alex. Don't know how long we'll be here. Call if it's an emergency._

It only took a few seconds for Oliver to respond. _Take whatever time you both need. Call if you need anything._

Kara smiled fondly, putting her phone back in her lap, then heard Eliza speak from behind her. "You still out here?"

"Yeah," Kara confirmed.

"I made coffee in case this turns into a teary all-nighter," Eliza smiled, walking to sit next to her, handing her a mug of coffee.

"You don't have to stay up," Kara told her.

"Well, this is in the mom fine print," Eliza shrugged. "When your child's in agony, you show up regardless the hour."

Kara couldn't help but chuckle, remembering when Oliver and Slade had said something along those lines about a month ago. "I figured it would be nice to get her away from everything for a couple of days."

"This is going to be hard no matter what," Eliza told her. "But at least here she can lean into it. Better than letting her pretend she's fine."

Kara blinked, looking at her. "You're worried about me?"

"I think I worry about you more than Alex," Eliza admitted. "Losing Maggie is going to be excruciating, but at least Alex didn't close herself off. And I know you have Oliver now, but I still can't help but worry."

"I'm not doing that anymore," Kara shook her head.

"I know," Eliza nodded. "You have the most wide open heart in the world for other people. But when you felt weak, you punished yourself for it. You've had an awful year – "

"And Oliver has helped me feel a lot better," Kara told her. "I promise. I had my opportunity to be a mess, but I told myself too many people depend on me."

"That is a great excuse," Eliza gave her a look.

Kara snorted. "I accepted the fact that I'm not human, and that if I was going to do the things I have to do, I was going to walk away from certain vulnerabilities."

"You've thought a lot about this," Eliza noted.

"Yeah, it was a long time coming," Kara nodded. "Then Cadmus happened, and I didn't have Mon-El to lean on. But I had Oliver. And in a way, I think that's what made me better. Oliver has had even rougher years than I have had, and sometimes, he pushes those he cares about away as well. He knew what I was going through, and he helped me through it." She sighed, looking down into her coffee. "I'm happy with him," she confessed, smiling fondly. "I'm really happy with him."

Eliza tilted her head. "You certainly seem like you are," she noted, smiling when Kara blushed and tried to hide it by taking a drink of coffee. "Even though you live on different Earths? You're alien, he's human? You think this will work in the long run?"

"I wouldn't give him up for anything," Kara looked at her. "I know I shut myself down after Mon-El, but at least I tried to live my life. Now that I've had this with Oliver . . . " She shook her head. "I can't see myself living without him."

"Till death do you part, hmm?" Eliza raised an eyebrow.

Kara blushed redder again, but her simple nodding made Eliza smile more.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara walked into their old bedroom, seeing Alex reclining on her bed, still drinking alcohol. "Brought you this," Kara held up a mug of coffee. "You could make it Irish."

"What's the point of all this?" Alex asked blankly.

Kara sighed, sitting down at the end of Alex's bed. "We need to sleep," she answered. "We always slept well here."

"So we'll stay for, like, three days, and Mom will cook tons of food, and I'll gain, like, five pounds, and then walk back into an empty apartment?" Alex asked bitterly, raising her glass to drink again.

Kara bit her lip, looking down. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "It might help."

Alex looked at her incredulously, then scoffed. "You don't get to do that."

"What?" Kara frowned.

"You don't get to shut down for months after Mon-El goes without talking to _anyone,_ then these unknowns from another universe jump over, and suddenly you're right as rain, and then you sit here and tell me to talk," Alex answered bluntly.

"It _will_ get better," Kara told her.

"Yeah?" Alex raised an eyebrow, sitting up. "Are _you_ better? You said we _both_ need sleep. That mean even with Oliver, you can't?"

"OK," Kara abruptly stood up. "You are edging on mean drunk, and I only signed up for sad drunk."

"Oh, that's right," Alex said sarcastically. "I forgot. It's whatever Kara says that goes, right? I mean, screw everybody else. Kara knows best."

"You know what?" Kara narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry that I was trying to do something nice for you."

"No, _I'm_ sorry I broke the imaginary rules for a weekend I didn't ask for," Alex retorted.

"Then I'm not gonna try to help you anymore," Kara spun on her heel and went to her bed, trying to fight back the tears in her eyes.

"Good!" Alex spat.

"Great!" Kara countered, pushing back the covers and climbing into bed, reaching up to turn her light off.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara was outside fiddling with the telescope the next morning, a cup of coffee clutched tightly in her hand. She had slept better the night before, but it was far from her best. She still slept better when she was with Oliver.

She heard the door to the porch open, and she barely looked up when Alex stepped outside. "You slept in," she noted.

"Yeah," Alex nodded.

"Good." She straightened up, patting the telescope. "Remember this thing?"

"That was the best thank you gift we ever got for solving a case," Alex nodded.

"Kenny was one of the first people I lost on Earth," Kara remembered. "It doesn't get any easier."

"Kenny Li," Alex nodded.

"Keeper of secrets," Kara smiled sadly.

Alex leaned against the railing, looking out over Midvale. "You know, that's the first time I really understood what I had in you, what it could mean to have a sister. It's crazy to think that I ever thought that you were the worst thing that could happen to me. I'd never get over it."

"Well, I _did_ hog the bathroom," Kara smirked.

"Yes," Alex nodded in agreement, making Kara laugh as she leaned against the railing. "After Kenny, that's when I realized that you and I could get through anything together."

"That's the first time I really became Kara Danvers," Kara agreed.

"It's a good thing, too," Alex smirked. "It got us through the next ten years."

Kara sighed, looking up at the sky. "I remember thinking I would never feel at home on Earth. I still don't, in a way. But I feel at home with you."

"Always," Alex nodded, and Kara let out a breath. "It was a good idea, coming here. I don't think I could have slept in any other bed last night without Maggie." Kara nodded, looking back down into her mug, feeling tears start up in her eyes again. "I'm sorry I punished you for trying to help."

"It was your turn," Kara shook her head, wiping at her eyes.

"I never want to hurt you," Alex began, turning to her, only to stop when she saw Kara wiping her eyes. "What is it? I didn't, did I?"  
"No," Kara shook her head, sniffing. "No, it's not you. It's just Eliza . . . she put something in perspective last night." She looked back up at the sky. "Oliver and I . . . how the hell are we going to keep going?" she wondered, making Alex walk over to her. "He's the mayor of Star City, National City needs me to be Supergirl. We barely exist on the other Earth. We make it work now, but in the future? We're serious, Alex. We're really serious, and I love it . . . and it scares me," her voice broke, and Alex put her arm around her. "We'd need to work out the different Earths thing . . . we're not even the same species! I can outlive him, Alex! I don't know how long it'll be, but with Mon-El, I could adapt to living without him. I can't with Oliver. I don't want to miss out on a life like that. You and Maggie would have grown old together, you would've been with each other all the way to the end. Me, I'll just keep living and having to watch Oliver die . . . " Her voice gave way to sobs, and Alex shushed her, quickly taking her mug from her, setting both aside and hugging Kara tightly. "I don't want to see that!"

"You really love him, don't you?" Alex whispered.

Kara broke down entirely, nodding into Alex's shoulders, and Alex realized this wasn't going to be a weekend for just _her_ to get away from it all . . . her sister needed time for everything to sink in, too.

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

Oliver really needed Kara back on Earth-1 twenty minutes ago, he thought as he sat down on the couch in the loft, blowing out a breath and rubbing a hand over his face. William peered over at him from where he sat at the table, doing homework. "Dad?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Oliver blinked, looking up.

"Are you OK?"

Oliver pursed his lips, thinking. In the past day and a half, the team had found several cases of people dead, all bleeding from their ears. Only a sonic scream could make that happen, and it was easy to trace back to one Evelyn Sharpe. Not only that, but Felicity's old Helix friend Alena had shown up with the news that Cayden James was the one pulling the strings now in Star City, and the one who had rescued Evelyn and Talia from Lian Yu while also killing Chase. It made so much more sense now that Evelyn's devices were getting upgraded; James was a master hacker and technology expert, it was no surprise he was giving Evelyn every advantage he could technologically while Talia trained her. He also got to learn how difficult it was to be the Overwatch of the team as he had led Felicity to where she needed to be.

Overall, it had been a rough few days. "Yeah, buddy," he sighed. "I'm fine. Just exhausted."

"When's Kara coming back over?" William asked.

"Hopefully soon," Oliver admitted, pulling out his phone and checking the last text he had received from her a day ago. It stated that Kara and Alex would be in Midvale for at least the weekend, so if he had his timing right, they would be leaving some time tomorrow. Then again, he never knew with how time flowed between the two universes. For all he knew, it was already the end of the weekend. "I can't wait, though – "

He broke off when his phone buzzed, showing an unknown number. "Dad?"

"One second, buddy," Oliver frowned, answering the call. "Hello?" William tilted his head, watching as pure shock overtook his father's face before he grinned. "Hi!" He listened for a few moments, then nodded. "OK. I'll be there." He paused, then chuckled. "Call her yourself. All right."

"That didn't sound like Aunt Thea or anyone else," William frowned.

"It wasn't," Oliver admitted, looking down at his phone.

"Who was it?"

Oliver sighed, looking up. "That was Slade Wilson," he answered, and William's eyes widened. "He needs my help." He smiled, chuckling. "Looks like Kara might be getting here sooner than we thought."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

On Earth-38, only a few hours after Oliver received his call on Earth-1, Kara and Alex were packing up and ready to head back to National City. "Sandwiches, sparkling water, and pie," Eliza announced, walking out of the house with a large bag.

"You are the best," Kara declared, taking the bag.

Eliza smiled at her. "About Oliver," she said, making Kara bite her lip and Alex pretend like she wasn't listening. "You don't waste a single opportunity you have with him, you hear me? Make sure he knows every day how lucky he is to have you, and make sure you let him know every day that you love him."

"I will," Kara whispered, tears forming in her eyes, these of pure joy.

Eliza smiled, hugging her tightly. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you," Kara whispered back.

Eliza released Kara, and she went to pack the lunch bag as Alex walked up. Eliza smiled proudly, taking Alex's face in her hands. "Strong girl," she told her. "Brave girl."

"Not yet," Alex shook her head.

"No rush," Eliza told her warmly, hugging her. "I love you."

"I love you," Alex responded.

"Drive safely," Eliza told them.

"We will," Kara promised, then looked down at her phone when it beeped. She read the text she received and snorted. "So, J'onn says to head straight back to the D.E.O., and if we scratch his car, he'll put us in containment."

"Well, you better let me drive, then," Alex said as Kara turned her phone off.

"Why?" Kara protested. "I'm a great driver!"

"You almost killed us _twice_ coming up here!"

"That possum came from _nowhere!"_

"Keys," Alex held out her hand. "Come on."

Kara sighed, then handed the keys over and went to the passenger's side. "If you're so worried about my driving, why didn't you say anything when we came up here?" she asked.

"Because when we came up here, getting into an accident didn't seem like a big deal," Alex deadpanned, getting in the driver's side and putting her sunglasses on. "Today, I would like to avoid it."

"Progress," Kara grinned.

"All right," Alex put the keys in as Kara put on her glasses. Kara grinned when she heard the music that came on. "Classic," Alex said fondly.

"Yep, turn it up," Kara grinned.

Alex did, pulling back out of the driveway, and giggling, the two sisters started belting out the song as they drove back to National City.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

They were only about an hour or so out when Kara's phone started ringing. Still giggling as the last classic rock song faded away, Kara brushed her hair away from her ear as she answered, not bothering to check the Caller ID. "Hello?"

Alex was still driving along, barely paying attention, thinking it might have been Winn or Lena or anyone else at the D.E.O. When Kara let out a stunned gasp, she looked over to see Kara's eyes widen behind her sunglasses. "Kara?" she reached over to turn the volume down.

"Slade?" Kara whispered, putting a hand over her mouth, and Alex's eyes widened, too, and she quickly pulled over to the side of the road so Kara could hear better. "Are you OK? Please tell me you're OK!" She must have gotten a confirmation of some kind because Kara relaxed, a wide smile on her face. "Oh, thank Rao. You were starting to scare me! Don't not call for that long!" Alex couldn't help but snicker, and Kara playfully slapped her. "What's going on?" she asked into the phone. Alex watched her, seeing Kara nod, then Kara set her jaw, a determined look in her eye. "Absolutely," she said. "As soon as we get back to National City, I'll breach over. It doesn't matter what you tell me, I'm gonna do it anyway. You really think I wouldn't come? Uh uh." Kara smiled. "I missed you, too."

"What's going on?" Alex asked as Kara hung up.

"Slade's returning to Star City," she answered, turning to Alex. "He's asking for help from me and Oliver."

"Urgent?"

"Very."

"Hmm." Alex revved the car back up. "Then we better get you back to National City."

Kara nodded eagerly as Alex drove back onto the road, taking off at a much quicker speed.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Whoa!" Winn's eyes widened when Kara burst into the D.E.O., running right for her locker, Alex right behind her. "I thought you said you were an hour out! It's been thirty-five minutes!"

"So maybe I broke the speed limit," Alex shrugged, turning to Kara as she found started packing her duffel, her suit included. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"I don't know," Kara answered, seeming in a complete rush.

"Whoa, you're going somewhere?" Winn asked as J'onn walked up.

"Earth-1, Star City," Kara nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. "And probably somewhere else, don't know where yet."

"I thought you weren't going to Earth-1 for a few more days," J'onn frowned.

Kara took a deep breath, turning around. "Slade," she said simply.

It was enough to make Winn's mouth form an O in understanding. "I'm not arguing with her," he held up his hands.

"J'onn, let her go," Alex told him.

"Please?" Kara whispered.

J'onn closed his eyes, sighing. "Fine," he conceded, and Kara squealed, grabbing her bag. "Give him our best."

"I will," Kara nodded, then straightened, turning to Alex. "Hey, you could come over, too!"

"What?" Alex blanched. "Um, no, this sounds like _your_ family kind of thing, not mine. I'm nowhere near as close to Slade as you are."

"I know, but what better way to get away from Maggie like another Earth?" Kara suggested, smiling. "Come on, Alex, please. William would probably like the company."

Alex fidgeted, then sighed and turned to J'onn. The Martian rolled his eyes. "I'm losing everyone," he grumbled, then sighed. "If either of you come back with any harm done at all, that's the last vacation you take to Earth-1."

"Oh, right," Kara rolled her eyes as Alex smiled in relief, handing over his car keys. "Because it totally makes sense for me to not visit my boyfriend on Earth-1."

J'onn rolled his eyes fondly. "Go."

"Meet you at the loft?" Alex asked Kara.

"Yeah," Kara grinned widely. "I can't wait."

Alex couldn't help but smile; Kara's glee was contagious. "It's good to know Slade's OK," she admitted as they walked out.

"Yeah," Kara agreed. "And I'm going to make sure he stays that way."

Alex laughed that time. "Yeah, I bet you will."

She grabbed her motorcycle and drove off towards her apartment, Kara leaping into the air and flying towards her loft, a smile spreading across her face. After so long, Slade had _finally_ not only managed to call, but had also called with news about his son.

She landed in her loft and took out her phone, immediately calling Lena. "Hey, Lena?" she said. "I'm going to need a few more days off." She smiled as she turned to look outside. "Slade's back."

* * *

 **A/N: Bad news, guys. The Deathstroke episodes aren't gonna fit in the book.**

 **They're way too important, which means they're getting their _own_ book. :) I'll get the next book up either in an hour or so, which means look on my profile for when "Between Two Worlds" comes out!**


	30. Arrow - Thanksgiving - Part One

**And it's back to this book! Hope everyone enjoyed "Between Two Worlds," because I think that book is for sure in the top five or so that I've ever written. I loved writing it.**

 **And now, back to this book! It's Thanksgiving time, and what better way to celebrate than by having the whole gang together? Unfortunately, with the Arrowverse, holidays never go to plan.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara typed the concluding sentence of her article, then leaned back in her chair, smiling happily. _Finally,_ she was done for the next few days. She reached for her phone, checking for any messages before looking through her e-mail to see if she had any notifications for more articles to write. Before she could go very far, she heard her phone trill. Blinking, she turned to it, then picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey," Oliver responded. "Is this a bad time?"

"Never a bad time for you," Kara beamed, then blushed when she saw Lena look up from another desk, a teasing look on her face. "What's going on?"

"Well, this is a bit short notice, but in two days, there's going to be a Thanksgiving food drive before the tour of the new SCPD facility. I was hoping you could be my date?"

"Like you need to ask," Kara rolled her eyes fondly. "Of course I'll be there."

"Also, since it will be close to Thanksgiving, I'm leaving it open to anyone on your Earth who wants to come. I think there's still a few that have yet to see Star City, let alone Earth-1."

"Huh," Kara tilted her head thoughtfully, then waved to get Lena's attention. "Just one second."

"Let me guess," Lena smirked as she walked over. "A few days off?"

"There's going to be a Thanksgiving food drive in Star City," Kara explained. "Oliver asked me to come."

"Of course," Lena immediately nodded. "That's wonderful, Kara."

"And also," Kara shyly smiled, "it's open invitation, so . . . maybe?"

Lena grinned widely. "When is it?"

"Two days from now."

Lena chuckled. "I'll make sure James and I are open to go, if he wants to."

"Yes!" Kara did a small fist pump, spinning around in her chair as Lena smiled, walking to the main office. "Lena's in for sure, and she'll check in with James. I'll ask Alex, Winn, and J'onn, too."

"Looking forward to seeing you, Kara," Oliver told her.

"It'll just be two days," Kara shrugged it off, biting her lip.

"Gonna be the longest two days ever."

Kara sighed. "Yeah, it will be."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Thanks very much, guys," Oliver smiled, taking a box from a family.

"Thank you," William added, taking cans and putting it away.

"Oh, that's very generous of you," Oliver blinked when the family revealed another box.

An impressed whistle came from behind them, and Oliver turned to see Alex and J'onn walk up, the two of them looking around, J'onn holding a sealed cardboard box. "Nice digs," Alex grinned. "Here, I can help with that."

"Thank you, Alex," Oliver smiled, shifting the box so Alex could help him set it down.

"Oh, cranberry sauce!" William lit up when a package was handed to him. "Awesome!"

"OK," Oliver brushed off his hands. "Happy Thanksgiving, guys."

"Happy Thanksgiving!" William waved.

"And we brought our own contributions," J'onn held up the box. "Several members of the D.E.O. put money forward for this."

"Thank you guys so much," Oliver said gratefully.

"Well, never let it be said we're savages," J'onn smirked as he set the box down with the others.

"Hey, buddy," Alex grinned at William. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving," William smiled back.

"It's a nice turnout," J'onn looked around.

"Yeah, it is," Oliver agreed, looking at William. "You having fun?"

"Yeah!" William nodded, grinning. "I'm really glad we're doing this."

"Me, too, buddy," Oliver smiled fondly. "Me, too."

"Look out, look out!" a familiar voice from behind called, and the four turned around. "Heavy load, coming through!"

"All right," James smiled as he and Winn approached, both carrying boxes. "And this is courtesy of CatCo . . . "

"And this one from L-Corp," Winn added.

"You did leave some for your Earth, right?" Oliver asked in surprise.

"Of course we did," James snorted. "We're not picking favorites."

"Although, since Earth-38 is our Earth, we _are_ kind of biased towards it," Winn said thoughtfully.

"Thanks, guys," Oliver smiled as they set the boxes down. "And thank you all for coming."

"Eh, as long as we get your entire gang back on our Earth for our own celebration," Alex gave him a look.

"We'll arrange something," Oliver promised.

"Where's Kara?" William asked, looking around.

Before the others joined in to look, they heard Kara's icy voice. "If I was dating the Green Arrow, I think I would know. Besides, the Flash is _much_ more my type. Thank you, Sam, but can I actually go see my boyfriend now?"

Alex snorted loudly and clapped a hand over her mouth as Kara gave the redheaded woman interviewing her a wide grin before walking past her, Lena smirking at her side. "Score one for the super," Winn remarked.

"How is it that you haven't burnt any reporter's heart out yet?" Lena asked quietly, though she was grinning.

"It's tempting," Kara admitted, smiling up at Oliver. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving," Oliver smiled, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for coming."

"Like I would miss this," Kara smiled.

"And thank you for the donations," Oliver added to Lena.

"Of course," Lena chuckled. "It's my pleasure."

"All right," Quentin announced as he walked up, Dinah behind him. "Listen, we're all set inside. Um, Rene – he is a complete pain in the ass, but he's a very good advanceman."

"Good," Oliver chuckled. "Detective, what's the tally?"

"Um, I got it all here," Dinah held out the tablet she held. "I just added the contributions from Earth-38. Hey, guys."

"Hey, Dinah," Alex smiled.

"Wow," Kara's eyes widened when she saw. "That's awesome!"

"Good," Oliver grinned. "Good."

"All right, listen, everybody!" Quentin yelled to get everyone's attention. "Please, gather round!"

"Gather round!" Oliver called out as well, holding out his hand for Kara.

She beamed and took it, and Oliver led her up onto the platform at the front, William following them. "Mayor Queen will be making an announcement, and then we will be touring the site of the new SCPD headquarters," Quentin continued as Dinah and Thea walked up to him with Alex, J'onn, James, Lena, and Winn on the other side.

"Thank you so much for being here today, guys," Oliver looked around, smiling. "It means a ton to Kara, to William, to myself that we can all gather together as a city and help our neediest neighbors on Thanksgiving. Across these various food drives with your help, the SCPD has collected enough food to feed over 1,500 families. And it is why I am incredibly proud to be here today at the unveiling of our new precinct. It's a top-of-the-line facility for a top-of-the-line police force."

"Um, guys?" Winn said quietly, nodding into the crowd as murmurs started. "I don't think they were invited."

The other four from Earth-38 turned to see men in FBI jackets push through. "What the hell?" Lena scowled.

"Great," Alex growled, moving forward. "You guys are about to meet Oliver's favorite federal agent here."

Oliver had caught sight of them, too, and scowled. "One that might actually make federal agencies jealous," he couldn't help but jab, hurrying down the stairs. "Are you here to tour our new headquarters?" he asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Turn around," she ordered.

Kara tensed, squeezing her hand in a fist, and Oliver narrowed his eyes. "We're doing this here?" he asked quietly.

"Oliver Queen, you're under arrest," Watson said smugly, and with no choice left, Oliver turned around.

"What?" came indignant cries from Thea, Lena, and James.

"On what charges?" Quentin demanded as J'onn and Alex narrowed their eyes, Kara immediately putting her arm around William.

"Murder, assault, burglary, and kidnapping," Watson rattled off, smirking triumphantly as she stood in front of Oliver. "All stemming from your activity as the Green Arrow."

"You're joking," Kara growled, and Watson turned her gaze to her. "Here? In front of everyone?"

"Do you have something to add, Ms. Danvers?" Watson walked up to her, Kara stepping protectively in front of William as he recoiled. "I don't like that tone of yours."

"Well, that's the tone you're going to get by messing with those I love," Kara retorted. "So unless you've got something else to say to me, get away from me."

"Kara," Oliver said in a warning tone.

She bit her lip before giving Watson a withering glare. She just smirked and walked back to Oliver. "Dad?" William peered around Kara's legs, looking nervous.

"It's gonna be fine, buddy," Oliver assured him as the FBI led him off. "I promise."

William swallowed and held tightly to Kara's coat as she hugged him to her. "You have the right to remain silent," Watson told Oliver as Alex hurried to join Kara and William, Quentin, Dinah, and Thea rushing after Watson. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"OK, the mayor's about to come in, press in tow," Rene announced to the police lined up in the headquarters. "You'll give the formal salute, he'll say a few words, and – "

He abruptly shut his mouth, eyes bugging wide open as Watson marched in, leading Oliver in. "I want this man processed, and I'm going to need an interrogation room," she told him.

"This is the mayor!" Rene protested. "You can't just – "

"I'm a federal agent with a valid arrest warrant," Watson interrupted. "I want this man bound over until arraignment."

"Yes, but you're federal," Quentin tried. "This is – "

"Temporary holding request," Watson spoke over him and to the officer at the desk, holding out a piece of paper.

"I'm going to need the ranking lieutenant to sign off," he told her, seeming annoyed.

"Then get him here!" Watson snapped.

" _I'm_ the ranking lieutenant," Dinah narrowed her eyes.

Watson didn't skip a beat. "Can I expect my prisoner to be here when I come back for him?" she asked snidely.

Thea growled under her breath, and Dinah looked ready to tear the FBI agent's head off. Nevertheless, she turned to the person at the desk. "Would you process the mayor through booking, Joe?"

The officer didn't look happy to do it, but he slid a tablet to where Oliver could reach it as Watson dropped the paper onto the desk smugly. Oliver placed his hand on it, letting it scan his palm. A moment later, his face and identification came up, booking him into headquarters.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver paced the interrogation room angrily, and when he heard the door open and close behind him, he stopped, narrowing his eyes. "You did this in front of my son," he growled, turning around. "In front of my _son!"_ Watson didn't flinch when he glared at her. If he had his girlfriend's power of heat vision, Watson would have been a pile of ashes on the ground. "Agent Watson, when I get out of here – and I _will_ – I am going to sue you for malicious prosecution."

"Express yourself," Watson shrugged. "In the meantime, you're being prosecuted for multiple felonies. You show up after five years, and the Hood just happens to show up with you?"

"That was Roy Harper," Oliver told her, keeping a straight face.

"Wearing the hood at _your_ instruction, the same way John Diggle's been doing since I started my investigation," Watson countered. "I've got more than you think I have. A confession will make this easier on all of us."

"I'd like to see William and Kara," Oliver told her.

Watson paused, picking up a file from the table. "You're not in a position to make demands."

"I _demand_ to see them," Oliver corrected, narrowing his eyes. "Until then, you get nothing."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

The door opened a few minutes later, and William slowly entered, closing the door behind him. "Kara says you haven't been the Green Arrow anymore," he said. "Please say she's right."

"She is," Oliver confirmed. His mind went back to Morgan Edge for a split second, but he brushed it away. "Even the FBI would agree with me there. I've kept my promise to you."

"You're in jail," William pointed out.

"I will get out of here as soon as I possibly can," Oliver vowed. "For now, go home with Kara, and if she's ever not there, then Raisa will be, and I will be there just as soon as I can, OK? I just . . . " He crouched down slightly. "I need you to be as strong as I know you can be. OK, buddy?" William swallowed, then nodded. "Come here," Oliver held out his arms, and William hugged him tightly.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

A few seconds after William had left, Kara stepped inside, and she closed the door behind her. "Hey," she said quietly, not sure what else she could say to start this conversation.

"I am so sorry about this, Kara," he walked up to her.

"I know you are, and you couldn't have known she'd do this," she shook her head, putting a hand on his cheek. "There's no way you could have. This is on her, and her alone."

He closed his eyes. "I still can't believe she did this in front of William."

"Never mind throwing her in space, I wanted to roast her on the spot," Kara growled, her eyes flashing,

"Hey," Oliver cupped her face. "Easy, angel." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Your anger isn't going to help me."

"I know," she whispered, taking another long, deep breath and opening her eyes. "I know, but . . . Oliver, I don't do well when people I love are threatened."

"Neither do I," Oliver shook his head. "But the best thing for us to do is not give Watson an opening she needs, OK? William needs you now more than ever."

Kara swallowed hard. "OK," she nodded, biting her lip.

"I'll get out of here," he promised quietly. "Remember the first thing I ever promised you?"

"You won't let me down," she answered with a fond smile.

"I'm going to make you another one, and I want you to remember this," Oliver tilted her head up so her eyes met his. "If worse comes to worst, there will be nothing to stop me from coming back to you and my son. Do you believe me?" Kara nodded shakily, and Oliver shook his head. "I need to hear you say it, angel."

"Yes," Kara's voice cracked, tears in her eyes. "Yes, I believe you."

Oliver kissed her softly before hugging her tightly, feeling her shake. "I'm getting out of here," he promised. "You hear me? I promise."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"OK," Curtis picked up a needle from the table and walked over to Dig. "Uh, this is going to sting, and by sting, I mean hurt really bad."

"OK, well, as long as it will stop this," Dig nodded, clenching his fist.

"Well, I can't say 100% that it will," Curtis told him. "This is a prototype that Felicity and I have been developing to mass-produce her spinal implant. Spinal, as in I'm not sure if it'll work for your issue, prototype as in, well . . . prototype."

"What's the saying?" Malcolm's voice came from the computers station, making both Dig and Curtis exchange exasperated looks.

"Less talking, more doing?" Laurel's voice came next.

"Right, that was it."

"Excuse me, who invited you two into the conversation?" Curtis turned around, scowling.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow from where he sat. "No one stopped us."

"Never mind that, how did you even get _in_ here?" Dig added.

"No one stopped us," Slade repeated dryly.

Dig sighed, turning back to Curtis. "Let's do this."

Curtis nodded, and Dig sat down, using an alcohol wipe on his upper arm. He looked away, bracing himself as Curtis raised the needle. He grunted in pain when the needle pierced his skin. "It took Felicity's a while to work," Curtis told him as Dig rubbed his arm.

"It did in the end, though," Malcolm pointed out.

"True," Curtis nodded.

They heard the elevator door open, and everyone looked up when they heard Lena ranting. " . . . would first of all sue her for all it's worth, then if there was anything dirty at all on her, dig as deep as necessary to make sure she's fired and no one would ever want to hire her again unless it was to use her as a prime example of a sorry excuse for a human being."

"I'll help you with the digging," Winn volunteered as Lena led the way into the lair, absolutely fuming. Alex wasn't much better, and Dinah, Rene, J'onn, and James all looked various shades of angry.

"Who pissed you all off this much?" Laurel raised an eyebrow.

"Samandra Watson," Alex growled.

That got everyone's attention. "What did she do?" Malcolm narrowed his eyes.

"You gotta see it to believe it," Rene answered, walking over to one of the monitors.

"She just arrested Oliver in front of basically the entire world," Dinah spat.

" _What?"_ Slade snarled angrily.

Rene gestured to the monitor, pulling up the news, showing the situation. "Son of a bitch," Dig narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, she's definitely a bitch," Lena scowled.

"Pretty much, yup," Dinah agreed wholeheartedly.

"Did she just do all this now because she just got through talking to all of us?" Curtis asked.

"But she didn't talk to all of you," Laurel reminded him.

"Huh," Curtis blinked. "You're right. She actually never talked to me."

"If you got fomo about being interrogated, don't worry," Rene snorted. "Think you won't miss out when we all get arrested."

"I actually think we're all in the clear for now," Dinah shook her head.

"No, because cops arrest up the food chain in criminal enterprises," Curtis nodded. "Not to say that we're criminal enterprises. They don't arrest the kingpin _and_ his underlings, they arrest the underlings first. That's how it works."

"Where did you get that from?" J'onn raised an eyebrow.

"I've seen every episode of Closer twice," Curtis answered promptly.

"For real?" James blinked.

"Well, I'm a real-life cop, and I observed Oliver's interrogation, and it didn't sound like we were targets," Dinah assured Curtis.

"That's enough," Dig finally said, and they all turned to him. "We have to focus," he told them. "This might be the most difficult thing we've ever had to face. If people think that the Green Arrow's in prison, then the floodgates will open. Now more than ever, we have to protect this city. If the criminals here think that it's open season, then this city will become a war zone."

"Well," Alex folded her arms, smirking. "Good thing I brought a suit."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that as long as Kara's here, so are we," J'onn nodded.

"He's right," James agreed.

"Count me in for tech support," Lena raised a hand.

"Make that two," Winn nodded.

"More time in the field," Laurel smirked at Alex. "Finally, we can kick ass in uniform."

"Yes, ma'am," Alex smirked back, fistbumping her.

"Well, then," Malcolm smirked. "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war."

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

The sound of footsteps approaching made Oliver open his eyes from where he was reclining in his cell. He turned and saw Dinah on the other side of the bars, and he quickly sat up, turning to her. "Tell me what you need," she whispered.

Oliver considered. "I need some sleep," he answered truthfully. God only knew how little he got when Kara wasn't with him.

"I think I can do one better," Dinah told him. "FBI transfers can get lost. Locks can be left open."

"I appreciate that," Oliver told her. "But if I make myself a fugitive, then obviously I'm making William an orphan. I can't do that to him, and I can't put Kara through that."

Dinah nodded, understanding. "Got to do it the right way."

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "I got to do it the right way."

"OK," Dinah nodded in acceptance. "Good night."

Oliver nodded, lying back again, and Dinah walked off.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Hand's feeling a bit better," Dig told Curtis the next day, seeing him hard at work on the computers, Winn going just as fast. He paused, looking around to see James was there, too. "What you got?"

"There was a break-in last night at Sunderland Corp," Curtis answered.

"Why didn't we get an alert?" Dig asked in confusion. "Felicity has us wired – "

"Up the wazoo," Winn finished. "That's what we're working on figuring out."

"I mean, we're basically the big brother of Star City," Curtis nodded, then blinked. "Not in a creepy way."

"I got footage!" Winn announced, making everyone turn around, only to hear him groan. "Oh, man. Her? Really?"

"Oh, OK," Curtis sighed when he saw the dark-haired young woman in the footage. "This makes more sense now."

"Evelyn," Dig closed his eyes.

"Yeah, who works with Cayden James, who can hack any security system to bypass any alerts, such as ours," Curtis nodded.

"Is this that guy Kara said was the leader of a big hacking group?" James asked.

"Helix," Curtis nodded. "Yeah."

"Fun," Winn mumbled.

"What did they steal?" Dig asked.

Winn leaned forward, checking. "Nano-thermite," he answered.

Dig and James just looked at him blankly. "It's a metastable, intermolecular composite," Curtis explained.

James just turned back to Winn. "A reactive particle," he said. "Like a mint inside of a soda. Alone, harmless, but together, kaboom! As in kills lots of people, not spill grape juice all over your – "

"What are they targeting?" Dig asked.

"I don't know," Winn admitted. "Curtis?"

"Me, neither," Curtis shook his head. "Nano-thermite needs to be combined in order to be combustible, but once it is, there are many, many, _many_ possibilities."

"Can you narrow it down?" Dig asked.

"No," Curtis shook his head.

"Narrow what down?" Felicity's voice asked from the elevator.

"Hey, there you are!" Curtis beamed.

"Sorry," she smiled nervously, pulling off her coat. "I was working more on our start-up. Anyway, what do you need?"

"Evelyn and Cayden James got their hands on a mess of nano-thermite last night," Curtis said.

"That means they'll be in the market for an accelerant," Felicity nodded.

"Yeah, what kind of accelerant? That's a really long list."

"I'm assuming this heist involved a computer hack?"

"It involved Cayden James, so what do you think?"

"I think that I can backtrace his hack," Felicity smirked. "Maybe get into his system."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

 _Evelyn Sharpe made a reappearance. Keep you updated._

Kara sighed, switching her phone off as she, Alex, Lena, and J'onn approached the courtroom. "Great."

"What?" J'onn frowned.

"Explain later," Kara shook her head, giving Dinah a quick smile as they entered the courtroom.

"Hey," Rene gave a quick nod before sitting down.

"Hey," Kara gave him a smile before squeezing Oliver's hand. "You OK?"

"Ask me when this is over," he answered quietly. "Thanks for coming, you three," he told Alex, Lena, and J'onn.

"Wouldn't miss it," Alex nodded.

"Mr. Mayor!"

Oliver turned, blinking when a familiar face walked up. "Sam, I didn't realize you were joining my defense," he said. "Can a city district attorney – ?"

"He can't, and I'm not," he shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor, but considering that the charges against you stem from actions taken within this city . . . "

"Is the FBI handing you the case?" Oliver asked in disbelief.

He nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Oliver."

He walked past him, and Oliver took a moment to level another glare at Watson as she entered the courtroom. "All rise!" one of the security guards called, and Oliver went to take his place on the defense side of the court. "Docket QR2861, State versus Oliver Queen, Judge McGarvey presiding."

The judge nodded, and those in the audience sat, Kara biting her lip nervously, even as Alex squeezed her hand encouragingly. "I understand the defense have waived the reading of charges in favor of a motion?" the judge prompted as he sat.

"Yes, Your Honor," the lawyer with Oliver nodded. "Defense moves to dismiss for lack of probable cause. The photograph with the defendant wearing the Green Arrow outfit was debunked a month ago."

"We're not relying on that photo," Sam spoke up. "The FBI has provided definitive proof that Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow."

Oliver glanced over sharply, and Kara swallowed hard. If the FBI had that, could they have any idea that she was Supergirl? "Then let's see it," Oliver's lawyer drawled out.

"Show my whole card during arraignment?" Sam scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Sorry, Ms. Loring, but we're not skipping over steps here," McGarvey said. "But, good for you, I'm going to release the defendant on bail."

"Your Honor, the defendant faces seven counts of murder," Sam scowled.

"And he's the mayor and sole parent of a minor," McGarvey countered. "Something tells me he's not going anywhere . . . particularly not with a five million dollar bail and a five hundred thousand dollar bond."

Kara blanched, and Alex's jaw dropped at the numbers as the gavel hit. "Oh, my God," Kara whispered.

"We are going to ask for an accelerated docket and an early trial date," Loring told Oliver.

He just gave a curt nod and turned towards the front row. Rene had gone, but the Earth-38ers had stuck around. "Please tell William not to worry," he told Kara quietly.

Kara opened her mouth to answer, but surprisingly, Lena got the first word. "You tell him yourself when you get home."

Everyone blinked, and Oliver frowned. "I'm sorry, do you have . . . " He trailed off, only to stare in shock at Lena as she smirked and nodded. "No," he immediately shook his head. "Lena, I can't let you do that."

"Good thing you won't be letting me," Lena folded her arms. "Half a million dollars is nothing to me, Oliver. It's my money, and I'm using it to make sure you get home to William, and also to Kara." She gave him a fond smile. "All I need to do is just make it transfer to here."

Kara sagged in relief, and Oliver sighed. "Thank you," he told her gratefully, wrapping an arm around Kara's shoulders. "I seem to be saying that a lot to you all."

"Well, what better time than Thanksgiving to show how we're behind you?" Lena shrugged.

"Some Thanksgiving," Kara mumbled.

Oliver kissed the top of her head, hiding a fond smile. "At least the whole family's here."

"Yeah," Kara smiled faintly. "There is that."

* * *

 **A/N: As much fun as it would have been if Kara was arrested, Watson really doesn't have much on her at all. It's also why I'm going to wait after I write the midseason finales so I can see how the rest of the seasons play out and I can plan episode orders appropriately. I would hate to be writing in one direction only to have to completely rewrite something a few episodes later.**

 **Anyway, who doesn't love Lena right now? Pissed at Watson and coming to Oliver's rescue by paying for bail. Things are made so much easier when your girlfriend's best friend is filthy rich in another universe.**

 **Another update could be up as early as tonight or as late as Friday. Worst case scenario is the end of the weekend, but hopefully, it won't come to that. I would much rather spend the weekend writing "Wake Up" and get to Crisis.**


	31. Thanksgiving - Part Two

**To address some reviews . . .**

 **Guest 1: No, Sara has not met Black Siren yet. As for if they meet in the crossover . . . well. That would be spoilers. ;) Black Arrow and Overgirl will more than likely not be surprised when it comes out that Green Arrow and Supergirl are in a relationship. I also think when Overgirl was speaking to the heroes when they revealed themselves that she, at least, knew Supergirl was from a different Earth. As for getting married? No, definitely not. That was something that kind of ruined the crossover slightly, was Olicity tying the knot along with WestAllen. No way Oliver and Kara would interrupt that. The topic will more than likely make an appearance at some point, though.**

 **Guest 2: Romantic tension between Oliver, Kara, and Brainiac 5 . . . that'll depend on what happens in the rest of Supergirl. I plan to write up to the midseason finales, then wait to continue through with the seasons until they've finished. That way I know the characters, can sort out the order of episodes, and also not write something and have to adjust it to fit later.**

 **epuresoul: I didn't even think about the fact that Lena transferring money from Earth-38 to Earth-1 might be counterfeit, haha. S.T.A.R. Labs can probably convert it so it does work on Earth-1. She's making sure he's able to walk no matter what.**

 **Now, on to the chapter! What happens when Team Arrow dramatically increases in size? Well . . . it gets entertaining. That's for sure.**

* * *

 _ **Winn Schott**_

Winn whistled as he walked back towards the computers, only to do a double take when he saw both James and Winn were watching Dig do a handstand. "Whoa," he blinked.

"No kidding," James nodded in agreement.

"That is . . . so not fair," Curtis complained.

Dig landed back on his feet and stood up. "It's not supposed to be fair," he said dryly. "But thanks to you, I might be able to keep my job."

"No tremor?" Curtis asked.

"Almost gone," Dig confirmed, smiling. "You're a genius, Curtis."

"I bet you say that to all the geniuses," Curtis scoffed, but he smiled as well.

"Tremor?" Winn frowned.

"What kind of tremor?" James looked between them.

"Doesn't matter anymore," Dig shook his head, brushing it off.

Winn would have pressed further had the computers not started beeping. "What's that?" James looked around.

"Hacker tracker," Curtis answered, he and Winn running to the computers. He bent over his, checking where they were going. "Our friend Cayden just infiltrated security at Amertek, which, as it happens, has twenty different possible accelerants which cause . . . well, lots of damage."

"I got tech," Winn offered.

"I can stay here, too, just in case," James added. "You've already got plenty of fielders."

"Want to say it?" Curtis asked Dig with a wide grin.

"Call in the team," Dig ordered. "And suit up!"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"What's this I'm hearing about Watson having a smoking gun?" Quentin demanded as he turned away from the news.

"She gave it to DA Armand," Oliver answered grimly as the court group entered the office.

"Yeah, we need to find out what kind of ammunition they work with," Rene nodded.

"No, no," Oliver shook his head. "I'm not risking Felicity hacking the FBI."

"Eh, too late," Lena pulled out her phone. "I already asked not only her, but Winn to start looking. But, there's also too little. Any information they have, they're keeping it offline."

"Great," Thea grumbled.

"Well, I can check around the SCPD, see if anybody's heard anything," Dinah offered.

"Good," Oliver nodded. "Quentin, Thea, let's see if whatever it is came from city hall."

"Sure thing," Thea nodded.

"Yeah, been a while since I used my detective skills," Quentin smirked.

"You know, on the plus side, you getting arrested has done wonders for your approval ratings," Rene noted.

"Except it looks like it's had the opposite effect on this anti-vigilante referendum," J'onn frowned, seeing what Quentin was watching.

"There's a silver lining," Oliver scoffed.

The phones of the Earth-38ers chimed, and they pulled them out as Rene's and Dinah's went off, too. "That's Winn," Lena said. "There's a bad guy – well, _girl_ – who's breaking into Amertek," Lena said.

"Probably Evelyn," Kara narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to this," Alex grinned, tapping her phone against her hand. "J'onn?"

"Go," J'onn nodded. "Judging by how quickly three others jumped at the opportunity to help, they've got something against her?"

"Oh, yeah," Kara nodded. "Laurel and Evelyn worked with Chase before Laurel switched sides, and the last time Slade and Malcolm saw Evelyn, she was aiming a gun right in Oliver's face."

"Lovely," Lena wrinkled her nose.

"And even better, Evelyn's got a techy version of a Canary Cry," Dinah added.

"I bet Laurel's happy about that," Quentin said dryly.

"Absolutely," Rene rolled his eyes.

"OK, so you guys can go after Evelyn, and we will meanwhile distract ourselves with clearing my brother's good name," Thea nodded.

Alex let off a small salute, and she, Lena, and J'onn followed Rene and Dinah off. "I'll go tell William what's going on," Kara whispered, squeezing Oliver's hand. "You need anything, just call."

"I will," Oliver nodded, kissing her. "This nightmare will be over soon."

"Rao, I hope so," Kara sighed, heading for the door as well.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Can I just say," Laurel smirked as the now doubled in size Team Arrow moved into Amertek. "That suit looks wonderful on you."

"Thanks," Alex smirked. "I've made sure to put it to good use."

"She's definitely making a name for herself," J'onn remarked from over the comms.

"Oh, I bet," Malcolm snorted.

Rene and Malcolm led the way onto the catwalk, with Dinah and Laurel behind them, then Alex and Slade, Curtis and Dig behind them. They looked down at the mercenaries on the ground floor, then Dig whispered, "Sitrep."

"OK, you got four turkeys near the entrance and five more stuffed in on the floor," Felicity answered. "All puns intended."

"Guys, your window to move is now," Winn added.

"Copy that," Dig looked up. "Me, Terrific, Wolf, and Siren have the guys on the left. You four, the guys on the right. Move out!"

"Go, go," Malcolm gestured for Dinah to go ahead, he and Slade following Dinah and Rene.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Two of the mercenaries were walking by when there was an innocent whistle above them. One looked up, then let out a cry of shock when a black arrow pierced his shoulder. "Oops," Malcolm snarked.

The other guard got a sword hilt to the head, and Slade smirked as he went down like a sack of bricks. "Two already!" he called.

"Are we keeping _score?"_ Laurel asked in disbelief as she and Alex charged the other side of the building.

"Are we?" Rene perked up. "In that case . . . " He crashed into another mercenary, flipping him end over end. "Three!"

"Oh, no," Alex shook her head, jamming one of her brass knuckles into the knee of another mercenary, sending him down with a shout. "One!"

"Two!" Curtis joined in, tossing one of his T-spheres.

"Oh, my God," Lena groaned over the comms.

"Seriously?" James asked in disbelief as more counts were called. "They're actually keeping score?"

"The children started it!" Laurel barked, spitting hair out of her face as she knocked another merc out. "Five!"

"Oh, come on!" Malcolm grinned as he smacked his bow into another merc's head. "What's wrong with a little fun? That's seven!"

A grunt of pain from Dig made everyone spin around, and they found the man bending over double, sinking to the ground. Dinah instantly sprinted over, whirling her bo staff and knocking him out. She didn't count the guard to her team's tally, as all of them ran to check on Dig. "Arrow!" Curtis yelped.

"John, what the hell's going on?" Felicity demanded as Slade and Alex crouched to check on him.

"I'm OK," Dig ground out.

"No, he's not!" Slade snapped.

"We need to get you out of here, now," Dinah agreed.

"No, you need to stop Evelyn," Dig shook his head. "Go!"

Laurel ground her teeth, looking over her shoulder. "We'll get him out," Malcolm volunteered, he joining Slade with Dig.

"I'll meet you there," J'onn pitched in.

"The rest of you, go," Slade nodded to the team. "Go, now!"

Rene and Alex led the way onwards, and Dinah, Curtis, and Laurel followed. "Come on," Malcolm put an arm around Dig, Slade going the same, the two of them helping him to his feet. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Rene started firing at mercs, providing cover fire as Alex and Laurel charged in, only to have to duck behind cover as mercs fired at her. "There's no way we can do anything here!" Laurel growled angrily as Alex pulled out one of her guns. "We'll make something explode!"

"Great!" Alex thunked her head against the column they were hiding behind. "Just great!"

Dinah slid down on a chain to try and reach Evelyn, who turned away from the guards taking a crate from inside glass, but yelped when an arrow pierced her in the back. Alex quickly shot in the direction the arrow had come from, seeing Talia disappear behind cover. "Take cover!" Laurel yelled.

Dinah ran their way, Rene and Curtis darting there, too. They heard the gunshots continue, then stop for a second.

Alex let out a shout of pain when an earpiercing version of a Canary Cry rang out, and she covered her ears, hearing Laurel shout out a swear as things began exploding all around them.

When they looked around cover, Evelyn, Talia, and the mercs were all gone. "God damn it," Alex seethed.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"Dig's been keeping this a secret for months?" Felicity demanded as Dinah set her staff down.

"Some kind of drugs," Rene nodded.

"And he told you guys, and then he didn't loop me in?" Felicity looked around.

"It was right when you all returned from Kasnia," Dinah explained.

"And he figured that he'd be OK after Curtis hooked him up with that prototype thingy," Rene added.

"What prototype thingy?" Felicity narrowed her eyes.

"It was a shot of some kind," Laurel answered as the elevator doors opened. "Other than that, you'll have to ask him."

"Speaking of," Malcolm announced as he walked in, he and Slade both still in full uniform. "J'onn and Curtis are with Dig at the hospital."

"He's stable," Slade explained. "They're running tests right now."

"Feels wrong, us not being at the hospital with him," Rene sighed.

"I don't think all of us showing up in his room right now is what we need," Alex shook her head.

"Well, he needs to get back on his feet soon," Winn remarked, gesturing to where he had Evelyn's and Talia's profiles up on his monitor. "Because I remember the last time I met one of these ladies, and it took the entire team to take them on. Not fun from where I was standing."

"You were crouching," Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, not helping my point!"

Both yelped when they were simultaneously hit on the back of their heads. "Ow," Winn grimaced, looking sheepishly at Alex, who folded her arms.

"What?" Malcolm demanded at Laurel.

"Back on topic," Slade gave them both looks. "What did those demons steal?"

"Um," Lena tapped on her tablet. "Looks like one hundred pounds of polymer-bonded explosives. When they combined with the nano-thermite, it . . . " Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no."

"I don't like those two words put together," Malcolm narrowed his eyes.

"No, you shouldn't," Lena lunged for her phone.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"It'll take a little while for this blood work to come back, but if I had to guess, you're suffering withdrawal from the drug you've been taking in combination with Mr. Holt's experimental treatment," Dr. Schwartz told Dig, Curtis, and J'onn as they waited for her diagnosis.

"Is he gonna be OK?" Curtis asked worriedly.

"I'll know more once Mr. Diggle's panels come back," she answered.

"Thank you, doctor," Dig sighed.

Curtis sighed in frustration. "I should've ran a mountain of tests on you before injecting you with that prototype."

"It was my choice," Dig shook his head. "Don't beat yourself up, Curtis."

A phone started buzzing, and J'onn frowned, reaching for his pocket. He pulled it out, narrowing his eyes. "Lena," he said, putting the phone on speaker.

Lena didn't even wait for anything. "We have a problem," she announced. "A massive, huge problem. And that's saying something, considering it's the same week Oliver's been arrested."

"What is it?" J'onn asked.

"The nano-thermite, when combined with the explosive, creates a thermobaric weapon."

"What's a thermobaric weapon?" Dig asked, seeing Curtis's eyes widen.

"Nothing good, I presume," J'onn said dryly.

"Absolutely not," Lena agreed. "It disperses what is essentially a cloud of fire and then pressure-cooks everything within 200 yards."

"I'm guessing we're giving up hope that Cayden James has to cook a lot of turkeys for Thanksgiving," Curtis winced as Dig pinched the bridge of his nose.

"The only good news we have right now is that a thermobaric bomb is extremely difficult to make," Lena added.

"Yeah, well, Cayden James can do it, given his history, and he'll probably detonate it in a populated area," Dig said grimly.

"Maximize casualties," Curtis closed his eyes.

"Go help them, see if you can find out where he's targeting," Dig ordered.

Curtis nodded and left at once. "Good work, Ms. Luthor," J'onn said.

"We'll keep working," she said, then hung up.

J'onn put his phone back in his pocket, then folded his arms, looking at Dig. Dig looked back before sighing heavily. "Has anyone told you that you have one of the most intimidating 'I am disappointed' faces ever?"

"Dr. Schwartz said you've had nerve problems for four months," J'onn remarked. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you on Earth-38 four months ago?" Dig's jaw clenched, and J'onn nodded. "It was the explosion, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Dig admitted. "The explosion."

"We could have helped."

"Samantha was dead, and Clark and Kara were in comas," Dig shook his head. "This was miniscule compared to them."

"Miniscule," J'onn raised an eyebrow. "Which is why you're currently in a hospital because of drug withdrawal and the use of an untested prototype to attempt to cure this 'miniscule' problem."

"I get it," Dig narrowed his eyes. "OK? I'm sorry."

"Have you told Oliver?" J'onn asked. "I know Kara doesn't know, or else she would have been worried out of her mind about you."

"No," Dig shook his head. "I haven't told either of them."

"They need to know."

"Look, Oliver just got arrested, and Kara's already worrying herself sick . . . if she could get sick while she has her powers. I don't want to add anything to their plate."

"They _deserve_ to know," J'onn amended.

Dig was silent for a few moments. "Not this week."

J'onn held back a sigh and settled for looking up at the ceiling. Humans were so stubborn sometimes.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"Thanksgiving Day," Rene scrolled on his tablet. "There's a million events going on."

"I mean, who would this guy target?" James asked, looking through a list of his own. "Soup kitchens, parade?"

"Door buster sales?" Felicity suggested. When everyone looked at her, she blushed. "Well, that's where my mom took me!"

"Cayden James seems smarter than that," Malcolm shook his head. "He would be logical. He'd be calculating."

"Calculating!" Felicity's head shot up, and she turned around. "I saw one of his algorithms at Helix. It's based on traffic patterns and can extrapolate to predict population movements."

"Can you recreate it?" Alex asked.

Before Felicity could answer, Curtis emerged from the elevator. "I'm here," he announced. "Uh, what can I do to help?"

"You can start by telling me what prototype you used to treat John's condition," Felicity answered.

"Our prototype," Curtis answered. "The one we've been developing to cure paralysis."

"You injected _our_ friend with _our_ company's proprietary technology, and you didn't think to, I don't know, involve me in that at all?" Felicity scowled.

Winn and Rene, the two stuck between Curtis and Felicity, looked back and forth between them like they were watching a tennis match. The others slowly backed away to give them their space. "I thought Lone Ranger was just the way we did things here at Helix Dynamics," Curtis narrowed his eyes. "You know, the name of the company you picked without consulting me?"

Malcolm's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Rene finally cleared his throat. "I'm gonna . . . work on an algorithm over there when I figure out what an algorithm is."

"I'll help!" Winn quickly stood up, following Rene to the side, the others hastily finding other things to do as well.

"I can't believe you just equated a company name to exposing a friend of ours to an untested procedure, one you still haven't told me about!" Felicity hissed.

"It's the prototype of your spinal implant," Curtis told her. "Well, _mine,_ seeing as how I'm the one who invented it, which is why I probably don't understand how _you_ get to be so offended here!"

Felicity sighed. "We don't have time for this right now," she muttered, turning around.

Curtis watched her work before suggesting, "You should cross-reference the crowd's patterns with the bomb's path of destruction. I'll work on a particle cloud SIM."

Felicity nodded, and the two of them got to work. She finally whispered, "You could've just told me you didn't like the name."

"It's more than just the name, Felicity," Curtis shook his head. _"You_ picked the product we're making, we're working out of _your_ loft."

"That's called being decisive, taking initiative," Felicity looked at him. "I didn't do anything in secret."

Curtis huffed. "Can we maybe fight about this when we don't have a thermobaric bomb to stop?"

"You don't have to ask me to do anything because that's how you and I work together," Felicity said, looking at her computer when it beeped. "It's done," she said, walking away. "Let's hope it works."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig looked up when the door to his room opened, and he winced when Oliver walked in. "I told J'onn not to bother you with this."

"He didn't," Oliver shook his head. "Actually, it was Alex who called. Kara would be here, and she probably will be after she's done sorting out that you got hurt trying to help her." Dig winced, and Oliver raised an eyebrow. "So, which part did you not want to bother us with? You being in the hospital? The experimental steroid? Or the nerve damage that has affected you for _months?"_ Dig sighed, and Oliver tilted his head. "Are you gonna be all right?"

"I'll be fine," Dig nodded. "I didn't want you to worry, Oliver, which is why I didn't tell you."

"No," Oliver shook his head. "No, John, you didn't tell me because you knew I'd never let you go out there compromised, and that I'd certainly never let you compromise the team. I've been mad at you before, John, but this . . . is the first time I've ever been disappointed."

"Oliver, you gave up the right to judge me when you gave up that hood," Dig gave him a look.

"You don't get to claim the moral high ground here, my friend," Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm not, Oliver," he shook his head. "But I apologized to the people who I endangered – the team, Oliver. _The team._ My obligation begins and ends with them. I don't owe you a damn thing."

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "For the sake of our friendship, I hope that's withdrawal talking."

"I put on this hood because _you_ asked me to," Dig stood up, glaring at him.

"Don't blame me for this," Oliver growled.

"I'm not blaming you, Oliver," Dig shook his head. "I blame myself. For putting your needs, your goals, even your family, above my own. I've done that from the very beginning. That was my biggest mistake."

"That was your biggest mistake," Oliver repeated, then scoffed. "Mine was trusting you to be the Green Arrow." He turned to leave before pausing and turning. "Kara _did_ ask me to tell you something, though. She wants to know what the results are when they come in. She likes to know what injuries people suffer when they help her."

Dig flinched slightly at that, and Oliver left the way he had come.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"Should we order our traditional Thanksgiving meal?" Felicity asked curiously as she typed on her tablet.

"I can call Big Belly Burger," Curtis offered.

"I'm gonna crush my French fries and pretend they're mashed potatoes," Rene nodded.

"Yikes," James whistled.

"Yeah, welcome to Thanksgiving for us," Curtis nodded.

The computers started beeping, and Lena sat up from her seat. "Got it," she announced. "Maximum damage for a thermobaric bomb is Starling Stadium."

Rene blinked. "Today's Thanksgiving!"

"Yeah, I think we just covered that," Laurel raised an eyebrow. "I distinctly remember discussing the possibility of ordering turkey burgers."

"Wow," Malcolm grinned.

"I'm saying Billy Joel's playing there tonight!" Rene told them. "Sold-out crowd." He rolled his eyes when Malcolm and Slade both looked at him, surprised. "I happen to like a wide variety of music, and The Stranger is a treasured piece of rock and roll history."

"Yeah, you and J'onn have similar tastes in music," Alex smirked.

"Really?" Winn asked curiously, turning to look at J'onn.

"Eyes forward, Agent Schott," he said dryly.

"Yes, boss," Winn turned back around at once.

"Starling Stadium seats thirty-five thousand people," Felicity blanched.

"Guess that sold-out crowd's gonna get pressure-cooked to death," Curtis winced.

"Is there any chance all of us can get there in time, face this guy, and make sure this bomb doesn't go off?" Alex asked.

"Well, there's four hours until showtime," Winn leaned forward, typing on his computer. "Ooo, and bad news. That's definitely the place because Cayden already has control over the system."

"So good news?" James asked optimistically.

"Nope, just worse news," Winn shook his head. "Can't shut it down and can't cut the power because I just tried it, and Cayden has locked me out of the grid."

"Me, too," Lena sighed in frustration, leaning on her palm.

"I don't think the saying 'the show must go on' is appropriate here," Slade shook his head grimly. "This one can't."

"I might be able to help with that," Oliver announced, and everyone turned as he walked up. "I'll declare a state of emergency and make them cancel the concert."

"Did you talk to Dig?" Alex asked.

"John and I spoke," Oliver grimaced slightly. "I'd like to apologize to everyone. I didn't know about John's injury, and I should have. I will have them shut down the concert."

Rene grumbled under his breath. "I wanted to see Billy Joel."

"That worth getting pressure-cooked?" Winn raised an eyebrow. When Rene glared at him, Winn held up his hands and turned around. "I'm just saying!"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Like I said on the phone, Mr. Mayor," the manager of the stadium stood as Oliver walked down the steps. "I'm not canceling. The cost will be catastrophic."

"Well, so would a terrorist attack," Oliver countered.

"You have no actionable intelligence or confirmation from law enforcement," the manager scoffed. "You're asking me to set a match to millions of dollars on a hunch?"

"Have you even brought this to Mr. Joel?" Oliver asked.

"Brought what?" the manager countered. "You haven't given me anything substantive."

"I'm trying to save lives!"

"You're trying to save your ass!" he snapped. "You give me some proof, something more than your gut to go on, and I'll cancel. But without it, we open the gates at 7 pm."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm hoping to finish this episode tomorrow!**


	32. Thanksgiving - Part Three

**Team Arrow makes their stand against Cayden James, Kara finally gets to chat with Watson, and the teams finally get to celebrate the holiday.**

* * *

 _ **John Diggle**_

Dig looked up from what he was doing when the door to his room opened, and he frowned when Oliver entered. "Come back for round two?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," Oliver shook his head instantly. "No." He closed the door behind him, then said, "Back to apologize. You said you put my family in front of yours. You did. Then I asked you to put on the hood to make things better with my son, and I . . . " He sighed. "I didn't give proper consideration to yours. I'm truly sorry."

Dig nodded slowly as Oliver sat down. "I was thinking about William today," he said. "A lot. And you getting arrested in front of him . . . how's he doing?"

"Oh, he's fine," Oliver smiled. "He's a tough kid." Dig smirked at that. "But he is very grateful and thankful that you are the Green Arrow so I don't have to be."

"Don't know how much longer I can keep doing that," Dig admitted. "Especially in the short-term."

"You get your test results back?" Oliver asked curiously.

"Yeah," Dig took a deep breath, sitting down across from Oliver. "The nerve damage in my arm spread to my back. And because of the steroid use, I caused permanent damage. If I continue out in the field, I could end up paralyzed."

"Oh, John," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. "I . . . I really wish you hadn't have gone to these lengths for me."

Dig chuckled softly. "Well, now it's my turn to apologize to you." Oliver frowned in confusion, listening as his friend explained. "I should've never said that I was doing it for you. You remember last year when the Dominators put us into this alternate Star City?"

"Yeah," Oliver smirked. "Kind of difficult to forget."

"That's right," Dig chuckled. "You have one hell of a story to tell in the case of How I Met My Girlfriend."

"Yeah," Oliver said slowly, nodding. "I sure do."

Dig frowned, wondering what that response meant, but continued on. "We got to see what our perfect life would be. Mine was being the Green Arrow. So you asking me to take the mantle was not selfish. It was giving me the one thing in the world that I never knew I wanted."

Oliver shook his head, hiding a smile. "Wow."

"Now," Dig leaned forward. "Your perfect life is looking a bit different than it was advertised."

"Yeah, just a little bit," Oliver chuckled, a fond smile on his face. "I loved Laurel – this Earth's Laurel – and a part of me always will . . . but Kara . . . " He shook his head. "I see her with William, and I see just how good she is, and I always wonder if I'm good enough for her. You know what kind of scares me, John?" He tilted his head, and Oliver looked right at him. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. The only other people I've truly felt that way for are William and Thea."

"You love her, Oliver," Dig smiled. "That's not something to be scared of." He leaned forward. "You also reacted when I said How I Met My Girlfriend."

"Yeah," Oliver nodded slowly before turning to him. "Keep a secret, John?"

"Depends on the secret," Dig tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing," Oliver shook his head, leaning forward as well. "I just don't plan on calling Kara my girlfriend much longer."

Dig blinked once, then twice, then abruptly grinned. "You're serious, man?"

"Completely," Oliver smiled.

"That is a secret I can keep until you ask her," Dig agreed at once. "Good for you."

"Save that for if she says yes," Oliver said dryly.

"If she doesn't say yes, I'll eat my suit," Dig deadpanned.

"That's a wonderful image," Oliver winced.

"Yeah, it is," Dig nodded in agreement. "But, speaking of suits . . . what's going on with the team?"

"They think that Cayden James is going after Starling Stadium," Oliver answered. "There's going to be thirty-five thousand people there tonight."

Dig blanched. "You're the mayor. Shut it down!"

"I tried," Oliver sighed. "Getting arrested is not doing a lot for my credibility."

"What are you going to do?" Dig asked worriedly.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"We've been working on a probable location for Cayden's thermobaric bomb, but Starling Stadium is massive," Felicity walked over to where the team was gearing up.

"We'll have to split up," Rene sighed.

"Still, who's going to be calling the plays out there?" Curtis looked around.

"Do I get a vote?" Alex asked, looking around. When everyone nodded, she pointed at Slade and Malcolm. "One of those two."

"Us?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"The children?" Laurel asked at the same time.

"Hey!" Malcolm glared at her.

"Well, they've been at this longer than most of us," Alex defended her opinion. "And they keep their heads in the game."

"Honored you nominated us, Alex, but we don't know Star City as well as the rest of the team," Slade shook his head. "Can't exactly go walking around without someone recognizing our faces."

"Since two of us are supposed to be dead," Malcolm agreed.

"What about Dinah?" Felicity pointed at her.

"She has the least field experience of all of us!" Rene squawked before looking at her. "No offense."

"She has super powers, tactical training, and police experience," Felicity pointed out.

"It's all right, Felicity," Dinah held up her hands. "It's all right. We just cannot have a repeat of what happened at Amertek."

"Well, if anyone has any suggestions about how to do that, we need to hear them," Laurel folded her arms, just as the elevator doors opened.

Everyone turned around, surprised to see Oliver walk out, Kara behind him. "I have a suggestion or two," he gave a small smirk as Kara removed her glasses.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Slade, Alex, Rene, Curtis, Dinah, and Laurel ran into the shadows of the stadium, looking around. "We're on site," Dinah reported.

Oliver and Malcolm grappled down, Kara flying to join them. "Any luck locating the bomb?" Oliver asked.

"We're running a code to find the building's weakest architectural joint," Felicity answered as the group of nine ran into the stadium. "Well, targets of opportunity, so stand by."

"And we're still trying to get into the venue's security system," Winn said. "But Cayden still has us frozen out."

"Couldn't we pull the alarm here, evacuate the stadium that way?" Dinah asked as they took cover behind equipment.

"I'll do it," Rene volunteered, looking at Oliver. "Can't risk the SCPD spotting you as the Green Arrow."

"I have Overwatch running interference for me on that," Oliver assured him.

"If there's a cop near you, you will be the first to know about it," Felicity said confidently.

"Still, better safe than sorry," Rene pointed out.

Oliver nodded, and Rene ran off. "Archer, Terrific, watch his back. The rest of you, let's go."

Malcolm and Curtis followed after Rene, the rest of them accompanying Oliver. "Oh, hello," Winn remarked. "The bomb is definitely down there. I'm locking in on it. About four hundred feet up, down Corridor 52."

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez/Curtis Holt_**

Rene ducked into the shadows of the corridor, Malcolm and Curtis joining him. "Overwatch, I see the security alarm," Rene narrowed his eyes. "But I'm not gonna pull it like I did in high school."

Curtis opened his mouth to ask what about, when Rene threw a knife right at the fire alarm. It started to wail, and he gawked at Rene. "I'm not seeing you on any security cams near an alarm box," Felicity said in surprise.

"How did you – ?" Winn began.

"A magician never reveals his secret," Rene said smugly.

"You're learning," Malcolm smirked.

"False alarm, everyone," a voice from the cops sounded, and the three vigilantes poked their heads out to see them stopping fans. "False alarm. Don't worry. Go back to your seats. Everything's OK."

"Cops aren't letting anyone out these doors," Curtis frowned.

"That doesn't make any sense," Winn said in confusion. "How can they know it's a false alarm?"

"Well," Malcolm reached into his quiver and drew an arrow. "Let's remove any doubt."

He fired high above the crowd and hit a button on his bow. The arrow exploded midair, making everyone shriek. Rene came out next, firing both his pistols into the air. "Everybody, get the hell out of here!" he shouted.

The civilians ran for the doors, and Curtis blinked, seeing none of them could get out the doors. "Police have locked all the doors! Why would cops do that?"

"Because they're not cops," Lena said grimly.

"Dark Archer, don't let them see you," Felicity said. "The League might be disbanded, but that is not a good uniform to be wearing."

"Copy that," Malcolm fired a grappling arrow into the pipes, zipping up into them.

That left Rene and Curtis to come face to face with one of the "cops." "Get your damn hands up," he ordered.

"Easy," Rene held them up. "I'm just a fan . . . in a mask."

Malcolm fired another arrow, this one knocking the man's gun out of his hands. Rene and Curtis took the opportunity to run, and as the cop turned to find Malcolm, the archer had disappeared.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Overwatch, Checkmate, Schott, what's happening?" Oliver asked as he and the others walked through the stadium.

"That's right, I _do_ have a codename," Lena remarked.

"I need one," Winn muttered.

"Better not have anything to do with toys," Kara quipped.

"Guys," Oliver warned.

"All you need to know is that there's no SCPD or FBI folks near you," Felicity said. "Just focus on the bomb. You're, like, super close. Like, fifty yards."

"Guys?" Rene came over the comms. "A little help here?"

Oliver looked behind him. "Ladies, you wanted a team-up. Black Squad, move out."

"Black Squad," Dinah mused. "I like that."

"Copy that," Laurel smirked.

"You two, stay with me," Oliver ordered Kara and Slade as Laurel, Dinah, and Alex split up from them.

"Like I was going anywhere else," Kara smirked, the three of them breaking into a run.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"Make this easy on yourself!" two more cops ran to block Rene and Curtis.

Rene closed his eyes. "It's cool, Hoss," he said quietly before spinning around and firing both pistols, hitting them in the legs.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Round the corner," Kara warned Oliver.

He nodded, tightening his grip on his bow, Slade drawing one of his guns. The three cautiously walked around the corner, Oliver nodding when he saw it. "We're at the device," he reported.

Slade suddenly growled, and Oliver tensed when he saw the man they were looking for walk around the corner. "The wiring's all wrong on the thermobar," Felicity said. "That's not a bomb at all."

"That's a decoy," Winn agreed.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

Rene and Curtis ran around the corner, coming face to face with another squad of fake cops. "Oh, crap," Curtis's eyes widened.

The loudest sound they had ever heard rang out, and everyone reached for their ears, grimacing in pain. The fake cops went flying, and the lights threatened to fail and explosions rang out. Rene and Curtis watched in shock as Dinah, Laurel, and Alex ran their way. "Did you all just scream at the same time?" Curtis sputtered.

"Loud enough for you boys?" Laurel smirked.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Cayden James?" Kara asked quietly.

"Cayden James," Oliver confirmed.

"I know what you're thinking," the man told them, not seeming concerned at all that they were all on edge. "Where's the horrifically huge bomb?" He smiled slightly. "This is going to be an incredibly insightful evening."

"Where is it?" Oliver growled as Kara looked around, narrowing her eyes.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"No need to play nice, those jerkwads aren't cops," Felicity said as the five charged back the way they had come. "Siren, just be careful. Laurel Lance is supposed to dead."

"Dark Archer, can I have a lift?" Laurel looked up.

"Hang on," Malcolm answered.

The assassin swung down on a grappling line, and Laurel reached up. Malcolm grabbed her around the waist as one of her arms went around his neck, and he hoisted her back to the ceiling. Curtis flung one of his T-spheres into the fray as Dinah whirled her staff around, hitting the fakes in the head. Alex tucked and rolled on the ground, slashing with her brass knuckles, flipping two cops end over end, Rene covering all of them with gunfire. "Guys, you need to get those fans out of there," Winn said.

"I'll take left, you take right," Malcolm said.

"Got it," Laurel nodded, making her way across the pipes. She got the closest to the door as she could without risking hurting civilians, and she screamed at the doors. They crumbled under the force of her scream, and Malcolm shot explosive arrows at the other entrances. The doors now open, civilians ran to get out, and Malcolm turned his attention back to the fake cops.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Where is it?" Oliver insisted.

"Your generation is so impatient," Cayden scoffed. "Why can't you just savor the anticipation?"

Oliver drew an arrow and fired quickly, but one of Curtis's T-spheres appeared, blocking the shot. "There isn't a bomb," Kara said quietly, turning back to look at Oliver, eyes wide. "I can't find one."

"She's right, you know," Cayden smirked. "So relax."

"Then why did you do all of this?" Slade growled.

"To get his attention," Cayden answered, making Oliver and Kara exchange surprised glances. "To talk. That's all. It's not like I have his number."

"You're insane," Oliver turned back to Cayden.

"Thomas Szasz, the renowned psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, says that there's no such thing as insanity," Cayden responded, making Kara and Slade exchange incredulous looks. "Revenge, on the other hand, is very real."

"Revenge?" Oliver repeated. "I've never even met you!"

"And yet you cost me something dear to me," Cayden accused. "My son. That's why I have arranged this little tête-à-tête, so that when your city burns, you'll know why."

He flung the T-sphere their way, but Kara shot her heat vision at it, making it explode. A black arrow came out of nowhere and knocked Slade's gun out of his hand, and another sphere-like object rolled to come to a stop right in front of them. A mock Canary Cry sounded from it, making Kara scream and grab her ears, Oliver and Slade wincing and pulling her back, shielding their eyes from sparks flying everywhere.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak_**

"We ran facial recognition, and surprise surprise, none of those cops are on the force," Winn announced.

"Fake cops, fake uniforms, fake bomb," Alex shook her head in disbelief. "That's a lot of trouble to go through just to have a conversation with the Green Arrow."

"What's his beef with you, man?" James asked Oliver.

"Did he really lose his son?" Kara asked.

"Alena helped me collect the dots," Felicity answered. "There is a boy named Owen Post, who has Cayden James listed as his father on his birth certificate, but he's never been known to live with Cayden."

"Two months after ARGUS put Cayden into custody last year, Owen went missing," Curtis went on. "He was never found."

"How does this have anything to do with the Green Arrow?" J'onn narrowed his eyes.

"Or any of us?" Rene added.

"You keep digging," Oliver ordered. "Because even if we bear zero responsibility, we need to know why Cayden James thinks we do."

Curtis's tablet beeped, and he opened the new message he got, and he blanched. "Guys? A dude I used to code for just blasted off this link." He tapped a button and swallowed, looking at one of the monitors. "It's super trending."

"Oh, God," Laurel ran a hand over her face as they watched a YouTube video of Mr. Terrific, Wild Dog, Black Canary, and Black Wolf taking out the fake cops, able to see screams from Black Siren and arrows fly by from the Dark Archer.

"Yup," Curtis nodded. "Local news stations are picking it up, and, of course, no one knows that these cops aren't legit."

"This timing isn't coincidental," Slade shook his head.

"No," Oliver agreed grimly. "The whole city is voting on the anti-vigilante referendum today."

"Ten bucks says Cayden James wants them to vote yes," Malcolm said dryly.

"I think you'd win," Winn snorted.

"He pulled us in to get those videos to sway the referendum," Felicity sighed.

"That's not all he did," Lena shook her head. "This guy has a real thermobaric bomb now."

"Which he doesn't intend to use," Oliver cut in. "At least . . . not yet, anyway."

"It still sounds pretty dangerous," Curtis pointed out.

"Yes, it does, but it's a problem for another day," Oliver shook his head, looking past them to Rene, who pulled his vibrating phone out of his pocket. "How's the polling going?"

Rene listened, then covered the mic. "It's gonna pass, boss," he answered.

Oliver took a deep breath, then nodded. "Let's prepare a statement."

"I'm right behind you," Dinah nodded as Rene walked over. "I just need to finish up with Lance."

"Uh, J'onn?" Kara turned. "Can I ask you for a quick favor?"

"Sure," J'onn blinked, stepping off to the side. "What is it?"

Felicity and Curtis watched the others drift into their groups, then Felicity turned. "Hey, you know, if the bomb had been real, we still would have stopped it from going off."

"Yeah, I know," Curtis nodded, smiling. "It's good to have Oliver back in the saddle."

"Yeah, that," Felicity nodded, "and you and I knew where Cayden was targeting because we worked on the trace algorithm together because we're a good team." Curtis nodded in agreement, and Felicity smiled shyly. "I'm sorry that I named the company without consulting you, and I'm sorry that I picked our first project."

"And that I took the prototype without asking you," Curtis nodded.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara and J'onn stood close by the suit line-up on the wall, and J'onn turned to Kara. "What is it you need?" he asked.

"Well," Kara took a deep breath. "Remember when Alex and I came back from before?"

"Her with a suit and mask," J'onn said dryly, but nodded.

"It turns out that Agent Watson started looking into me, too," Kara explained. "She's starting to think that I'm Supergirl. So . . . I need your help."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

Oliver walked down the steps of city hall, ready to make his statement. "Good evening, everybody," he announced. "I think we all would like to applaud city officials for conducting today's vote in such a professional manner. I believe in my heart that vigilantes have worked to make this city a safer and better place." He looked to where Kara was standing with Quentin, Rene, and Thea, and hid a grimace as he continued. "I also recognize, as mayor, that it is my duty to honor the will of the people. You have spoken today and demanded the harshest possible penalties for anyone caught engaging in acts of vigilantism. Some people still believe that includes me. But I remain confident that my innocence will be proven and I will be exonerated at my trial. Thank you very much, everyone."

He ignored the clamor of reporters as he hurried to reach the others. "We'd have won had it not been for the video," Rene informed him grimly.

"Hey, you still did great out there," Thea assured Oliver.

"I feel like I just kicked myself in the – " Oliver began.

"Maybe it's because you didn't believe a single word that you said," a cold voice interrupted.

The group of five stopped in its tracks as Watson stopped in front of them. Oliver braced himself for an argument, but Kara put her hand on his arm. "Oliver," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, one that made his eyebrows raise. "Give me a minute with the ever so kind agent here, please? I don't think I've had the pleasure to speak with her alone yet." Watson opened her mouth to argue, but Kara shot her a nasty look. "I just have a few things to say to her."

"Uh . . . " Oliver looked back and forth between Kara and Watson, then made the smart choice to stay out of it. "Guys, I think it's in our best interest we leave them to this."

"Uh huh," Quentin didn't argue at all.

Watson raised an eyebrow as the group of four left, then turned to Kara and folded her arms. "What have you got to say to me, Ms. Danvers? I've got to head back to Washington."

"Something tells me you'll be back in time to testify at Oliver's trial," Kara glared.

"The time of vigilantes is coming to an end," Watson informed her. "Because how can he idolize someone hiding in the shadows, who won't show his face, who refuses to own up to his shortcomings and culpability? That's not a hero. That's a _coward."_

"Mmm," Kara nodded sarcastically. "A coward who's doing what it takes to save the city. Right. Good to know we disagree on that. Just one of many things, it seems."

"Tell me, Ms. Danvers," Watson tilted her head, smirking. "What does William think of his father?"

"You leave William out of this," Kara stepped forward, narrowing her eyes. "I don't know why you keep going after Oliver, but whatever reason it is, it's between you and him. William has no part in it at all. Stay away from him."

"Doesn't matter what I do, Ms. Danvers," Watson snorted. "It matters what Mr. Queen does." She raised an eyebrow. "And what you do."

"Ohhhh," Kara nodded. "Right. Felicity mentioned that. You think I'm Supergirl."

"Feel free to prove me wrong," Watson held out her hands, then frowned when she heard reporters starting to speak louder.

Kara just smirked and pointed behind her. Watson narrowed her eyes and turned, only to freeze when she saw Supergirl hovering in the air right above her. "I heard you wanted to see me, Agent Watson?" she tilted her head.

"Wow," Kara drawled out as Watson looked between the two of them. "There you go, Agent Watson. Proven wrong." Watson gave her a nasty look, but Kara just folded her arms. "How about the next time you accuse someone of something, you actually . . . oh, I don't know . . . _talk_ to them before you do?"

Watson seethed, but Kara just gave a beam and a smile before sauntering off, Supergirl smirking and flying away.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Oh, my God," Winn's grin split his face ear to ear as he watched the cameras showing the entire thing, Malcolm, Laurel, and Lena laughing hysterically behind him, Slade, Alex, and James grinning as well. "OK, it's official. Alex, we have the best boss ever."

"Yes," Alex giggled. "Yes, we do."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Are you OK, Mr. Diggle?" William asked in concern as Oliver, Kara, and Thea watched.

"Well, I'm happy as hell to be getting out of here," Dig nodded. "And it's John."

"William," Oliver cut in. "It's Mr. Diggle."

Thea snorted in amusement, and William looked back at Dig. "And you're the Green Arrow for my dad, right?"

"That's right, William," Dig confirmed.

"But if you were here last night, who was at the stadium?" William frowned.

Dig looked over, but Kara cleared her throat. "I was leading the team last night, William," she said, making Oliver look at her sharply. "The Green Arrow wasn't there."

"Oh," William nodded as Thea looked at Kara in shock. "OK."

Kara nodded back, and Thea stepped forward. "Hey, William, let's go pull the car around here for _Mr. Diggle,"_ she smirked at the man.

"All right," William nodded.

Thea led William out the door, and as soon as it shut, Kara turned around, eyes wide. "I just lied right to his face."

"If you didn't, then I would have," Oliver sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to step in," Dig looked at Oliver. "And I'm sorry you had to lie to him, Kara."

"I don't want to lie to him," Kara said miserably.

"I don't, either," Oliver shook his head. "But I can do it if it's temporary. If I'm just, uh . . . subbing in for the real Green Arrow."

"What do you mean?" Dig frowned.

"I mean as soon as you're healed up, I want you to put that hood back on," Oliver answered.

Dig smiled as he stood up. "Oliver, I like the way that sounds."

"That makes two of us," Oliver nodded. "Now . . . " He smiled at Kara. "We have somewhere to be."

"Yes, we do," Kara agreed.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"You know," Lena tilted her head as back at Oliver's loft, Laurel poured glasses of wine, "if someone had told me a year ago I would be spending the next Thanksgiving in a different universe with a group of vigilantes, I would have died of hysterics."

"I don't think any of us could have pictured this," James shook his head in agreement.

"Well," Thea smiled, "I'm glad we're all here."

"I'll drink to that," Alex grinned.

"It's definitely the most crowded Thanksgiving I've been to," Quentin remarked.

"No kidding," Curtis agreed, looking around. "How many is this?"

"Well," Malcolm turned around, "there's this thing called _counting,_ and – "

"Eighteen," Slade interrupted.

"I was going to make him count!"

"You two don't ever change, do you?" Laurel gave both of them looks.

"Have you met them?" Rene raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Dinah walked back into the dining room, taking a whiff of the dish she was carrying. "This stuffing smells a whole lot better than cranberry jell-o."

"I thought we'd be spending Thanksgiving in the lair!" Felicity defended herself.

Oliver laughed as he, Kara, William, and J'onn followed, all of them carrying dishes out as well. "William made the stuffing," he informed Dinah.

"The young man can cook," Dig raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Yeah," Kara smiled warmly at William as he set the water pitcher down. "Just like his father."

Dig tilted his head at Oliver, but he just gave his friend a warning look. Dig held up his hands in surrender as Winn and Thea passed wine glasses around. "Raisa helped me a bit," William admitted.

"Well," Lena leaned forward to sniff the stuffing, "that smells pretty good to me."

"So my first Thanksgiving as Supergirl was . . . tense," Kara cleared her throat as she took her glass. "And then last Thanksgiving, had the breach worked like it was supposed to, Barry and Cisco would have literally crashed the meal." She smiled, looking around the room. "Third time's the charm. So, thank you to everyone who has helped make this the best Thanksgiving ever, even if it has been a hell of one."

"Well," Oliver smiled, putting an arm around her and looking down at William. "I've never had more to be thankful for." He raised his glass as their friends and family took their spots around the table. "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone."

"Happy Thanksgiving," everyone chorused, reaching out to clink their glasses together.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy times with the teams. :) But . . . we all know what comes next time.**

 **Because "Wake Up" is next, and, well . . . some friends and family members are _not_ going to be happy.**


	33. Supergirl - Wake Up - Part One

**Fair warning: if it's dramatic and angsty, I will more than likely always milk it for all its worth. So get ready - I plan on making this a doozy.**

 **Sam goes to find some answers, Kara and Mon-El are reunited, and one member of Kara's Earth-38 family clearly states where they stand in regards to her and her love life.**

* * *

 _ **Samantha Arias**_

Sam stood over a pot of boiling water, rolling her head around, wincing slightly. "Mom?" Ruby asked from the island. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Sam responded after a moment. "Yeah, babe, I'm fine. You wanna set the table? This won't take long to cook."

Ruby walked over, and Sam walked over to the pot to put the pasta in, stopping for a moment and staring at the boiling water. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Ruby wasn't paying attention before slowly dipping her hand into the water.

She pulled it out to find nothing wrong with her hand at all. She made a fist just to make sure, but her hand was completely fine.

"Mom?" Ruby asked, and Sam turned to her. "Can I watch a movie tonight if I finish my homework?"

"Um," Sam said slowly, looking down. "You know what, I just realized I have to go back to work for something. Can you go over to Tess's for dinner tonight?"

"Mom, do I have to?" Ruby sighed.

"Ruby, this is not a discussion," Sam narrowed her eyes. "You're going to Tess's."

"OK," Ruby whispered, leaving to find her stuff, and Sam looked back down at the pot of boiling water in shock.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/J'onn J'onzz_**

Winn was walking through the D.E.O. when he caught sight of a familiar face walking around, looking confused. "Hey!" he called, seeing the man turn around. "Hey, Mr. J. You, uh, looking for something?"

M'yrnn looked relieved to see him and walked up. "I would like to find the b'rahh alcom."

"Oh!" Winn snapped his fingers. "Oh! You know, I've been brushing up on my Martian. B'rahh . . . library!" M'yrnn frowned, and he winced. "No. Bathroom!"

"To relieve myself," M'yrnn nodded.

"You don't know where it is?" Winn asked in surprise. "Haven't you been here for, like, three weeks?"

"And four days," he confirmed. "Precisely."

Winn stared blankly at him before pointing past him. "Yeah, it's down the hall, around the corner, third door to your left. We really, really should put up signs," he muttered to himself.

"May I go?" M'yrnn asked.

That really made Winn stare. "Yeah," he said, surprised he had to ask.

"Thank you!" M'yrnn smiled in delight, walking off.

Winn watched him go, then shook his head and turned around. "OK," he nodded, heading back to the main room.

"Shut down those systems so there's no possibility of infiltration," J'onn was ordering when he walked in.

"Yes, sir," an agent responded.

"Um, boss," Winn hurried up to him. "Hey, can I chat with you for, like, a hot sec?"

J'onn looked up from his tablet and raised an eyebrow. "A hot sec?" he repeated.

"Oh, my God, never mind," Winn sighed. "Listen, your dad just asked me for permission to use the bathroom."

"Yeah, well," J'onn passed his tablet on to a passing agent. "He's still getting used to things around here."

"Sure," Winn nodded, understanding that. "But it was kinda like the way he said it, like he was a prisoner or something."

"Well, he _was_ a prisoner for over three hundred years," J'onn reminded him.

"Exactly why I think that you might wanna take him out," Winn told him. "Like, into the non-D.E.O. world."

J'onn blinked, then said slowly, "I run a complex and highly sensitive government operation here."

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Winn sighed, slumping against the center console.

Kara flew in suddenly, landing in the middle of the room. "Winn? I got your message."

"Yes!" Winn perked up. "Yes, of course. So, I'm not really quite sure what to make of it, but I thought you guys should see this. This is an incident that happened this morning."

"What is it?" J'onn frowned.

"So, the city sent out an exploratory team to investigate the effects of the submarine attack, and you can see they found something strange in the bedrock, so they went to check it out," Winn pointed to the screens overhead, playing a video feed. "And . . . "

J'onn narrowed his eyes, seeing what appeared to be a spacecraft of some kind fired at the submarine, shorting the camera out. "It got attacked," he said in surprise.

"Yep," Winn nodded. "I mean, luckily, their emergency systems kicked in and they made it to the surface, but they could have easily just been taken out."

"What else can you find out?" J'onn asked.

"Oh!" Winn straightened, typing on his computer. "The USGS geothermal scans, we can pull up one of those to find these coordinates." Kara and J'onn turned to the screen, blinking when they saw the red scan that showed up. "OK," Winn said slowly, standing up. "Well, I can tell you two things right off the bat. One, according to the rock layers, that ship has been under there for about twelve thousand years. And two, whatever metal it's made out of, is not on the periodic table."

Kara and J'onn shared concerned looks before turning back to the screen.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"OK, slow down, slow down," Winn hurried to catch up with Kara and J'onn as they walked down the sidewalk. "We're getting close, we're getting close . . . " His tablet rapidly started beeping, and he stopped. "Wait. No, hey, wait . . . " He moved around a bit before stopping. "OK. Ship should be right under us."

"OK," Kara nodded, turning to them. "All right, stand back. Everyone, stand back!" she shouted, then turned around. "I saw Clark do this once."

"Get back!" Winn added as Kara twisted her body.

"Wait!" J'onn held up his hands, and Kara looked over her shoulder, confused. "Wait, wait. There's a way of doing this without destroying public property. Let's go."

"Aw, man, I wanted to see that," Winn pouted, running after them. "Awesome."

J'onn led them between buildings, then nodded and put his arms around their shoulders. "All right."

"What are you doing?" Winn blinked, Kara wincing as J'onn pulled them in tight.

"This might feel a little weird," J'onn warned.

Red light warped over them, and Winn screamed as they fell through the ground. "Oh, no!" They landed inside the ship, completely black except for a few lights. "Oh, God, that was horrible!"

"Shh!" Kara hissed.

Winn quieted. "That was amazing! Can we do that all the time, please?"

"No," J'onn said shortly, turning on his flashlight.

"OK," Winn nodded, not arguing.

Kara led the way further into the ship, coming into a command room of some kind. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a vertical tube lit up orange gold, the silhouette of a figure inside. "Is that a person?" Winn asked in shock.

"Looks like," J'onn nodded.

Kara examined the rest of the tubes, then pointed to the far side. "There's an empty one."

"OK, that's not creepy," Winn gulped. "Not at all."

A whirring noise made Kara look up, then footsteps made her turn. She saw a shadowy figure approach with a blaster raised, and her eyes lit up threateningly. The figure shot at her, and Kara quickly raised her arms, deflecting the shot upwards. "Don't shoot!" she shouted as J'onn raised his own gun, Winn taking cover behind them. The figure demanded something in a language Kara didn't know, but she guessed what it meant. "We're not here to hurt you," she told him.

The figure finally came into the light, and Kara froze in a mixture of shock in disbelief when she saw his face. "Kara?" Mon-El breathed, lowering his gun.

Kara could only walk forward as if in a trance, Mon-El actually dropping his gun as she approached. J'onn and Winn exchanged shocked looks as Kara reached out, putting a hand on Mon-El's shoulder, then the other. Verifying that he was, in fact, standing right in front of her, Kara let out her breath in a whoosh and hugged him tightly, feeling him reciprocate almost at once.

She may be in love with Oliver now, but Rao, was she happy Mon-El was alive.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Alex burst into the medical bay, skidding to a stop when she saw who was lying in bed, Kara sitting next to him. "Oh, my God," her eyes widened. "Oh, my God."

"I know," Kara nodded.

"It's Mon-El!"

"I know," Kara repeated, a small smile on her face as she turned to Mon-El, who smiled slightly at her. "You're back."

"Wait a minute, how are you breathing," Alex frowned, turning to the others. "How is he breathing?"

"We don't know," Winn shook his head.

"According to the samples taken this morning, the air should still be toxic to Daxamites," J'onn added.

"That's incredible," Kara turned to Mon-El, smiling wider.

"Did someone cure you?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, and what was that language you were speaking on the ship?" Winn asked.

"Saturnian," Mon-El answered, still sounding slightly groggy.

"But . . . there's life on Saturn?" Winn's eyes bugged open.

"Why did you fire on the divers in that submersible?" J'onn asked.

"I didn't," Mon-El answered simply. "I heard the ship's defense system activate, though. Is everyone OK?"

"Yeah, they got out in time," Kara confirmed.

"That's some ship you got there," J'onn walked forward. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's, uh . . . " Mon-El scoffed slightly. "It's alien."

Kara frowned, knowing that. "Who's in the other chambers?" J'onn asked.

"Just passengers," Mon-El brushed off.

"Are they dangerous?" Alex pressed.

"No," Mon-El shook his head, and Kara narrowed her eyes slightly. Months of being with Oliver and being with his team had taught her valuable instincts. Now something like a warning bell was going off in her head . . . Mon-El wasn't telling them everything. "They're, um . . . they're like me."

"Why did you wake up and everybody else is still asleep?" Winn asked.

Mon-El sighed, nestling back in the bed. "I'm sorry, guys, I was in hypersleep, and it's all, um . . . it's all very hazy right now, so – "

"So you don't remember anything about the other passengers?" J'onn raised an eyebrow.

"There will be plenty of time to ask questions," Kara held up a hand, though she was itching to ask her own. "He really needs to rest." When no one moved, she made a shooing motion. "Come on!"

"Right!" Winn jumped up, patting Mon-El's leg. "Good to see you, buddy."

"Yeah, it's . . . great to have you back," Alex gave Kara a concerned look.

Kara just smiled reassuringly at her. She could handle her ex. "I look forward to our debriefing," J'onn gave Mon-El a pointed look.

"Enough," Kara playfully shoved J'onn out the door. When she was sure everyone was gone, she turned back to Mon-El. Oh, this was . . . what _was_ this? On the one hand, she was happy Mon-El was back. Of course she was – she had thought she had sent him to his death for so long! But on the other hand . . . she didn't feel as happy as she thought she would be. So she said the only thing she knew for sure. "I missed you."

"Me, too," Mon-El told her with a slight smile.

"It's been . . . " Kara tilted her head back and forth trying to find an adjective, then sighed. "Rocky." Yeah, that worked. Lian Yu had had a lot of rocks, Kryptonite was rocks . . . rocky was a bit more literal, but it worked. "Seven months of not knowing."

"Seven months?" Mon-El repeated, surprised. When Kara nodded, he let out a shuddering breath. "I tried to send a message, so many times, to tell you I was OK, but I couldn't. I tried."

"It's OK," Kara assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me all about what happened later."

"Kara," Mon-El began.

"Because I have a lot to tell you, too," Kara gave him a look. "And I know my story, at least, will probably drain you."

"No, Kara – "

"So get some sleep, and we'll exchange stories when you wake up," Kara finished, squeezing his shoulder slightly.

Before Mon-El could say anything else, Kara stood up and left the medbay. As soon as she was out the door, she leaned against the glass and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Kara?" Winn asked carefully from where he and Alex were standing.

"Believe it or not, my number one concern is not Mon-El right now," Kara said.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

Kara opened her eyes and looked at her. "How the hell do I explain this to Oliver?"

Both were quiet. "Yeah, that would be _my_ number one concern, too," Winn admitted.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam still couldn't believe she was here, and she had been driving for a long time.

She finally stepped out of her car, walking up the driveway to the house at the top of the hill. She stopped for a long moment, then finally braced herself and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" a voice responded.

Sam watched an older woman with white hair walk up, only to freeze when she saw her. She slowly opened the door, and Sam tried to smile at her, but found she couldn't. "Hi, Patricia," she said.

Her adoptive mom stepped back, and Sam walked into the house, letting her close the door behind her.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"So, it's just you?" Patricia asked as she poured drinks that night. "You didn't bring, uh . . . "

"Ruby?" Sam scowled when she didn't finish.

"I've never met the girl," Patricia defended herself. "So I don't think you should expect me to keep her name straight."

"Well, you kicked me out for having her," Sam raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd wanna meet her."

"No, you made your choice," Patricia shook her head. "You had to know that there would be consequences."

"I was a kid!" Sam protested.

"You know as well as anyone that the moment you become pregnant, you're not a kid anymore," Patricia countered.

"So I didn't deserve a support system?" Sam challenged. "Married adults have children all the time. They need their parents."

"I would have just been a crutch for you," Patricia shook her head.

"You were my mother!"

"And I always wanted what was best for you!"

"So you just let me _leave?"_

Patricia sighed. "That's not what I wanted to have happen at all."

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Do you know how hard it was for me to come here?" she asked quietly.

"Well, when why did you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You're unbelievable," Sam scoffed. Patricia just held out her hands in a helpless gesture, and Sam sighed. "Some things have been happening."

"What things?"

"I guess I was just wondering if, growing up, if I ever did anything strange," Sam shrugged.

"What do you mean by 'strange?'" Patricia smiled slightly.

"I don't know," Sam shook her head. "Did I fall? Like, fall and not get hurt? Did I ever lift anything really heavy?"

"No," Patricia shook her head. "No, nothing like that."

"Nothing?" Sam repeated.

"No!"

Sam sighed. There went that path. "OK, uh . . . well, maybe you could help me find something out about my birth mother."

"Well, why do you wanna know about her?" Patricia asked, seeming nervous about the question.

Sam shook her head. "You know what? Just forget it. Sorry I bothered you." She turned around and walked towards the door, only to stop. These . . . _things_ were happening to her, and the only person who could possibly know anything about them was behind her . . . and she was just going to _walk away?_ She braced herself, then spoke again. "I was at a press event. Someone had a gun. They fired it into the crowd. A lot of people got hurt." She turned around, walking back towards Patricia. "I got home, and I found a hole in my coat. Found a little piece of metal, a bullet. It was completely flattened. I got shot and it didn't puncture my skin. I got shot and I didn't feel it! How could I not feel it?" Patricia took her glasses off, chewing her lip. "Patricia, what is _happening?"_ Sam asked in a shout, her voice wavering with tears.

Patricia looked at her for a long moment before nodding and seeming to come to a decision. "Follow me," she said, heading for the back.

Sam watched her go, then walked after her.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Patricia led her to the shed out back and turned on the light, leading her towards something huge covered by a tarp. Sam slowly walked over to the tarp and pulled it off, her eyes widening when she found a spacecraft of some kind underneath it. "You ask about your birth mom," Patricia said. "I lied. I didn't adopt you. I found you, in this."

"I – " Sam closed her eyes, trying to take everything in. "I just . . . I don't understand."

"No, I didn't either," Patricia admitted. "I didn't know where you were from, or who left you in this thing, or why. And you just . . . you looked so damned helpless that I took you home."

"Were you ever gonna tell me?" Sam asked.

"I swore that I would tell you when you turned eighteen, but you were gone by then," Patricia nodded. "And I thought, well, maybe that's better. That you would be better off out there on your own without knowing."

"That I'm an _alien?"_ Sam stared at her.

"Sam, I just wanted you to have a normal life," Patricia told her.

Sam turned back to the spacecraft, gently touching the side of it. Lights activated at her touch, and Sam watched them run all the way to the front of the craft. From the front popped up a crystal-like stick of some kind, glowing with power. Sam hesitantly pulled it out of the craft, and everything went dark again. She looked at what she held in her hand, torn at what to do.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara stood outside the medbay, watching Mon-El sleep. She didn't react when she heard footsteps behind her. "It's unreal," James said as he joined her, a smile on his face. "I still can't believe he's here."

"Yeah," Kara agreed, chewing her lip.

James tilted his head, then said lightly, "Not so sure about the beard, though."

Kara giggled. "Well, I'm a bit biased."

James's smile faded slightly. "Have you called Oliver yet? Let him know that he's back?"

"No," Kara shook her head. "No, I'm waiting to hear what Mon-El has to say. He's been a little . . . a little distant."

"Yeah, but you never know what he's been through, you know?" James nodded. "Maybe just give him a little time."

"And once I know, I'll call Oliver and let him know," Kara nodded, a fond smile forming on her face. "Gives me enough time to prepare for his overprotective boyfriend mode."

James smiled. "You know, I watched you two last year," he nodded between Kara and Mon-El. "I'd never seen you more happy, and I know that he would never do anything to hurt you." Kara bit her lip, wondering where he was going with this. "But then here came these vigilantes from another universe that were nothing like Barry, and Oliver . . . " He shook his head. "I wish you could have seen how immovable he was to you when you were hurt. Mon-El was determined to be the best he could be for you, but Oliver's devoted to you through and through, and to be honest, I think he's made you smile more than Mon-El ever did. He may be overprotective, but it's his way of showing you he cares." He put an arm around Kara's shoulders. "And if Mon-El expects everything to go back to normal and insists on it being that way, I'll be right there behind you and Oliver."

Kara looked up at him, shocked. "Really?" she asked quietly, tears in her eyes.

"Really," James smiled, nodding. "If you feel Oliver's the one for you now instead of Mon-El, that's where I stand. Even if those righthand men of his you call brothers terrify me, I can see who makes you happy. And if happy can't be used to describe what I see between you and Oliver, I don't know what happy _can_ describe."

Kara smiled widely, tears streaming down her cheeks now. James held out his arms, and Kara fell into them, burying her head in his shoulder as he comforted her. Of all of her family and friends on Earth-38 she had worried about when she and Oliver started dating, James's opinion was the one that had concerned her the most. They had dated for a short amount of time, and there had been a small part of her that thought he still had feelings for her. To know that he was wholeheartedly behind them now . . . it meant the world to her.

She could only hope Mon-El would understand when she told him she loved another man now.

* * *

 **A/N: James isn't my favorite Supergirl character, but I definitely don't dislike him. One of the key things about him is that he knows both sides of Kara and sees her as both on a daily basis, and as one of the few people who can see her like that, I feel he would be behind how Oliver has helped her with both identities.**


	34. Wake Up - Part Two

**To some of the guests reviewing . . . I agree, there's not much conflict going the way of Oliver and Kara right now. Part of that is because there hasn't been many conflicts for them to have in the first episodes. Part of it is also because, for a while, I was writing these episodes as they came out, which is why this is extremely close to canon. It's also why, after I write the midseason finales, I'm going to wait until the seasons finish to continue writing. That way, I can write to adapt to the episodes better so I can include conflicts such as those.**

 **And it looks like conflicts are going to come up anyway - Supergirl seems to be heading in the direction of a Supergirl/Brainiac 5 romance, so that could cause a problem. Oliver is certainly going to be concerned now that Mon-El's back. I also have a plan that involves Kara's concerns brought up in "Midvale" and will involve her coma in "Legion of Super-Heroes." Until I see the rest of the seasons, other conflicts are up in the air. I hope this answers concerns - I agree, I've looked back and thought "this is much less conflict than I usually involve in a story." Hopefully I can make that change when I do the other episodes. It depends on how they go.**

 **As for Oliver and the team . . . I confess, I do need to actually watch "Irreconcilable Differences" to plan out how Oliver reacts in this story. To be fair, from what I've heard, Dinah was interacting with Vigilante during the episode, which - since he's been an enemy of Team Arrow to this point - would look pretty suspicious to me if I heard one member of my team was a traitor. Again, I'll watch the episode again, then adapt it to this story.**

 **I hope these answer some people's reviews!**

 **Now, on to the next chapter! Sam goes on a . . . very long trip, and something's up with Mon-El.**

* * *

 _ **Samantha Arias**_

"All right, Rubes," Sam wrote down on a notepad. "Mrs. Qualar is coming to stay."

"For how long?" Ruby frowned.

"I'm not sure yet, but I do know that you hate her cooking, so I'm leaving money for takeout." She tore the note off and set it down on the table with the money. "Right here."

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not exactly sure yet," Sam admitted, setting down the notepad, then looked at Ruby, who was biting her lip. "Hey, you don't have to worry, OK? Nothing is wrong." She took Ruby's hand and sat down on the couch. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." Ruby smiled faintly, and Sam continued. "I found something out about myself, and it's a really good thing. It's gonna answer a lot of questions, but I gotta take this trip to get those questions answered."

"Can't I come with you?" Ruby asked. "I can come with you!"

"I know you want to, and I wish that you could, but I gotta do this on my own, OK?" Ruby looked down, looking sad, and Sam held up her hand. "Hold my hand." Ruby did, and Sam put her other hand on top. "You feel that?"

"Your pulse?" Ruby frowned.

"That's you," Sam nodded. _"You_ are my heart. Are you gonna trust me?" Ruby nodded, and Sam smiled. "Something wonderful is happening."

"Just promise to tell me about it when you come back?" Ruby asked.

"I promise," Sam nodded, pulling her close, kissing the top of her head. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Ruby mumbled.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Hey, so now that we know it's just friendly ol' Mon-El in the ship, maybe you could finally go have that outing with your dad," Winn told J'onn as they and Alex walked back to the main room.

"We have to learn more about the ship Mon-El was on," J'onn said. "There are five other passengers on board we know nothing about."

"They're literally asleep," Winn snorted.

"The ship is secure, OK?" Alex told J'onn. "We're running comms on it to find its origin, we're monitoring it in case anybody else wakes up. I will alert you if anything happens."

"Yes, leave us in charge," Winn nodded. When both Alex and J'onn looked at him incredulously, he hastened to say, "and by 'us,' I mean Alex, because I should _not_ be in charge of _anything."_

"Just go be with your dad," Alex smiled at J'onn.

J'onn sighed, then nodded.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"This brown water is a popular beverage on Earth?" M'yrnn asked as they walked through the park later, considering the cup he held in his hand.

"In the mornings, mostly," J'onn nodded.

M'yrnn took a drink, then blinked. "Mmm!" he brightened. "Yes, I understand the appeal of c'of-fee!"

J'onn held back a smirk. "It's pronounced _coffee._ It's only a short walk from the D.E.O., you can come down here at any time."

He checked his phone, then heard his father ask, "What is that? A duel of intellect?"

"That is chess," J'onn identified the game two men were playing. "An ancient game of strategy with infinite outcomes."

"Ah!" M'yrnn nodded. "Much like o'kk rotokk." J'onn nodded in agreement. "We should play o'kk rotokk sometime."

"I don't really have a lot of time for games, but you should come down here, learn chess," J'onn told him.

M'yrnn saw J'onn check his watch, then frowned. "If you wish to return to the D.E.O., let us go."

"Oh, no, Father," J'onn immediately shook his head. "It's OK, it's OK. We can stay out. You've been a prisoner for three hundred years, you shouldn't feel like a prisoner here."

"I know I am not a prisoner of the D.E.O., my son," M'yrnn told him. _"You_ are." J'onn blinked in confusion, and M'yrnn explained. "You have glanced at your smart devices forty-three times since we arrived. Your body is here, but your mind is trapped in your work. You live there, your only friends are there, you have nothing outside of it."

"You've been here three weeks, I've been here three hundred years," J'onn pointed out. "I think I know a little more about how to engage with this world than you do."

M'yrnn raised an eyebrow. "Thank you for showing me the way here. I will return if I require more brown water."

"Father, come on," J'onn began.

"You have completed your mission, and now I would like to return to my room," M'yrnn spoke over him, walking off.

J'onn watched him go, musing over what he had said.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

The last doctor inside the medbay left. As soon as she had, Mon-El's eyes opened. His eyes scanned his surroundings before he tossed the sheet off him, quietly getting up and walking out of the medbay. He watched one agent walk the other direction, then lightly ran down the hall.

He still knew the D.E.O. as well as he had and found the room he was looking for quickly. He ducked behind cover when an agent left, then darted out and slipped through the doors just before they slid closed.

He walked along the shelves, looking through the devices stored there. He reached for a ring-like device on the top shelf –

"Hey, you shouldn't be in here!"

Mon-El turned around and punched the agent reaching for his shoulder, then grabbed another in a chokehold. He felt the agent go limp in his grasp, then lowered him to the floor. He looked around to check for any more agents, then turned around and grabbed the ring.

When he turned around, Kara was there and knocked him out with one punch to the head.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara didn't want to be here again. She really didn't.

But here she was, watching Mon-El wake up in the cell he had been in when he had first woken up. "I don't understand," she said as he looked up at her. "I wanna give you the benefit of the doubt, but you attacked two agents." Mon-El slowly sat up, but didn't say a word to her, and Kara sighed, turning and pacing. She had known something was up with Mon-El. She had been around Team Arrow long enough for them to rub off on her. But Mon-El attacking two agents? She hadn't expected that. "Was – " She shook her head. "Were you confused by the hypersleep?" she turned back around. "Is that why you snuck out of the medbay, broke into a secure storage room and almost killed two people?"

"I didn't almost kill anyone," was all Mon-El said.

Kara stared at him, shocked. That was all he was going to say? "Is it not you?" she whispered.

"It's me," he promised.

"Then – " Kara took a deep breath. "Then make me believe it. Please." Mon-El just stayed silent, and Kara snapped. "You know, I couldn't sleep? For the longest time, I laid awake at night, just staring at the ceiling, because if I closed my eyes, I dreamed about you dying. I would see you disappear into the blackness of space forever. This was all I wanted. This." She shook her head, covering her mouth as she felt everything just start to bubble up. "I broke, Rao, I broke, and I couldn't feel anything any more, because if I did, I could have just hurt more.

"And then – " She hiccupped, running a hand over her face. "Everything changed. One trip to CatCo, and everything I knew changed. I felt stronger. I felt I could be better. And then I got careless enough that the next time I faced Cadmus, they got close enough to me to knock me out and inject me." Mon-El looked up, a flicker of concern in his eyes, but as quickly as it had arrived, it vanished. Kara felt her voice break as she continued, her voice rising. "I thought I was done for. For weeks, I was at their mercy, wondering if they would ever just let me die, but they never did. Kryptonite injections, blades digging into my arms. They made me bleed just so they could see how much I could in one go! I was ready to die, Mon-El!"

She broke off, a hysterical laugh coming from her. "But I never did. I wondered why I never did. And at the end of three weeks, I found out why. It wasn't the D.E.O. that came to rescue me. It wasn't my cousin. No, it was a group of vigilantes that went off a communication pattern and came to see if I was OK. A _communication pattern!"_ Kara spun around, starting to pace, a hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself intact. "And if they hadn't come . . . " She trailed off, then shook her head. "They came, and they made damn sure Cadmus could never hurt me again. And you know what else, Mon-El? If someone had told me I could have ever loved someone more than you, I would have laughed in their face. But you know how I know that's true? It's not your death I started dreaming about at night. I started dreaming of an island exploding. Of criminals and assassins getting a lucky shot."

She walked up to him, seeing him still looking at her, his gaze unreadable. "I moved on. I never would have thought I could say that, but I did. I moved on. Or I thought I did. And when you came back, I never thought I wouldn't be as happy to see you. I was, but other than that . . . nothing. I'm sorry, Mon-El, but it's not you anymore. And even if it was . . . you're different now. And I don't know how I could cope with that." She took a deep breath, expecting to see . . . something from him. She didn't know what expression she wanted to see, but Mon-El wasn't showing anything. "You have nothing to say?" she asked. "Nothing?"

"I'm sorry," was all he said.

Kara's jaw dropped at the casual brush-off. She had just poured everything in front of him, from her nightmares to Cadmus to being in love with someone else now? And all her former boyfriend said was _I'm sorry?_ She swallowed and backed up. "Shame on me for having a human heart," she whispered before turning and storming off.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Winn and James watched Kara storm past, seeing how red her eyes were and how much she was shaking. "Oh, no," Winn whispered.

"OK, if she's not going to call, we're gonna have to," James announced. "I'll get Lena."

"I'll call the Protective Bunch," Winn nodded.

James paused, turning to him. "The Protective Bunch?"

"Yeah, you know Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel? Come on, man, if they're not the definition of protective, then what is?"

James tilted his head back and forth, considering the name, before making a sound of agreement and nodding. "Good name."

"Thank you," Winn beamed, pulling out his phone and walking off as James pulled out his. Winn took a deep breath, then dialed the number.

Oh, he was not going to enjoy sharing this information at _all._

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam drove through the desert, drinking her umpteenth cup of coffee, seeing no one pass her by. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she was following the rod glowing on her dashboard.

When her car started making disturbing noises, she pulled over and ran to check the front of her car. She opened the hood and groaned when she saw her engine had overheated.

Just her luck.

She sighed and leaned against it, looking around. Here she was, out literally in the middle of nowhere, with her only guide a glowing stick that had come from the alien pod she had come from.

"What are you doing, Sam?"

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Winn was not a happy camper when he walked back to where Mon-El was being kept. He had called Oliver _and_ Slade _and_ Malcolm _and_ Laurel . . . and _none_ of them had picked up. How could _none_ of them not have their phones on them at the time? He had left messages for all of them to call back twenty minutes ago, but if none of them had been able to answer, it had to be important. Winn didn't know _how_ important, but for Kara's sake, it had better been damn important.

Well, if they couldn't help, he could at least try to.

He found Mon-El leaning forward, his forehead on his fists. He rapped on the glass, and the Daxamite looked up quickly. "OK, you look different," he started out, then waited, giving Mon-El the chance to say something.

"How are you?" Mon-El asked.

"I'm fine, thanks," Winn gave him a seething look. "I'm better than Kara." He expected some kind of reaction, but all Mon-El did was avert his gaze. "Yeah, I'm assuming that since you didn't tell her anything, you are definitely not gonna tell _me_ anything, so . . . " He held out his arms, leaning against the frame. "Still, here I am. Thought I'd give it a shot." Mon-El stood and walked to the other end of the cell, but Winn stubbornly followed him. "I know something's going on. Oh, yeah, that alien ship? That's not just any alien ship, is it?"

"There's a lot that you don't understand, OK?" Mon-El told him. "It's . . . it's different now."

"Different how?" Winn glared.

"It's just different, OK?" Mon-El shouted angrily. Winn just glared back at him, not accepting that. "There's a lot . . . there's a lot to explain here, OK? I acknowledge that. And I'm sorry, Winn, but I need you as a friend right now. I need you to believe me, and I need your help to get back to that ship."

Winn stared at him incredulously, then scoffed and turned his back on him, walking back towards the exit. He couldn't believe him right now. Mon-El had returned, not saying a word to anyone, had barely reacted to Kara unleashing on him . . . and now he was asking Winn to help? To believe him? Yeah, right. Like he would do that –

"People will get hurt if I don't!" Mon-El called. _"Kara_ will get hurt."

Winn stopped, narrowing his eyes. Now _that_ was a low blow. On the other hand, if Mon-El was telling the truth . . .

"Please," Mon-El added.

Winn turned around, looking long and hard at him. On the other hand, if Mon-El was telling the truth, Oliver would have his head if Kara got hurt.

Well, that made this decision much easier.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara walked past Mon-El's cell, back in her Supergirl uniform, when she stopped, seeing the door cracked open. Looking around worriedly, she stepped into the room.

Mon-El's cell was empty.

She froze, then narrowed her eyes.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El/Kara Danvers_**

Mon-El slid the device into position in his ship, watching the wall light up. "Oh, oh," Winn watched a screen on the wall light up.

"Come on, come on," Mon-El whispered.

"I think it's working," Winn watched an analysis of the pods show up.

"OK, the stasis fluid levels are OK," Mon-El nodded. "How's the power?"

"Are you sure this is safe?" Winn asked worriedly.

Mon-El's attention was caught by something else on the screen. "Crief. The therian pump is jammed!"

"I don't know what that means!"

"OK, just reset the circuit on the end of the first pod," Mon-El ordered.

Winn nodded and turned to go, only to come face to face with Kara. "Winn," she looked him over. "You OK?"

Winn blinked. Man, Oliver really had rubbed off on her if she was able to arrive like that without making a sound. "Um – "

"He's fine," Mon-El interrupted, walking over. "He's . . . I just made him help me."

"You kidnapped him," Kara glared at him.

"I didn't – !"

"He didn't kidnap me," Winn quickly cut in. "Listen, we only have your best interests at heart."

"So, which of you two is deciding what my best interests are?" Kara asked coldly.

"In my defense, the alternative would've been getting my head lost if the rest of the gang heard about this," Winn held up a hand.

So that meant Mon-El got Winn's attention by saying if he didn't help him, she would get hurt, which would then mean Oliver would be demanding how it happened. Kara didn't blame him. "You're off the hook," she finally told him, then glared at Mon-El. "I'm taking _that,"_ she pointed at the power thing, "and you back to the D.E.O."

"I – " Mon-El lunged forward when Kara walked towards it. "I can't let you!"

"Get out of my way!" Kara shoved at him, but froze when she saw what dangled out of his shirt. She slowly reached out and took her necklace in hand, staring in shock at it. Mon-El had kept this? "My necklace," she whispered.

Mon-El took it back and put it under his shirt, walking back to the console. "Why'd you have to come down here, anyway?" he asked.

Kara gawked at him. "If we hadn't come here, you would have died!"

"It doesn't matter," Mon-El shook his head. "I'm not your problem anymore, especially not after what you told me."

Kara stared at him, hurt by that statement. Did he really think that even though she loved someone else, that didn't mean she stopped caring about him? "How could you have changed so much?" she demanded. "It's only been seven months!"

"No, it's been seven _years!"_ Mon-El snapped, looking up at her. Kara blanched in shock, and Mon-El took a deep breath. "It's been seven months for you, but it has been seven years for me since the day I went in that pod. When I left Earth, I went through some kind of wormhole. Kor-El calls it a disruption, and it took me to the future, and I've been living on Earth, in the 31st century, for the past seven years."

"That explains why he's not allergic to lead anymore," Winn said optimistically.

"L-Corp develops a cure about four hundred years from now," Mon-El nodded.

"So what?" Kara asked, folding her arms. "You were in the future, that explains why it was so hard to get a message. But after everything, after you tried so hard not to tell me anything . . . why are you still wearing the necklace if you barely even acknowledged me?"

Before Mon-El could say anything, rapid beeping started, and Kara turned to see the other pods turn yellow instead of blue. "No," Mon-El blanched, running up. "No, no!"

"What?" Kara asked. "What is it?"

"The power to the chambers are failing," Mon-El answered, running back to the console.

"Does that mean that everybody else is gonna wake up?" Winn asked.

"No, it means they're going to die," Mon-El shook his head, tapping away. "We can reroute the power to all the chambers except . . . " Kara turned her head when one of the chambers started to bubble, and she saw one of the figures inside one, a female with long hair, start to jerk. "No," Mon-El breathed, running over.

"What's wrong?" Winn asked.

"She's drowning!" Mon-El answered, trying to punch into the glass. "Damn it!" He gave a few more punches, but nothing worked. "I can't – it's white dwarf glass! I can't – "

Kara put her hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. She curled her hand into a fist, then drove it into the glass.

It shattered, and out toppled a dark-haired woman in a black leotard-like suit. Mon-El quickly caught her bridal style, pulling her out. "Imra?" he asked, crouching down. "Imra? Imra?" She didn't wake up, so Mon-El bent down to check for a pulse. "She's OK," he sighed in relief. "She's breathing."

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam walked along in the desert, checking the pulsing rod every so often. It suddenly started vibrating in her hand, and Sam held it up, watching it glow brighter and brighter. It pulsed quicker and quicker the further she walked, then it suddenly lit up brighter than ever. The ground rumbled and shook, causing Sam to collapse on the ground. When she straightened back up, she stared in shock at what was happening in front of her.

Stone spires shot out of the ground, twisting and interlocking. Sam slowly stood, watching the spires rise high into the sky, forming some kind of fortress, then started walking towards it, in utter disbelief at what she had just discovered.

* * *

 **A/N: Man, I hope Kara was believable in this. That's also part of my concern with veering from canon: in case anything seems too out of character. I hope Kara wasn't. I really hope so.**


	35. Wake Up - Part Three

**So this kind of . . . happened. The actual end of the "episode" ends around 2.5K words in, but of course, Oliver had to meet the ex, so that added . . . a whole 4K+ more on.**

 **I'm going to be honest - this is probably the most OOC chapter I've written. It's also the longest I've written for this series. If it seems OOC, then it probably is. I don't have any excuse for that other than the fact that sometimes, when I get going, the chapters just write themselves. Personally, I'm happy with how it turned out.**

 **The point is, I posted this on Wattpad earlier today, and right off the bat, I got a scathing review pretty quickly telling me to put some sense into this. It's comments/reviews such as that which can lead to me taking longer to update because hate comments do not encourage me to write. This is _fanfiction -_ it means I'm writing this how I want to with how things have happened. So please, feel free to agree with me if this is OOC. Just . . . please no hate comments. I don't have time for those, and I don't have the energy to read them, either.**

 **Well, on that cheery note . . . enjoy when the mister meets the ex!**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Mon-El watched impatiently as Alex and Winn examined the woman before asking, "Are there any updates?"

"She's stable for now," Alex answered.

"We're still analyzing her genetic makeup so we can treat her properly," Winn added as Alex took his tablet. "I mean, is there anything you can tell us to help?"

"She's from Titan," Mon-El answered, sighing. "Without power to the ship, she may have been off life support longer than we think."

"Who is she?" Kara asked, looking her over.

Mon-El paused for a second before answering, "Her name is Imra. Winn, will you let me know if her condition changes?"  
"Yeah, of course," Winn nodded, looking at Kara in concern.

Mon-El just walked off, and Kara watched him leave, an unreadable expression on her face. Alex walked over to her, worried about her, but before she could say anything, there was a clatter of heels, and Lena hurried in, eyes wide. "James said that Mon-El was back?" she asked. When Kara nodded, Lena looked back the way she had come. "How?"

"He's from the future," was all Kara answered with, no expression in her tone.

"Yeah, I can safely say I was not expecting that," Alex admitted, and Kara rubbed her forehead as Alex put her arm around her.

"But the lead in the atmosphere?" Lena pressed.

"He's cured," Kara answered shortly, and Lena sighed, reaching out to hug her.

Winn, meanwhile, double checked his phone, narrowing his eyes when he saw he still hadn't gotten any response from any of the Earth-1ers.

What the hell was going on over there for them to not be here already?

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

J'onn opened the door to a darkened apartment, and M'yrnn walked in, looking around in confusion. "What are these empty rooms for?" he asked.

"It's not much," J'onn told him. "But, um, it's an apartment. To live in." M'yrnn turned to look at him, confused, and J'onn sighed. "I never thought I'd see you again, Father. Not after the invasion. I'd gotten so used to living here on Earth, on my own. Work has always made me feel productive, useful. But you are so right. I have isolated myself in my work. When I was a child, you taught me to always see the beauty in life. I've lost sight of that over the years."

"Nothing is ever lost for good," M'yrnn told him. "It may not be Mars, but there is much beauty to find on this planet."

"There is," J'onn agreed.

"I am here for you now, son," M'yrnn promised.

"I know," J'onn nodded. "That's why we're here."

"At this apartment?" M'yrnn looked around, confused.

J'onn nodded, leaning against the table in the center of the room. "I thought it might be a better fit than the D.E.O., for _both_ of us."

"You shall move here, too?" M'yrnn asked hopefully.

"We could make this our home," J'onn nodded, looking at him. "If you'd like."

M'yrnn smiled happily. "I would like that _very_ much."

J'onn smiled back.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Mon-El was leaning against the balcony railing when Kara walked out to join him. Even after everything Mon-El had explained on the ship, he was still keeping something secret. And she was still trying to get used to how . . . _new_ this version of Mon-El was. She wasn't used to him at all. The more she talked to him, the more she could figure out about him.

She didn't know if that would end up as a good thing or a bad one.

Mon-El watched her approach, then sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "For all of this. I never thought I'd see you again." Kara sighed, looking down. "I had to keep living."

Kara understood that. She had had to as well, she couldn't blame Mon-El for having to keep on living, too. "You kept the necklace."

"Of course I did," Mon-El nodded. "As a reminder of everything you taught me and did for me. A reminder of you."

Kara smiled, touched. "It means a lot."

"You have to believe that no matter what . . . what century or universe or world I'm living in, that I would never forget you. Never. It was wrong of me to keep the truth from you."

"Well, the truth never hurts as much as secrets," Kara told him. "That's why I got it out when I did."

"Yeah, and I should have known better," Mon-El turned away. "You've never needed my protection." He smirked slightly. "Except for that one time when we went for all-you-can-eat ribs, and you, uh . . . you were inhaling those things, if I remember correctly. I swear if I hadn't stopped you – "

"It was a limited time offer!" Kara protested, grinning as Mon-El chuckled. "I had to!"

Mon-El laughed at that. "That's a good point."

Kara smiled, watching him. "This is the first time I've seen you smile since you've been back."

"I haven't had the chance to say it yet, but, uh . . . " Mon-El looked up at her. "It's really good to see you."

"Yeah," Kara smiled in agreement. After months of thinking Mon-El could be dead . . . to see him standing here alive, and in one piece, was a relief to see.

Mon-El nodded, then hesitantly asked, "When you said you moved on – "

Kara raised an eyebrow, waiting for more, when a female voice asked, "Mon-El?"

She and Mon-El turned to see Imra walking towards them, a smile on her face. "Imra?" Mon-El asked in shock, then grinned, running towards her. "Imra!" Kara watched with shock as Mon-El kissed her fiercely, Imra responding just as fiercely. "I'm so glad you're OK! We thought your life support failed."

"No, I'm fine," Imra shook her head. "Tired, but fine."

Kara looked from Mon-El to Imra, sinking her teeth into her lip as she felt something burn in her. It wasn't jealousy, no, she knew what that felt like. She was feeling something else . . . and she didn't like it. "Mon-El?" she prompted, not recognizing the cold tone she had.

Mon-El didn't seem to, either, because he swallowed and turned to her. "Uh . . . Imra, this is Kara Danvers. Supergirl."

Imra's mouth dropped open, and as she looked towards Kara in what could only be described as awe, Kara tipped her glasses slightly, acknowledging the title. "I . . . " Imra shook her head in shock. "I can't believe it's really you!"

"Kara, this is Imra Ardeen," Mon-El told her. "My wife."

Kara swallowed hard at the title, finally realizing what it was she was feeling. She had come out to tell Mon-El she had moved on _immediately_ after he had woken up. She told him they would talk, and that was exactly what she had done. Granted, she hadn't done it gracefully, but at least she had told him. Mon-El had the chance to tell her about Imra – _twice._ And he hadn't even acted like he cared she had moved on! Then to introduce her to Imra by kissing her and sharing she was his wife?

What if she hadn't moved on? Would he have played her the same way? And not only that – he still wore her necklace? A necklace who belonged to the woman he had previously loved? A necklace from another woman while he was married to this one? A necklace that was all she had had from her mother when she arrived on Earth? One Mon-El didn't want to part with even though he had Imra now?

She wasn't jealous. Oh, no, she wasn't.

She was _furious._

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Mark this for the records if you have them, Felicity," Oliver grimaced as he set his bow down, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "This was the busiest night we've had that didn't include an attack on the city."

"No kidding, Hoss," Rene grumbled as he holstered his guns, groaning and tossing the water bottle Felicity tossed his way. "Thanks, blondie."

"A solid six hours in the field," Dinah shook her head in disbelief as she and Laurel ducked into alcoves to change. "What the hell?"

"What, did all the criminals in Star City suddenly form an alliance?" Malcolm winced as he took off his quiver.

"Felt like it," even Slade grumbled in annoyance.

Oliver sighed as he took the water bottle Felicity offered. Yes, tonight had felt like everyone in Star City decided to team up to give his team hell. It was bad enough that he had asked Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel to suit up again. Even then, it had taken them hours to stop the various small black market drug sales caused by a guy called Ricardo Diaz, another target made by Vigilante, and Evelyn and Talia taking teams of their own to steal other technology gizmos?

He was ready for a break.

"Well, for a constant ten minutes, there has been complete silence," Felicity smiled as Oliver removed his gear, Laurel already changed. "So I believe tonight is a wrap."

"Good," Curtis sighed in relief. "Because I need to – "  
"That can't be good."

Everyone turned to Laurel as she looked through her phone, a suspicious look on her face. "What is?" Rene asked.

"Three missed calls and a voicemail from Winn," she answered, tilting her head.

"It's not just her," Malcolm said, and they turned to see him narrow his eyes at his phone. "I've got four of them."

Oliver quickly found his, finding he had the exact same thing – except he had _six,_ and a voicemail as well. He quickly turned the voicemail on, seeing Slade scowl and hold up his phone – the exact same thing as Malcolm. _"Oliver, it's me,"_ Winn began, and Oliver narrowed his eyes when he heard how tense he sounded. _"Something's . . . come up here at the D.E.O., and Kara . . . well, it's hard to explain. I don't think I could without you believing it. The thing is, this is something she can't deal with herself, and we could have used you here about twenty minutes ago. It's bad, and I don't know if she plans on calling any time soon or not, so I'm doing it for her. She needs you here, and if you can bring Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel, too, that's all the better. I don't know why you're not answering, but . . . please, come quickly."_

Oliver checked the time stamp, not sure if the universe had decided to be cruel and change the time between their universes, seeing that this was from three hours ago. "Shit," he cursed, shaking his head. That had been towards the beginning of their long string of taking out drug deals. "You three," he began, looking up at Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel.

"We know," Laurel ran to put her suit in a bag, Malcolm and Slade hurrying to get out of theirs.

"What's wrong?" Felicity asked in concern.

Oliver swallowed, hoping they wouldn't be too late to get to Earth-38. "I don't know."

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias/Reign_**

Sam slowly entered the fortress, looking around at the black and glowing red rocks around her. She completed her turn and saw a console of some kind with a strange symbol on it, shaped in the same diamond-like crest Supergirl had. She walked around the console, finding a place in it that looked like it could fit the rod she held in her hand.

She inserted it, and the rod sank into the console, and the circuitry lit up red as it came to life. Sam watched as a hologram of a woman in black appeared, and she walked around the console to see better. "You have come," she said. "I imagine you have questions. I have answers."

"I've seen you," Sam whispered. "In my dreams. What are you?"

"Science," the hologram answered. "Magic. Information. Your friend."

"What is this place?" Sam asked, looking around.

"This is your Fortress of Sanctuary," the hologram answered. "A piece of your world, the dead planet Krypton."

Sam's jaw dropped open. "Oh, my God," she breathed, walking around the hologram. "Ruby was right. She thought I had powers, and I do. I always knew that I was different, but I always thought it was because I was adopted . . . but it wasn't." She inhaled sharply, realizing what this meant. "I'm like Supergirl!"

"You are so much more than that," the hologram said.

"Who am I?" Sam frowned.

"You are a culmination of centuries of work, a being designed for one purpose: to execute justice."

"I'm a hero?"

The hologram turned as if it could see her. "They will not call you a hero. They will call you Worldkiller. They will try to contain your power, but they will fail. You will show no mercy to those who oppose you. Your justice will burn the world of man."

"No," Sam shook her head, horrified, walking back around. "I'm not a Worldkiller. I'm not a Worldkiller! I have a life! I'm – I'm a good person! I have a daughter!"

"Your offspring was an unfortunate error," the hologram said, making Sam stare at it in disbelief. "Your powers were supposed to manifest when you came of age. She delayed the realization of your destiny."

"She is _not_ an error!" Sam snapped.

"You will soon forget her. You will soon forget all mortal trappings."

"No," Sam shook her head, backing up. "This can't be right."

"It is time for you to emerge," the hologram smirked. "It is time for you to become Reign."

Voices suddenly started hissing in her head, and Sam retched slightly, eyes widening. "No," she gasped out, doubling over. "No! No!" She sank to her knees, clutching her head, before screaming at the sky as pain ripped through her. _"No!"_

As quickly as she had started screaming, she stopped, taking a few deep breaths. She let out a small sigh, straightening from her position on the floor, staring blankly ahead.

Her eyes glowed red as her head lolled forward, and smirking, Reign declared in Kryptonese, _"I have awoken."_

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Mon-El and Imra had returned from the balcony rather quickly, making Alex look out in concern. Kara was slowly turning her back to them, one of her hands curling into a fist. "What happened?" she asked Mon-El, folding her arms.

"I told her the truth," Mon-El answered.

"Which was?" Lena asked with narrowed eyes.

"That I moved on," Mon-El nodded to Imra. Both Alex and Lena stiffened, while Winn's eyes widened, and he debated between sharing this bit of information with Oliver before he got here. He was glad the man had finally gotten back in touch with him, but really, it would have been nice to have him here already. "When did you find out?" Mon-El asked again.

"About six months ago," Lena answered promptly. "When you say moved on?"

"Mon-El and I are married," Imra answered when Mon-El didn't.

Alex's eyebrows shot up, Lena's hackles raised, and Winn blanched. "OK, I am definitely not going to be the one to share that tidbit of information," he raised his hands.

"No, that'll be best coming from the source himself," Alex narrowed her eyes at Mon-El.

"What are you talking about?" Imra frowned, looking between all of them.

Lena turned back to find Kara, only to freeze. "She's gone."

"What?" Alex spun around, only to see Kara had indeed vanished from the balcony. "Oh, no."

A familiar hissing sound made all of them turn, and the familiar sight of a breach had barely appeared before four just as familiar figures jumped out of it. "About time, man!" Winn hurried over, Alex smirking viciously.

"Sorry," Oliver winced, dropping his duffel on the floor as he walked over, Slade and Malcolm helping Laurel find her balance again. "That was a much longer shift than we expected. Six hours constantly going between Vigilante and drug deals."

"You remember him, Alex," Laurel called. "Remember Diaz?"

Alex groaned in annoyance. "What did he do?"

"What _didn't_ he do?" Malcolm complained.

"Target Pollard," Slade deadpanned. "Again."

"Seriously? That was rhetorical!"

"Our point is, the city's cleaned up for the night," Oliver shot the two men a glare, then turned to look at Winn. "I'm sorry we didn't get your messages until we got back. What did you say was hard to explain?"

"Um . . . " Winn scratched the back of his head and turned to his two friends in the room . . . he wasn't sure if Mon-El qualified for that title at the moment. "Either of you two want to take that?"

"I'm not suicidal," Lena answered.

Oliver narrowed his eyes, looking around. "Where's Kara?"

"And who are the two of you?" Laurel pointed at Mon-El and Imra, turning the others' attention to them.

"Yeah, guys," Alex turned around, her predatory smirk widening. "Who are you two?"

Mon-El narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to respond, when something beeped on the console. Winn spared a look down and did a double take, then blanched. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Oliver immediately turned back around.

"The room you and the team have used to train," Winn said in a rush, looking up, eyes wide. "Man, you gotta get down there, now!"

Oliver was gone before he had even finished.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara paced enough to possibly put a hole in the middle of the training room, curling her fingers into fists, unable to stop thinking of one thing.

How. _Dare._ He.

She didn't care that Mon-El was in a relationship. Well, she did, that was part of why she was down here, but she was . . . oh, she couldn't even be properly happy for him! She was in a relationship, too – why couldn't he be?

But the way he had gone about it . . . at least she had come out and told him when she got the clear chance to! Mon-El had had several chances to! After she had told him and on the ship, just to name a few. Even not wasting time on the balcony by waiting until Imra showed up and _kissing her_ right in front of her before sharing the news would have been better than that!

Had Mon-El been thinking that maybe this would be a way to . . . she didn't know, possibly get back at her by saying he was taken, too?

Her mind full of possibilities, she didn't know when she started punching the bag at the side of the room. He was different, she understood that. Seven years for him? How wouldn't that make him different? But he could have at least not spoken to her so coldly, possibly implying he didn't care for her at all. That had been a punch all by itself. Learning he still wore her mother's necklace had thrown her through a loop.

Seeing that necklace around his neck while he kissed another woman? That had been the last straw.

She was so focused on punching the hell out of the bag that she didn't hear her name being called until she held her fist up to punch one more time. A hand grabbed her around the wrist, and Kara swung about, fury blazing in her eyes.

Oliver's concerned ones met hers, and Kara took heaving breaths, trying to get herself under control. "Kara?" he asked quietly, looking her over.

Kara swallowed hard, relaxing her fist, realizing then just how much she was shaking and how blurry her vision was. She reached up to wipe her eyes, feeling hot tears forming in them. A sob came from her mouth, and Oliver quickly reached up, taking her glasses off. In the next second, she was sobbing in his arms, Oliver wrapping them around her and sinking to the ground, leaning against the wall and letting Kara curl into him as she cried into his shoulder, just done with everything that had just occurred.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

It took a few minutes for Kara's breathing to return to somewhat normal. She still let out the occasional sob, but Oliver never released her. He didn't press her for answers, either. He just kept his lips pressed to the top of her head, letting her cry.

He didn't expect what came out of her mouth, though. "He's back."

Oliver frowned, looking down at her. "What?"

"Mon-El," Kara's voice cracked. "He's back."

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "Mon-El?" When Kara nodded, he scowled further. "As in your ex-boyfriend who can't survive because lead is poisonous to Daximites? As in your ex who you sent off in a pod? That Mon-El?"

"L-Corp develops a cure in the future," Kara said quietly, taking deep breaths. "He spent seven years in the 31st century, Oliver."

Oliver closed his eyes, sighing. It would be time travel, wouldn't it? "What did he do?"

Kara leaned her head on his shoulder. "At first, it seemed like he might be the same," she answered. "He was just a little . . . distant, but I could tell he wasn't telling us everything. I thought it was because I didn't know what he'd gone through. Then I found him in one of the storage rooms, after he knocked out two of the agents." She felt Oliver tense, then continued. "We put him in one of the cells, and I tried to get him to talk. I ended up being . . . a bit of a mess, but I told him about us. He didn't even react! I don't know what I expected him to do, but I didn't expect him to say 'I'm sorry' when I asked him if he had nothing to say."

"That's it?" Oliver couldn't help but ask, surprised, but then again, he wasn't. This was Kara's ex they were talking about, after all. Shouldn't he have been at least _kind of_ upset?

"That's it," Kara nodded. "Then he asked Winn to take him back to his ship – Winn insists he wasn't kidnapped – and not only did we find out he was in the future, but . . . he kept my necklace. And snatched it out of my hands when I found it."

Oliver mulled that over before looking at her. "His ship?"

"There was a spaceship in the bedrock where the attack on the waterfront was," Kara explained. "A crew found the ship and it shot at them. We went down there and found tubes of some kind, each with a person in it, except one was empty. That was Mon-El's. He called it hypersleep." Oliver nodded his understanding. "While we were down there, the power to the tubes cut off. Mon-El redirected the power to every tube except one. I had to punch through the glass to save her from drowning."

Oliver tensed, getting an idea about where this was going. "Her?"

"Her," Kara nodded, closing her eyes, feeling her anger rush through her again. "Alex and Winn started treating her, but Mon-El still didn't tell us everything." Oliver felt her tense further. "And how did he introduce her? He kissed her – right in front of me! And _then_ shared she was his wife!"

Oliver bristled at that, narrowing his eyes. "He _what?"_

"I know!" Kara burst out, looking like she was ready to punch something again. "I told him as soon as I got the chance to! And he waited until the _worst_ possible time to tell me in the _worst_ possible way! I – " She trailed off, her throat closing up, and she buried her head in her knees. She felt Oliver tug her lightly towards him, and Kara sniffed, curling back up into him, resting her head against his chest. "Why do I care so much?" she mumbled.

"What?" Oliver looked down at her.

"I didn't think I would care so much," Kara answered hesitantly, not sure what Oliver's reaction to this would be. "It hurt when I thought he didn't, then he acted like he did . . . and something in me just snapped when he revealed Imra was his wife. Why do I care so much what he thinks and what he does?"

Oliver was silent for a minute, and Kara was afraid he was about to blow up, when he answered slowly, as if making sure what he was saying was the right thing to say. "I think no matter who we've loved in our lives, we always care about them. For me, I was always protective of Laurel, and Sara. I'm still protective of Felicity. It's my way of showing them that no matter what happened between us, I still love them in a way. Of course you'll still care about Mon-El, and I understand you're hurt by what he did. Kara, if you didn't care, I'd wonder what was wrong with you."

Kara bit her lip. "You're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm mad," Oliver assured her, his eyes darkening. "But definitely not at you."

"Oh, thank Rao," Kara sagged in relief, nuzzling into him. "I was so scared about how to tell you."

"Angel, you shouldn't have to be afraid to tell me anything," Oliver kissed the top of her head, giving her a small squeeze. _"Especially_ if it's something like this."

"Thank you," Kara whispered.

"Of course," Oliver squeezed her lightly. "I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner. It was a very busy night."

" _We?"_ Kara repeated.

"Did you expect a call for help to be ignored by Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel?"

"How did you know to come here?" Kara looked up curiously.

"Winn," Oliver smirked.

"Oh," Kara nodded. "That explains a lot."

Oliver nodded as well. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, then Oliver tensed again. "You're telling me Mon-El is still wearing your mother's necklace? The only part of Krypton you had from your mother aside from her hologram? He's still wearing it while he's married to another woman?"

"Yeah," Kara closed her eyes, feeling tears sting again.

Oliver nodded thoughtfully, then squeezed her. "Come on."

"What?" Kara blinked, even as she lifted her head off of him.

"Come on," Oliver stood up, holding out his hand. When Kara cautiously took it, he pulled her to her feet. "Let's go get your necklace back."

Kara's eyes widened. "Just do one thing for me?" When Oliver raised an eyebrow, she sheepishly asked, "Don't kill him?"

Oliver held out his hands helplessly. "I can't make any promises for the others."

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"OK," Winn sighed in relief when he checked his phone again. "She's calmed back down."

"Good," Alex smiled, slumping against the console.

"What happened to make her that angry?" Malcolm looked between them.

"Oh, that's easy," Lena smiled like a shark, looking past them to where Mon-El looked like he was trying to tug Imra off. "Just ask _him."_

Like a well-oiled machine, the three turned in unison to face Mon-El, who froze. "I don't recognize you," Malcolm narrowed his eyes. "So who the hell are you and what did you do to Kara?"

"Oh, that's easy," Oliver's cold voice answered, and Winn lowered his gaze as Oliver strode into the room, Kara at his side, Kara's eyes red, Oliver's darker than they had ever seen. "Laurel? Make his ears _bleed."_

"What?" Imra's eyes widened.

But Laurel took the order without hesitation. She turned to Mon-El and screamed at him, Slade and Malcolm immediately covering their ears. Imra covered her ears, whimpering, but Mon-El was thrown back the force of the scream, crashing into the wall. Kara flinched as well, but she had a dead look in her eyes as Oliver watched as Laurel kept screaming, until he saw trickles of red coming from Mon-El's ears. He made a motion across his throat, and Laurel cut off, narrowing her eyes. "Thank you for that," Oliver walked over, grabbing Mon-El by the collar of his shirt. "This just makes it easier for me." He tossed Mon-El into the console, Alex and Lena scrambling aside, not bothering to help as Mon-El crashed into it. "Hold him down."

"Mon-El!" Imra cried as Slade and Malcolm grabbed Mon-El's shoulders, forcing him into the console.

The moment the name was spoken, it was as if the temperature in the room had gone down twenty degrees. _"What_ did she just say?" Slade narrowed his eye.

"I'm sorry, I thought I just heard her call this guy Kara's ex," Malcolm glared.

"You heard right," Oliver growled, walking behind Mon-El like a predator. "So I thought the four of us should give him a little . . . _warning_ about what happens the next time he hurts our girl."

"What did he – ?" Imra began.

"Don't," Lena shook her head, seeing Mon-El grimace as Slade and Malcolm tightened their grips on him, digging him further into the console. "Once they get like this, let them get it out."

"James is gonna be upset he's missing this," Winn whispered, then gulped when Laurel shot him a death glare. "I'm gonna be quiet now."

"Smart," she nodded sharply.

"You see," Oliver walked to the other side of the console, bracing his hands against it as he narrowed his death glare on Mon-El, who could barely look up from where Slade's arm was pinning him down. "I've already had a bad day. When I found my girlfriend overwhelmed in the training room, that just made my day worse. I don't like it when she's that upset. You know what I dislike even more? When someone she cares about plays her. She came clean to you about being with someone else the moment she got the chance to. What did you do? Nothing. Except tell her 'I'm sorry.' That's a _wonderful_ way to respond."

Oliver ignored the grunt of pain Mon-El made when Malcolm twisted his arm, the Dark Archer's eyes as cold as ice. Slade's was burning maliciously in a way that reminded Oliver of when he had had the mirakuru, and Laurel looked like she was seconds away from screaming again. "And then you only decide to come clean about where you've been after she discovers you've been wearing her necklace. And even then, you still didn't tell the entire truth." His eyes flickered up to Imra, who seemed to realize what he meant, and she covered her mouth, eyes wide. "I _am_ sorry to pull you into this because you didn't do anything wrong . . . but Mon-El didn't share you were married until he kissed you."

Mon-El's cry of pain was much more audible this time, but Slade's snarl of anger was even louder as he and Malcolm both tightened their grips to deadly painful. Even Alex winced at their fury, but Kara just walked over to Oliver's side, her face a complete blank slate. "She moved on," Mon-El finally ground out. "She said that herself."

"And you didn't even consider that maybe she still cared about what you may think about that?" Oliver raised an eyebrow. "She told you so it wouldn't cause problems later. Apparently, you didn't have the same idea. But you see, that isn't even what's bugging me the most." He walked back around the console, giving Imra a small apologetic look before turning back to Mon-El. "You have something that doesn't belong to you anymore."

Mon-El yelled in pain when Oliver slammed his head into the console, dazing him. Imra let out a cry of fear, but when Alex, Lena, and Winn all hastily shook their heads to stop her, she swallowed hard, standing back. Oliver held Mon-El's head down, reaching under the collar of his shirt. He came away with a delicate silver chain, and even Laurel started to snarl when she recognized the House of El crest on the charm. "This belongs to my girlfriend," Oliver hissed in Mon-El's ear before yanking it over his head.

He slammed Mon-El back into the console for good measure before walking back around. He gave Kara a loving smile that made Alex smile despite the situation, uncurling his fingers to reveal her pendant in his hand. A smile formed on Kara's face, too, her eyes shining with tears again. Oliver unclasped the necklace, and Kara pulled her hair away from her neck, letting Oliver fasten it back around her neck, where it belonged. "Kara," Mon-El began.

Kara just looked at him as Slade growled warningly. "Remember when I said shame on me for having a human heart?" she asked, making Oliver throw Mon-El a sharp glare. "I take it back. At least I know Oliver is a better man than you are now."

"Kara just made one request," Oliver raised an eyebrow at the other three. "Don't kill him."

Panic flickered in Mon-El's eyes, and Slade chuckled darkly as Malcolm grinned. "Oh, we'll try not to, kid," Slade told him as Laurel sauntered up to lean on Mon-El's back.

"I'll wipe security cameras," Winn volunteered.

"Oh, before I forget," Oliver looked through his jacket before holding up two sealed envelopes. "For you and James." He slid them across the console to Winn. "I told Iris your answers would probably be yes, but still would be best to RSVP when you can."

"Oh," Winn blinked, picking up the invitations, recognizing Iris's handwriting. "Thanks, man."

"Yep," Oliver stepped back, holding out his hand. Kara took it at once. "Just don't interrupt us for the rest of the night, please."

"I'm not suicidal," Lena repeated her earlier words.

Oliver smirked in amusement, he and Kara walking back the way they had come. Soft, hesitant footsteps made them turn, and Oliver instinctively moved slightly in front of Kara as Imra walked up. She faltered slightly, and Kara put her hand on Oliver's shoulder. "It's not her fault," Kara whispered.

Oliver nodded once, stepping to the side slightly. "Kara," Imra whispered, walking up, swallowing hard. "I didn't know. I didn't realize he hadn't told you."

"It's not your fault," Kara repeated, swallowing as well. Imra seemed to realize that was the closest to forgiveness she was going to get while Kara was like this, so she nodded quickly. "And, uh . . . " Kara cleared her throat, looking over to where Mon-El was still pinned, Winn opening his invite curiously. "Just so you know . . . you might not want to see what happens next. Even I don't know what they're going to do."

Imra licked her lips and nodded shakily, and Oliver squeezed Kara's hand. Kara gave Imra an apologetic look before turning away, leaning into Oliver as they walked off.

The door closing behind them did nothing to hide the first scream of pain Mon-El let out.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

They were still at the D.E.O. late into the night. Kara was exhausted, but could never fall asleep whenever she tried. Oliver, used to sleepless nights, stayed awake with her. At least everyone knew to give Oliver a wide berth now; Oliver smirked every time an agent walked by, giving him a fearful glance. Apparently, his reputation was getting more menacing.

Slade quietly entered the room a few hours later. Kara looked up from where her chin was resting on her arms, Oliver standing behind her. "Is he still alive?" she asked quietly, her voice slightly hoarse from crying so much.

"He was when I left," Slade shrugged, showing the ice pack he was holding against his knuckles. "Though Malcolm is from the League and Laurel's a metahuman, they may have more tricks than I do for making him scream."

Kara rubbed her temples. "While I kind of feel bad for him now, I still can't help but think he deserved it."

"For hurting you that much?" Slade raised an eyebrow. "He deserves everything we're giving him. I heard Alex considering bringing out her claws on him once the others were through with him."

"She didn't cut in line?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"She considered," Slade smirked. "Then the wizard did something with that switchblade of his – don't know if he carried a lead blade around in case this very situation happened or what – but she looked like she changed her mind."

Oliver snorted. "Smart."

Slade nodded, then gently put a hand on Kara's shoulder. "He should have given that back to you as soon as you saw he still had it."

Kara looked down to where she was twisting her necklace between her fingers, smiling sadly. "It's good to have it back."

"And if he so much as tries to look at it again, we'll break his fingers so he can't get it," Oliver added.

Kara laughed. "I'd like to see you do that."

"I'm up for going back there," Slade smirked.

"No!" Kara shook her head. "No, uh . . . let Malcolm and Laurel have their go." She fiddled with her necklace again before looking up at Oliver. "If I found someone else to give this to, would you be upset?"

"It's your necklace, angel," Oliver chuckled. "As long as it's not someone you know will only hurt you in the long run, I'm happy."

"Good," Kara nodded, lifting it back over her head. "We both know he won't."

Slade's eye widened as Kara looked at him. "Me?"

"You," Kara nodded, taking Slade's hand and dropping her necklace gently into it. "You trusted me when you didn't know who I was. You were the first to volunteer to come find me on my Earth, and you took every step to protect me. You have had every chance to betray Oliver after he freed you from Lian Yu, and you never took any of them, even when you had the chance to be with your own son. You chose Oliver . . . _us_. . . over him." She curled Slade's fingers over the pendant. "I don't know what more you could do to say you've redeemed yourself."

Oliver smiled from where he stood behind Kara, and Slade took a deep breath, nodding. "Thank you, Kara," he whispered.

"You're welcome," Kara reached up, hugging him tightly. Slade hugged her back, and Kara closed her eyes, burying her face in his neck. "Thank you for coming," she mumbled. "You, Malcolm, Laurel . . . "

"Of course we came," Slade told her, releasing her. "Did you think we wouldn't?"

"Of course we would," Malcolm's voice responded, and he entered the room, too, Laurel behind him. Both of them were nursing bruised knuckles, too, Laurel also rubbing her throat occasionally. "Besides, it was nice to get our frustrations out on someone since we didn't get Diaz or Vigilante."

"So it's a win win," Laurel grinned.

"It still means so much," Kara smiled, giving each of them hugs, too.

"No problem, almas," Malcolm kissed the top of her head as Laurel hugged her tightly. "Alex gave us the usual bunks, so we'll be here in the morning, too."

"We expect to see you before we go," Laurel smirked.

"Thank you," Kara smiled.

"Oh, also," Malcolm grinned. "Winn offered to make a copy of the security feed, just in case Mon-El ever needs a reminder of what happens if he hurts you."

Kara spent the next few moments giggling hysterically.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver turned off the light in Kara's bedroom, moving down to lay down next to her. As soon as he had gotten comfortable, Kara rolled over as close to him as she could get, and Oliver slid his arm under her neck, pulling her so she nestled comfortably against him. "Thank you," she whispered. "For everything. Coming when Winn asked, when I should have, getting my necklace back, staying . . . "

"You don't ever need to thank me for being here for you," Oliver whispered, running his fingers through her hair. "And getting your necklace back? Kara, there is _nothing_ I wouldn't do for you. If you hadn't asked me to hold back, I don't know what else I would have done to Mon-El, even if he deserved it."

Kara smiled softly. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"I ask myself the same question constantly in regards to you," Oliver admitted. "I don't know . . . but whatever I did, I'm thankful for it."

Kara smiled, leaning her head on Oliver's chest. "I love you," she told him quietly. "So much."

Oliver tilted her head up to him and kissed her, smiling against her lips. "I love you, too."

* * *

 **A/N: Go on, tell me it's OOC if you want. I know some parts probably (mostly) are, but it's how the chapter wrote itself. I acknowledge it - please don't write a hate review about it.**

 **And on that happy note . . . it's wedding time! And the title for the "Crisis on Earth-X" book was dropped during this chapter. Keep an eye out for when "Nothing I Wouldn't Do For You" comes up on my profile - I'm hoping to get the prologue up soon!**


	36. Irreconcilable Differences - Part One

**And here come the midseason finales! I hope everyone enjoyed "Nothing I Wouldn't Do For You," which included "Crisis on Earth-X." It would be a good idea to read that if you haven't, as major plot points happened in there.**

 **Now, for "Irreconcilable Differences!" Star City celebrates its mayor's engagement, but the night is ruined by a bombshell concerning Oliver's case.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_ **

Oliver expected a wedding to be the biggest party he would ever see Star City throw for him, but that wouldn't be until he actually married Kara.

But, looking around the venue decorated to celebrate his and Kara's _engagement . . ._ he was almost dreading how overly extravagant the wedding was going to be. "I'm _engaged,_ not _married,"_ he grumbled for the umpteenth time.

"They're trying to get on your good side," James chuckled as he, Oliver, and Winn made their way through the venue. "Probably thought doing all this was going to do that."

"The only way they'll get on my good side is if I see someone who looks sympathetic and says 'congratulations' and nothing else."

"That's a pretty good idea," Winn nodded.

"There's Thea and William," James pointed.

"Oh," Oliver smiled, walking over to where the duo was pushing through the crowd. "Hey, buddy!"

"Aunt Thea said I can have some champagne," William told him.

"I said a _sip,"_ Thea quickly corrected. "And only during the toast."

"Mom and Dad used to let us do that," Oliver chuckled. "That's just fine."

"Yeah, and we turned out all right," Thea smiled. "I think they would be pretty impressed with this party." She gestured to Oliver's suit. "And the man of the hour."

"Think so?" Oliver smiled.

"Yeah, of course," Thea nodded supportively. "And if they had met her, they would love the fiancée."

"I hope so," Oliver smiled wistfully.

"Where _is_ Kara?" William looked around.

"Oh, she kicked us here ahead of time," Winn answered.

"No, that was Alex and Eliza," James corrected. "Kara looked a few seconds away from saying 'help me.'"

"That already happened," J'onn said dryly as he and Lena walked up.

"You guys got kicked out, too?" Winn blinked.

" _I_ did," J'onn rolled his eyes. "Lena lasted slightly longer."

"I think I did just because I helped pay for all our outfits," Lena smiled fondly.

"Looking good, though," Thea smiled, looking over Lena's one-sleeve blue dress and the tuxes worn by the men.

"Yeah, thanks again," James added.

"No problem," Lena smiled.

"Hey, you!" Dig called, grinning as he and Felicity made their way over.

"Hey," Oliver smiled.

"Lyla apologizes for not being able to make it," Dig told him.

"A.R.G.U.S. missions do not stop for engagement parties," Oliver shook his head, understanding.

"Well, she was hoping that they would for this one," Dig smiled, reaching out. "Congrats, man."

"Thanks," Oliver hugged his friend tightly.

"So, where _is_ the fiancée?" Felicity asked expectantly.

"Uh, well," Lena checked her phone. "It seemed like they didn't have that much more to do when I left, so – "

"Whoa," William's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he looked past the adults. "Lena, she looks _amazing!"_

That was the cue for everyone else to simultaneously turn, and Winn, who had already grabbed a glass of water, started coughing violently. James clapped him on the back sympathetically, though he and Oliver both stared in shock at the three women threading their way through the crowd – more specifically the blonde in the lead.

Kara took one look at Winn choking and sighed, glaring at Lena. "Will you stop trying to make all the guys choke to death when I walk into the room?"

"It never gets old," Lena giggled. "No offense, Winn."

He finished coughing, putting a hand over his mouth. "None taken."

Oliver slowly looked Kara up and down, and she fidgeted slightly, biting her lip. "Is it too much?"

"No," Oliver shook his head, smiling. "You look like an angel."

Kara blushed, smoothing out the skirt of her heather grey sleeveless dress, which was decorated with silver sequins from the bodice down, a matching shawl around her shoulders. Her glasses were off as well, and her blonde hair was twisted in a braided updo, pieces of her hair curled and framing her face. "I _told_ Lena I didn't want anything over the top."

"With my checkbook?" Lena snorted. "Kara, that is _not_ over the top. Over the top would be me paying for literally everything for the wedding."

"Don't," Oliver and Kara said at the same time.

"What?" Lena frowned. "I'm nice like that!"

"At least let us pay for _some_ of it," Oliver shook his head. "Lena, you are way too kind for that."

Lena sighed. "Well, as long as you guys get the day you deserve."

"I'm still surprised they didn't elope while in Central," Thea remarked.

"Do _not_ start that again," Oliver warned as Kara blushed.

"What's this about eloping?" Eliza raised an eyebrow.

"It didn't happen," Oliver assured her, throwing Thea a stern look. "Welcome to Star City, Dr. Danvers."

"Just Eliza, please," she smiled, giving him a hug. "Congratulations, Oliver."

"Thank you, Eliza."

"So this is what Star City does for an engagement party?" Alex looked around, whistling lowly. "What would they do for the wedding?"

"Something flamboyant that neither of us will want," Oliver grumbled, making Kara groan. "Sorry, angel."

"Well, it's your city, and they're trying at least pretend to show support," Kara looked around, sighing. "I can deal with it."

"You sure?" Oliver asked in concern, putting a hand on her upper arm. "Your senses are fine?"

"I'll survive," Kara smiled, reaching up and cupping his cheek. "I can do this. And whatever happens with the wedding . . . well, they could make the lights searchlights and I would be all right as long as I was with you."

Oliver chuckled. "I love you so much."

Kara beamed and kissed him, which was much easier with the heels she wore. Oliver kissed her back, ignoring for a few seconds that they were surrounded by several of Star City's important political figures.

At least, until Dig and Alex started clapping, and everyone else quickly followed suit. Oliver glared at them over Kara's head as she buried her face in his shoulder, her shoulders shaking in laughter. "Get used to this, angel," Oliver sighed, a smile growing on his face.

"I know."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Rene Ramirez_**

"Oh, here we go," Alex grinned as the bartender poured shots for those at the bar.

"Best part about Oliver being the mayor? We get free booze," Rene smirked as he, Curtis, Dinah, Alex, and James took their shots. "Salud!"

All five tipped their heads back and drank, Dinah and James grimacing slightly. Curtis just cleared his throat. "We didn't have an engagement party, but Paul and I had, um, specialty cocktails made at our wedding. The Holtini and the Peach Paul Sangria." He chuckled, then looked down. "We also wore matching white tuxes." The four others weren't sure what to say to that, but Curtis got the bartender's attention again. "Can I have a glass of champagne, please?"

"You OK?" Dinah finally asked.

"Me?" Curtis blinked. "Oh, yeah. Of course. Just because I'm divorced doesn't mean that I can't handle celebrating people about to get married."

"I'm just glad Mon-El isn't here," James muttered, tapping his glass on the bar. "That guy is the last person we need to see."

"Did Winn show you the footage?" Alex asked.

"Oh, yeah," James chuckled. "It made me confirm that I one hundred percent _do not_ want to ever cross Slade Wilson, Malcolm Merlyn, and Laurel Lance _ever."_

"Shame they can't be here," Alex sighed.

"Yeah, two dead people and someone known for trying to take out the entire city," James snorted. "They'd stick out like a sore thumb."

"Well," Dinah shook her hair out of her eyes. "Not to kill the mood, but I'm gonna say that I'm not that into weddings."

"Shocker," Rene rolled his eyes.

"Well, the idea of spending the rest of your life with one person seems pretty unrealistic, and also pretty boring."

"Unless you're vigilantes," Alex mumbled under her breath, making James choke on his next drink.

"That's probably why I've had so many busted engagements," Dinah added, almost as an afterthought as she checked her beeping phone.

It was Curtis and Rene who choked that time on their drinks. "Say what?" Alex blinked.

"What?" the guys asked at the same time.

Dinah sighed, seeing the text she had gotten: _Why aren't you answering my calls?_ "Be right back," she told them, walking off.

"What?" Rene protested. "You just gonna leave on that bombshell? That's what you're gonna do?"

James huffed lightly as Dinah smirked over her shoulder at them. "No offense to the lady here, but I don't understand women sometimes."

"Sometimes, I don't understand men," Alex raised her glass in response. "No offense taken."

"Is it me, or has she been acting weird lately?" Rene asked, turning back around.

"Oh, no, she's definitely been on Upswipz," Curtis nodded. "She's been secretly texting with somebody for weeks now."

"Good for her," James nodded.

"You know, maybe you should start dating, too," Rene told Curtis.

"Ohhhh," Curtis held out. "Heh. Yeah. I date plenty."

"Oh, really," Rene raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Oh, man," Curtis grinned nervously. "So – so many guys."

"Wow," Rene gave him a dubious look, making James and Alex exchange glances.

"There's one guy in particular who I'm dating," Curtis said, picking up another shot, and the two from Earth-38 backed up, leaving the two Team Arrow members at the bar. "Uh, his name is Dom Perignon. He is smooth and expensive, and he's really nice. Uh, but there's, like, other guys, too. I'm not trying to be tied down right now, you know."

"Who? Like, Tom Collins, Rob Roy?" Rene raised an eyebrow.

"Not actually a gin guy," Curtis shook his head.

Rene snorted.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Leave some cake for the rest of the guests," Oliver said in amusement as Kara started on her third piece.

"What?" Kara protested. "It's from my favorite bakery in Star City!"

"That was kind of the point, angel."

"Love," a voice came over the mic suddenly, and both of them turned around to see Curtis speaking into the microphone. "What is love really?"

"Oh, boy," both said at the same time, the rest of the team gradually coming closer, James and Alex in particular looking worried.

"It's not tangible, so who's to say it's not just made up?" Curtis asked, moving his arms dramatically, splashing champagne out of his glass. Quentin winced, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking down, J'onn and Eliza exchanging concerned glances. Winn was biting his lip to avoid laughing, Lena's shoulders shaking slightly as she covered her mouth with her hand. "I mean, there's no hardcore proof that it actually exists! I mean, look, I love a lot of things – sweaters, math, coffee, but, you know, I'm not gonna _marry_ that stuff!" Kara coughed as she inhaled a piece of cake, and Oliver twisted to find Rene. When he saw him standing with Dig, he jerked his head towards Curtis. Luckily, Rene understood and hurried to relieve the man of the mic. "What is marriage anyway? Like, what is it? Like, is it – it's a paper that says 'oh, I'm owed to you forever.' I don't – no! I can leave like that, so what is marriage really when it boils down to it? I have some more stuff to say – "

Rene grabbed the mic and yanked it to him. "And everybody give Curtis a round of applause," he cut in. Lena and Winn finally laughed as they obliged, Oliver shaking his head in amusement. "Thank you, Curtis," Rene nodded as Felicity hustled Curtis to the side. "Thank you." When they took him off, Dig confiscated Curtis's champagne glass, giving him a tough look. "Um, I think what my friend is trying to say is, um . . . " Rene turned to Oliver and Kara. "True love is . . . so special that we all dream about it, and when I look at Oliver and Kara, I'm reminded of how I felt about _my_ wife on _our_ wedding day. And this isn't your wedding, I know, but even before then, we were so in love. We would do anything for each other. I mean, no matter what! And that is the epitome of Oliver and Kara." Kara blushed, making Oliver smile and kiss the top of her head. "Yeah," Rene smiled. "I mean, you guys have had your struggles, but you always work through it. These are two of the most genuine people in the world, and they deserve all the happiness, and I'm so fortunate to call them my friends. So," he held up his glass. "Please raise a glass to true love." He smiled at Oliver and Kara, which they returned. "Oliver and Kara."

"To Oliver and Kara!" everyone repeated, Oliver smiling at everyone as Kara waved shyly.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

"This is only a courtesy dance because your speech was so sweet," Thea gave Rene a look as they slow danced later, Oliver and Kara still wrapped up in each other a few feet away, Dig dancing with Alex as Winn and Lena danced.

"I have my moments," Rene shrugged, then frowned, noticing her wistful look. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Thea sighed. "You know, just, um . . . " She looked around. "Thought a friend might have come. Would have been nice to see him."

"Oh, it's a _him?"_ Rene raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing he's more than just a friend, then. Thinking of weddings make you nostalgic for the ones you love. I definitely miss my wife and my family." Thea nodded absently, and Rene smirked. "You know, for what it's worth, I did see the DJ checking you out."

"Oh, no, no," Thea grimaced. "I don't do DJs. I had a thing once . . . it did _not_ work out."

* * *

 ** _Quentin Lance_**

"Salud," Quentin raised his shot glass.

"Salud," Eliza and J'onn repeated, all three tipping back their drinks.

"Ah," Quentin smacked his lips, looking around. "I have to say . . . I almost thought Oliver would just ask Kara to elope."

"That was the running gag in Central City, apparently," J'onn smirked.

"Oh, I probably would have forgiven Kara eventually if she had," Eliza sighed. "I still would want to be there if she did."

"If they had in Central City, it would have just been Barry, Iris, and Dig as witnesses."

"Then I wouldn't have been the only one who would have been upset."

"Definitely not."

"It's good that you both are here," Quentin told them. "Kara's adoptive mother and . . . well, you're not her father, but you're as good as, J'onn. If only Oliver's parents were here."

"Well, they'd be proud of him," J'onn said. "And if they're not here, _you_ are."

"Me?" Quentin scoffed.

"You're as good as a father figure for him," J'onn nodded. "From what I've heard, you two have come a long way."

"I can't speak the same, but you care about him," Eliza smiled.

"Well, that I _can_ agree with," Quentin nodded, then looked down when his phone rang. Frowning, he pulled it out to look at the Caller ID, and he tensed. "It's Jean Loring. Oliver's lawyer."

"Oh, no," Eliza sighed.

"I got to take it," Quentin looked at them apologetically.

"Go," J'onn nodded.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Kara sighed happily as Oliver tugged her closer, bending down so their foreheads touched as they danced. "Could this night get any better?" she asked with a smile.

Oliver hummed absently, then heard a throat clear. They turned to see Quentin give them a smile, which looked more like a grimace. "Uh, so sorry," he told them. "We – we got a problem."

Kara looked up at Oliver sheepishly. "I guess not."

"Come on," Oliver took her hand. "Come on," he added to Quentin, leading them off to the side.

"Hey," Alex joined them, looking worried, J'onn and Eliza behind her. "Everything OK?"  
"No," Quentin admitted.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked.

"Well, listen," Quentin spoke quickly. "I really did not want to do this right now, but Jean Loring just called, and she said I got to tell you right away."

"It's OK," Oliver assured him. "What's happening?"

"I told her you were in the middle of celebrating your engagement – "

"Quentin!" Oliver said sharply, making him shut his mouth. "What's going on?"

Quentin took a deep breath. "The prosecution's smoking gun? It's a witness who is willing to testify that you are the Green Arrow."

Alex's eyes widened in shock. "What?" J'onn asked sharply.

"Who?" Oliver demanded.

"Well, that information's still under seal," Quentin said grimly. "But it's someone on the team."

Kara blanched as Eliza gasped, and Oliver gritted his teeth, turning to look out on the dance floor.

How could this be happening again?

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"One quiet night," Lena buried her face in her hands as Oliver restlessly paced the bunker, Winn looking over the computers as Kara watched her fiancé worriedly, J'onn, Alex, and James nearby. "Is that too much to ask for?"

"I can't believe this is happening again," Oliver ground out.

"Hey, hold on a second," Kara held up her hands. "We do not know this is an Evelyn Sharpe situation yet."

"It's a betrayal," Oliver shook his head. "I never should have trusted them."

"It's not a them," J'onn reminded Oliver. "It's a one."

"Yeah, a one who wants to out Oliver to the FBI that would lock him away for life," Winn pointed out. "Which is an awfully long time."

"Not helping, Agent Schott!" J'onn glared at him.

Footsteps from behind them made everyone turn. "Hey, kid," Slade frowned as he, Malcolm, and Laurel approached. "We got your message. Didn't expect to hear from any of you tonight."

"What's up?" Dig asked as he and Felicity joined them.

"Someone on the team gave me up to Samandra Watson," Oliver answered.

"What?" Malcolm's eyes narrowed to slits.

"That's impossible, Oliver," Dig shook his head at once. "No one would do that."

"Lance got it from Jean Loring. Jean Loring got it from District Attorney Armand."

Dig closed his eyes. "OK, I'd say that's pretty solid evidence saying someone betrayed him," Laurel gave Dig a look.

"You ruled out these two?" Slade nodded to Dig and Felicity, then held up his hands when both glared at him. "He said on the team. You two are on the team."

"Why would I, the first one to start working with him six years ago, betray Oliver only to put on the hood for him?" Dig asked.

"Six years to Curtis's two and a half for both of them," Oliver nodded. "They've been with me this long. Why wait until now? But thank you for your concern, Slade."

"Just have your best intentions at heart, kid," Slade shook his head. "This shouldn't have happened to you tonight."

"What about them?" Felicity pointed to the three.

"Dead," Malcolm pointed to himself. "Dead," he pointed at Laurel. "Wouldn't be able to walk into Watson's office without being shot on sight," he pointed at Slade.

Kara snorted, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth. "Point," Felicity winced. "OK, so it's Curtis, Dinah, or Rene. That's what we're going with?"

"None of us met Agent Watson until Thanksgiving, and even though Alex heard of her, she never actually met her," James nodded.

Felicity took a deep breath. "OK," she walked over to the computers, where Winn was still working. "What have you got?"

"I've got surveillance running on the three of them, and I've just started on sending worms through texts and emails," Winn answered. "Not that I like it, of course, but . . . well, no one likes a betrayer."

"You're spying on them?!" Dig's eyes widened.

"I'm not spying!" Winn threw up his hands. "It's . . . it's called keeping tabs, OK?"

"Oliver, why not just confront whoever this is and give them a chance to come clean?" Dig turned to him.

"Yes, the person is just going to waltz forward and take a bow," Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"The wizard's right," Slade nodded. "Whoever this is ratted Oliver out to the FBI. They won't be forthcoming."

"And how do we know this isn't just the surface of this?" Alex agreed. "It's a bit extreme, yes, but this is the best we can do with what we've got."

"John, I don't want to spy on them, but if you have a better idea, I'm all for it," Oliver told him, holding out his hands helplessly.

Dig deflated, shaking his head. "No," he admitted.

"If someone goes somewhere suspicious, we'll know," Felicity said, sitting down with Winn.

"Felicity, we were all just at the engagement party," Dig reminded her. "The most suspicious place they can go is out for late night pizza."

"Lots of things can be said over late-night pizza," Kara mused.

"Kara's right," Oliver nodded. "Either Curtis, Dinah, or Rene gave me up. We need to know why, we need to know who. Otherwise, when you put the hood back on, you could be next."

Dig sighed, conceding the point. "We'll find out who it is, Oliver," Lena told him.

"I'm not leaving until we find out who," Alex agreed.

"Seconded," Winn raised his hand, not looking away from the computer.

"Thirded," Lena agreed.

"Fourthed," James nodded.

"I guess you're stuck with us," J'onn smirked.

Oliver smiled faintly. "Guess that's not too bad."

"Nah," Kara smiled, taking his hand. "You've got more people than you think you do."

Oliver nodded, kissing the top of her head, holding her close as they watched Winn pull up a satellite map of Star City, where Curtis, Rene, and Dinah were highlighted and being tracked.

* * *

 **A/N: I'll tell you, these two shows had amazing midseason finales. I wasn't expecting a Team Arrow betrayal, and let's not discuss Kara's predicament. Well done, CW.**

 **Anyway, there's a reason "Irreconcilable Differences" is first and not "Reign." It will be quite obvious when we get to the Supergirl midseason finale.**

 **I'm hoping to finish the next part either tomorrow or Friday. Keep an eye out!**


	37. Irreconcilable Differences - Part Two

**Someone gets taken, Oliver takes a team on a mission, and the witness is revealed.**

* * *

 _ **Rene Ramirez**_

"All right, all right, all right," Rene helped Curtis through the door, his team member swaying on his feet. "Where do you want to go, bathroom or couch?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Curtis staggered away. "I am _perfectly_ capable of walking myself – whoa!" Rene stopped and watched Curtis smack into the table in front of him, knocking several things to the ground, including himself. He sighed, shaking his head as Curtis got back on his feet. "That was not because I was drunk," he sniffed. "That is just because I am very clumsy." Rene rolled his eyes, closing the door behind him as Curtis looked around. "Wow . . . so this is the dog house? Ruff! Ha ha! It's actually way cleaner than I thought it would be. Oh, you have flowers!" Curtis brightened, seeing the sunflowers on the dining table. "Why do you – why do you have flowers? Are you seeing some lady friend or something?"

"It's not like that," Rene shook his head as Curtis sat down.

"You know who I am gonna see when I get to my place in the morning?"

"Some hot dude?" Rene guessed.

"Myself," Curtis shook his head glumly. "In the mirror. Alone." He sighed as Rene winced. "Do you think it was the vigilantism that drove Paul away, or did – did I just lose my charm, or – " He groaned slightly, rubbing his forehead. "Do you – do you ever feel like life would be easier if there was never a Team Arrow?"

"Only all the time," Rene admitted.

"You know what, though?" Curtis straightened. "Oliver is getting his happy ending with Kara, which is all that matters . . . to Oliver, at least."

"That's just the booze talking, Hoss," Rene shook his head, turning and taking off his overcoat, hanging it up on a hook nearby. "All right? I mean, you're gonna find someone new, but until then, you got all of us – "

He stopped short, staring blankly at Curtis, who was passed out with his head on the table, snoring away. He sighed, looking fondly at his friend. "That's what I get for being nice."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah walked down the back steps into an alley, looking one direction. She heard footsteps coming the other way, and she closed her eyes. "You have to stop contacting me. I've done all I'm willing to do for you."

The footsteps stopped a few feet away. "I'm not here to ask for a favor," Vincent told her.

Dinah turned around, narrowing her eyes. "Then what do you want?"

"I miss you, D," Vincent answered, walking forward slowly. "That dress reminds me of the one you wore for the Guzman Op."

"Don't do that," Dinah shook her head. "Don't try to dip me in nostalgia. I don't even know who you are anymore, Vince! The man I knew would never – _could never_ – kill an innocent person."

"The people I've killed weren't innocent," Vincent defended himself.

"Oh, no?" Dinah raised an eyebrow. "Well, what about that cop you accidentally shot last month?"

"Collateral damage."

"What?" Dinah balked.

"Are you trying to tell me that there hasn't been any in the war the Green Arrow's fighting?" Vincent countered.

"No," Dinah glared. "No, there hasn't."

"Sounds like I'm not the only one who's changed," Vincent remarked. "The Dinah Drake I knew was never this naïve."

"Oliver brought me back from a very dark, very bad place," Dinah spat. "He stopped me from becoming you."

"The only difference between him and me is that I don't lie to myself about what I'm doing," Vincent retorted. "Look, I may not be a saint, but I do know this: I care about you. I always have, and always will."

Dinah sighed, then walked up so they were eye to eye. "Don't contact me," she said softly. "Leave town. And if I catch you out in the field again, I won't let you get away a second time."

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Laurel Lance_**

"Guess we're in for another long night," Malcolm sighed as he and Laurel headed back towards the bunker.

"I don't know why I ever expected my life would get less interesting after Chase," Laurel remarked, readjusting the hat she wore, shade hiding her very familiar face.

"We met an _alien_ who shot heat from her eyes. That was more interesting than several things I've ever seen."

"True," Laurel admitted, shaking her head as they turned the corner. "What have our lives – "

They stopped short when they saw the slim woman standing in the center of the alley. "Hello, Malcolm," Talia smirked. "For being a former wearer of the ring of the Demon's Head, your senses have certainly dulled." Malcolm narrowed his eyes, but Talia looked at Laurel. "Cayden James would like a word with you."

"Let me think about that," Laurel tilted her head, then scowled. "No."

She opened her mouth, but a zip cord suddenly shot from the building above them, wrapping around her neck. Laurel gurgled, eyes wide, reaching up for the wire cutting off her vocal cords. Malcolm grabbed a knife from under his jacket, throwing it in the direction the arrow had come from. Evelyn fired another arrow, knocking the knife off course before screaming herself.

Malcolm grabbed his ears, wincing when a sonic shriek came from her. He recognized a sleek version of a Canary Cry around her neck before he felt something get jabbed into his neck.

Talia smirked as she crouched down by Malcolm. "Like I said," she sneered, placing a sleek phone in his hand as Evelyn shot a sedative arrow into Laurel. "A word."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Oh, Dinah," Alex groaned as they looked at the footage on Winn's screen. "Why?"

"Can we get audio on this?" Oliver asked.

"No," Felicity shook her head. "We tracked her to this location, then accessed street cams. Guess we know how Vigilante escaped the cops last month."

Dig shook his head, watching the footage of Dinah speaking with Vincent. "There's no way we can tell what she's saying to him."

"It doesn't matter what she's saying to him," Oliver bit out. "She lied to the team about this."

"Oliver – "

"What else has she lied about?"

"Let's not get paranoid here."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this Vigilante guy try and kill Oliver last year?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he did," Felicity nodded. "He wants to out him to law enforcement, he's virtually doing the same thing – it puts him away for life."

"OK, I don't think Dinah would do this," Dig said. "She cares way too much about this team. Oliver, listen, she supported me through my injury, and as the Green Arrow."

"I know, and I appreciate that," Oliver assured him. "But after what happened with Evelyn, we need to protect ourselves."

"She lied to the team, that's a blow," Slade folded his arms, looking at the footage. "But let's not automatically assume that means she's the one who outed Oliver."

"Assumption is the mother of all failures," Kara quoted.

"Exactly," Slade nodded.

Lena looked up when she heard footsteps, and she blanched. "Malcolm?"

The others turned around, and Kara gasped, immediately running over when she saw Malcolm wincing and rubbing his neck, his pace slightly slower than usual. "Are you OK?!"

"What happened?" Slade demanded, not far behind her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Malcolm assured them, wincing as he looked through his pockets. "As for what happened . . . " He pulled out an empty syringe, making Kara's eyes widen. "Laurel and I got visited by a few old friends," he told Oliver, walking up the steps. "They knocked me out and took her."

"Oh," Oliver groaned, putting his face in his hands.

"But you're OK?" Alex asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Malcolm sighed. "It was just a tranquilizer. But Evelyn's got her own version of a Canary Cry now, just like Earth-1 Laurel's was before it was reworked for Alex."

"Great," Winn said sarcastically. "Just what we need."

"No offense, Malcolm, but it doesn't sound like these two leave loose ends," J'onn frowned slightly. "So why are you here and not with them?"

"Because they needed a messenger," Malcolm pulled out a phone that wasn't his, holding it out to Oliver.

Felicity eyed it meekly. "What are the chances that that's gonna ring, like, right – "

It chimed and lit up in Oliver's hand, and Winn winced. "OK, that's not creepy at all."

Oliver looked around at everyone before putting the phone on speaker. _"Hello,"_ the voice over the phone spoke. _"This is Cayden James."_

"Where's Laurel?" Oliver demanded.

" _Now, why would I tell you that?"_

"What do you want?"

" _A nanoaluminum amplifier."_

Oliver frowned, seeing a few people in the room looked just as confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

" _Well, that's all right. I'm sure you can research it . . . and when you do, you'll find that it's secured at A.R.G.U.S. Deliver it to me, or Laurel Lance dies."_

"The last time we spoke, you vowed to destroy the city," Oliver scowled. "I'm guessing this amplifier gets you one step closer to completing that goal, so why should I help you?"

" _I did float the concept of Ms. Lance dying, didn't I?"_ Cayden asked nonchalantly, making Kara grit her teeth and Slade growl lowly.

"Now, you listen to me," Oliver began.

" _At nightfall tomorrow, I will text an address to this phone. You'll be there with the amplifier, or Laurel Lance shuffles off this mortal coil. Oh, and please don't breathe a word of this to your friends at A.R.G.U.S."_

The phone clicked, and Oliver sighed as Cayden cut the line. "OK, after what this guy attempted at Thanksgiving, there are no good reasons why he wants that amplifier," Lena looked around.

"It sounds like a trap," James agreed.

"He has Laurel," J'onn pointed out. "It doesn't matter if it's a trap. He has leverage, and that's all he needs."

"Can you, Lena, and Winn make a replica of this thing, a fake to pass off to Cayden James?" Oliver asked Felicity.

"No," Felicity shook her head.

"We can't?" Winn blinked.

"No," Felicity repeated. "I mean, we're good, but we're not that good. It's one of a kind."

"And he can't hack A.R.G.U.S. himself?" Alex asked.

"No, because A.R.G.U.S. is one hundred percent air-gapped," Felicity shook her head. "I mean, you can't access their network unless you're on site, and I doubt he wants to cross paths with A.R.G.U.S. since they held him prisoner for eight months."

"He's using us instead," Oliver scowled.

"A.R.G.U.S. isn't just gonna hand over this amplifier," Dig told them.

"What, they don't have a longstanding policy of negotiating with terrorists?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Shocker."

"What's the plan, kid?" Slade asked.

Oliver thought, then turned. "J'onn, can I borrow Winn?"

"Me?" Winn's head shot up in surprise.

"You won't be fighting anyone, if that's what you're concerned about," Oliver smirked. "And James, Lena," he turned to them, seeing them look up in surprise. "A.R.G.U.S. won't know your faces nearly as well as anyone on my team's. I'd like the two of you as well."

"If Agent Schott agrees, he's yours," J'onn nodded.

"Sure, man," Winn nodded.

"You two in?" Oliver asked James and Lena.

"If you need our help, yeah," James nodded.

"Just tell us what we're doing," Lena agreed.

"None of the others?" Dig asked.

"Like Slade said, I won't assume Dinah's the betrayer," Oliver shook his head. "Until I know where _anyone's_ loyalties lie, they're out."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Oh, Dan, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this favor," Dig smiled gratefully as an A.R.G.U.S. agent let him into Lyla's office. "I know it's not exactly protocol letting me in here, but I wanted to leave this little surprise for Lyla when she gets back."

Dan smiled at the wrapped gift he held up. "Not letting protocol get in the way of romance."

"Yeah, well, thanks for helping keep the flame alive," Dig smiled, reaching into his jacket. He blinked, patting over. "I, uh – I forgot my card. It's back at security. I'm an idiot. I'll go get it!"

"No, no, I'll grab it," Dan told him. "Don't need everyone to see you roaming around without clearance."

"Good idea," Dig smiled, watching him go. As soon as Dan was out, he closed the door and headed for Lyla's desk. "Checkmate," he said, sitting down and plugging a flash drive into the laptop on her desk. "You're up. Talk to me."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena readjusted her squatting stance, working on the tablet she had with her. "I'm working on locating the amplifier," she said. "Stand by . . . " She smiled when her tablet lit up. "Got it. It's in the east wing. I'll shut down security when I access the panel. Everybody copy?"

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

James watched a few guards walk past, then straightened from where he was mopping the floor. "In position," he answered, leaning on the mop. "Still don't understand why the other Earthers have got to be the janitors, though."

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Uh, if you've worked as long as I have, man, you'll understand that the humble janitor has a very honorable profession," Winn said as he walked down the hall, pushing along a closed bin. "Besides, the term is _breachers."_

"Whatever, man."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Guys, focus," Oliver hissed, crawling his way through the vents. When he found a metal grate in the floor, he attached a bar's metal clamps to the side. "Checkmate, I'm in position," he said, attaching the lines to him. "How long until security is down?"

"Well, that depends on Winn," Lena answered.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Winn stopped in the hall, looked around, then opened the bin. "We're clear," he said.

Lena popped up like a whack-a-mole, turning around to find the security panel. "OK," she fished a flash drive out of her jacket. "Oliver, I can only buy you sixty seconds before the security around the amplifier turns back on."

"That's more than enough time for me," Oliver assured her.

"The floor is still pressure sensitive," Lena warned. "If you touch it, it will retrigger the alarm."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Copy that," Oliver nodded, taking out the grating and looking down at the laser grid blocking the way.

"Three, two, one . . . go!"

Oliver dropped through the vent, extending his body horizontally so he didn't touch the floor. When he was even with the amplifier, he reached out cautiously, then snatched it.

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

James tensed when he heard footsteps behind him. "Guys, you're about to have company," he warned, turning back to his mop.

"We need more time," Winn told him.

James thought rapidly, then yanked the mop harder than he should have. He tipped the bucket of water over, and he stumbled, making it look like he tripped. The guards that were approaching groaned and glared at him, and James winced, hurrying to get back up.

Hopefully that was more than enough time.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"I got it," Oliver told them. "Clear in three, two, one."

He clicked a button on his harness, and the wires pulled him back up to the vent.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Lena and Winn shared quick fist bump, then Lena pulled her drive from the panel. She dropped back down into the bin as quickly as she had popped up, and Winn closed the lid on top of her. He smiled tightly at the guards walking past, and he quickly rolled the bin away, Lena still hidden inside.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Oliver Queen_**

"Well, that was significantly less stressful than that alien planet," Winn ran a hand through his hair as he, Lena, and Felicity looked over the amplifier.

"Good news is this is exactly what Cayden wanted," Felicity said. "Bad news is – "

"It's exactly what Cayden wanted," Lena finished.

"Yeah."

"Well, I think I know what he's going to use it for," Lena straightened.

"What, he didn't want to supercharge his Christmas lights?" Kara asked sarcastically.

"I wish," Lena grumbled. "No. Remember that thermobaric bomb that Cayden stole? This will multiply the blast radius by twenty, easily."

"That's the entire city, and then some," Dig swallowed.

"Do you think Laurel would want us to hand over something this dangerous to this psycho just to save her?" Alex asked quietly.

"Well, that's exactly what we're going to do," Oliver announced. "The three techs are gonna sabotage it."

"Team Tech is gonna what now?" Winn squeaked, eyes widening.

"The amplifier doesn't have to work," Kara perked up. "He just needs to _think_ it works."

"And long enough for us to get Laurel," Malcolm finished.

"OK," Lena took a deep breath. "So maybe if we back-channel a path into the circuitry . . . "

"If you hide it behind the existing board, it might buy us enough time to get Laurel, get the hell out of there," Felicity pointed out.

"Yeah," Lena smiled.

The elevator doors opening caught their attention, and everyone turned to watch Dinah, Curtis, and Rene enter. "Hey," Dinah began, only to stop short, blinking when she saw the uniforms James and Winn were wearing. "Did you guys just get back from the field?"

"Why didn't we get a call?" Rene looked around.

"Thanks, though," Curtis winced, rubbing his head. "Because I am still seriously hungover."

"And where's Laurel?" Dinah looked around.

"Captured," Slade answered shortly. "By Cayden James."

"As for the call . . . " Oliver took a deep breath. "We should speak in private."

"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"OK," Oliver cleared his throat. "Dinah, I know that you've been meeting with the vigilante in secret."

Dinah froze, shocked, then narrowed her eyes. "You followed me?"

"I did," Oliver confirmed.

"What?" Rene blinked.

"Whatever business I have with Vince is none of yours," Dinah glared.

"It is when it could threaten to put me in prison and keep me away from my son," Oliver told her.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about being arrested off the statement of someone who knows my identity," Oliver looked over the trio. "Somebody on this team."

"And you think it was one of us?" Dinah demanded. "Even _me?_ What, because I didn't tell you about Vince?"

"I think that doesn't earn points in your favor," Oliver answered bluntly. "It doesn't give me a reason to trust you."

Dinah looked at him incredulously, then looked past her to Dig. "And you?" she demanded. "What about you? You don't trust me either, John?"

"Guilt tripping isn't gaining you any favor points, either," Malcolm folded his arms.

"That's rich, coming from someone who's not even on the team!" Dinah snapped.

"Dinah," Alex held out her hands helplessly. "What else are we supposed to think? You could be chatting about the weather, or you could have been telling him about . . . well, anything the team was doing!"

"Dinah, I'm sorry," Dig sighed. "But they've all got points."

"Wow," Dinah whispered, looking down. "No. No, no, hey, _I'm_ the sorry one. Yeah. I'm the sorry one for having your back all those times." She glared around furiously. "Screw you guys!"

"Dinah!" Kara snapped. "If you would have _listened,_ you would have heard we didn't accuse you of being the leak!"

"Yeah?" Dinah fumed, turning back around. "Well, it sure as hell sounded like it!"

"You know something?" Kara narrowed her eyes, walking forward. "I can hear your heartbeats right now. And you know what I hear when I hear yours, Dinah?" She stopped in front of her, glaring hard into her eyes. Dinah glared right back before Kara smirked. "You were worried when Oliver mentioned being outed. _Worried,_ not afraid." She turned around to the others. "Dinah's not the leak," she announced confidently.

"You're sure?" Slade asked.

"I'm not assuming," Kara nodded.

Oliver looked long and hard at Dinah before nodding. "I didn't say it was you," he repeated Kara's point.

"Still sounded like it," Dinah muttered.

"Hey, can we all just please calm down for a second?" Curtis looked around, drawing everyone to him. "Look, I know everyone's stressed because Cayden's threatening to blow up the city and Laurel is kidnapped, but let's just – all just take a breath. Now, I'm not saying that it's me, but it can literally be any one of us."

"Keep in mind that one of us in the room is supposed to be dead and the other would be as good as dead as soon as he stepped into the FBI building," Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"And John and Felicity checked out," Oliver added.

"And we did lean towards you, Dinah, because you were the only one we saw who had something to hide," Dig added.

Curtis blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Yeah," Dinah folded her arms. "What _does_ that mean, John?"

Oliver went right out and said it as Kara tilted her head, frowning slightly. "It means we had you under surveillance."

"What?" Curtis looked around, startled. "All of us?"

"Yeah," Winn nodded sheepishly.

"And by 'all of us,' you mean," Dinah pointed to herself, Curtis, and Rene. "All of _us."_

Winn nodded again. "So just the newbies," Curtis growled, and Kara paused by the rail by the computers, then her hackles rose. "We're out there risking our lives, just like the rest of – !"

The sickening crack of metal breaking cut Curtis off, and everyone turned to see Kara wasn't even looking at the bar she had just snapped, she was shaking so hard. "Kara?" Alex asked quietly.

"Shut up, Alex," Kara ground out. "Everyone, _shut up."_

Understanding flickered in Oliver's eyes. "You know who it is."

Kara closed her eyes, taking several shaky breaths. "You've been awfully quiet," she said coldly. "Got something you want to say?" She turned, her blue eyes locking on the last member of the newer members of the team. "Rene?"

Everyone's heads shot to the man, who tensed. "You?" Slade growled, Malcolm narrowing his eyes.

Rene swallowed as Kara walked closer to him. "Yes," he admitted, looking Oliver in the eye as Slade and Malcolm both growled louder. "It's me. I'm the one who's testifying against you."

Kara slapped him.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, Rene's in trouble.**

 **Next chapter will either be out tonight or tomorrow, whenever I finish it!**


	38. Irreconcilable Differences - Part Three

**Rene explains his actions (people aren't happy), the team goes to rescue Laurel (people _still_ aren't happy), and the fallout of Rene's betrayal (some people _are_ happy).**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen**_

"Why?" Kara demanded angrily as Winn and James hastily backed up, Lena and Felicity cautiously doing the same as Slade, Malcolm, J'onn, and Alex fanned out, ready to back Oliver up if needed. "Why would you do that?"

"Agent Watson came to me," Rene winced, rubbing his red cheek. "She said she had proof that I was Wild Dog and that she was gonna use it against me to make sure that I never saw Zoe again." He looked from Kara to Oliver, whose green eyes were icy. "She said she had a solid case against you and that she was gonna arrest you either way. You were going down. I just couldn't make the trip with you."

"You should have told us, Rene," Dig scowled. "We could have figured something out."

"There was nothing to figure out, Hoss!" Rene protested. "Right?"

"Right," Malcolm scoffed. "Like no one in this room could . . . oh, I don't know, _pretend_ to be you and go out as Wild Dog while you were in Watson's clear sight? No offense, J'onn."

"None taken," the Martian shook his head. "I would have been willing to do it."

"Would you?" Rene scowled.

"Yes," J'onn nodded. "Especially if it was your daughter on the line."

"And that's an obvious solution," Slade glared at Rene. "There could have been more."

"Now we'll never know," Felicity sighed.

"Kara," Oliver said quietly, his voice colder than ice. "Come here." Kara glared at Rene, walking backwards until she was at Oliver's side. He put his arm around her, then looked back the man who sold him out. "Rene . . . get out." He opened his mouth to say something, but Oliver growled. _"Get out . . ._ or I let Kara, Slade, and Malcolm race to see who throws you out the quickest."

Rene's mouth clicked shut, and he clenched his jaw before turning and leaving.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel woke up with an extremely sore throat, and she spent a few seconds coughing and hacking, groaning. "Oh, good," a sarcastic voice said, and Laurel glared at the dark-haired girl sitting on the table in front of her. "You're awake. Little Team Prometheus reunion, huh?"

"I didn't do anything to you on Lian Yu," Laurel glared.

"You turned your back on Chase," Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "He rescued you!"

"Yeah, and what did he ever do for you?" Laurel sneered. "Except promise revenge. Well, look how that turned out. You and your little group, locked up on Lian Yu. Of course, not any more, it looks like."

"Yeah, thanks to Cayden James," Evelyn folded her arms. "He sent someone for Talia and me."

"What, no use for a raging psychopath?" Laurel quirked an eyebrow. "I'd have loved to see Chase bite the bullet."

"Well, at least it wasn't me," Evelyn shrugged, though she seemed a bit uncomfortable talking about it.

Laurel gave her a long, lingering look, then noticed a device in the corner of the room. "Sonic dampener?" she guessed. When Evelyn smirked, Laurel groaned. "Of course."

"Had to keep you quiet somehow," Evelyn shrugged. "Couldn't have you choke to death."

"Thanks," Laurel grumbled, looking her over. "I have to say, though . . . I did wonder why someone as young as you were working with Chase. There's even a little part of me that's happy you're OK."

"Pardon me if the feeling isn't mutual."

"You really like being a smartass, don't you?"

"Takes one to know one."

Laurel huffed, rolling her eyes. She looked off to the side, then looked back at Evelyn. "I heard you took the Black Canary suit for a while after my doppelgänger died."

"I did," she acknowledged.

"When you look at me, do you see her?"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"I just wondered," Laurel shrugged. "Oliver and Dad always saw a bit of her in me. Couldn't say the same for them, though. The Oliver I knew died eleven years ago. And my dad . . . " She sighed. "My dad here was surprised when I told him what happened to him."

Evelyn frowned, then examined her fingernails, seeming disinterested. "What happened to him?"

"It was my thirteenth birthday," Laurel answered. "He left to go get my birthday cake, like he did every year. And then the phone rang. There was an accident." She took a deep breath. "A drunk driver ran through a red light. Head-on collision."

"What surprised him?" Evelyn looked up.

"It wasn't the accident," Laurel shook her head. "No . . . it was that he knew my favorite cake was yellow with chocolate frosting, and that my favorite bakery was Carly's." She looked up at Evelyn. "I guess my doppelgänger and I are more alike than I originally thought."

Evelyn pursed her lips, but before she could say anything, the elevator doors opened. "OK, it's time," Cayden said, walking out. "Remember, if the Green Arrow reneges on our deal, you kill her."

Evelyn looked down at Laurel, who slowly shook her head as Cayden walked back out.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

Curtis and Dinah stared in disbelief as Rene got his huge burger from the food truck. "How can you eat this?"

"You ask me that every time," Rene huffed, heading for a table.

"He means at a time like this," Dinah told him.

"Stress makes me hungry," Rene answered. "So does guilt. I just . . . " He sat down and rubbed at his still stinging cheek. Damn, Kara had one hell of a slap. Then again . . . super strength. "I screwed up. You know, Oliver was right to kick me off the team."

"You were in an impossible situation," Dinah shook her head.

"Yeah, and when you're in an impossible position, that's why there's a team, D," Rene countered. "Just like Dig said." He looked at Curtis, who appeared to be looking elsewhere. "You're uncharacteristically quiet, Hoss."

"Just hungover," Curtis told him. "Doing some processing . . . I'm actually doing a _lot_ of processing."

"Oliver spying on us, you mean?" Dinah asked bitterly.

"Not gonna pretend there's not a difference between the three of us and the three of them – you know, the original three, I'm not counting Wilson or Merlyn – but – "

" _Spying_ on us?" Dinah prompted. "And getting Kara's team to help? And Kara _agreeing_ to it? I mean, come on, it crosses a line."

"Yeah," Curtis nodded. "And I just don't like the way that it makes me feel." He sighed, then grumbled, "Now _I'm_ stressed." Rene's jaw dropped as Curtis reached over, grabbed his burger, and took a huge bite out of it. "Wow," he blinked. "It's good." He turned to Dinah, who looked at him incredulously. "It's _real_ good."

Rene just stared at his teammate in disbelief.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver leaned back against the rail in the bunker, mulling over what had happened in the last twenty-four hours, when heels clicked on the floor. He turned to see Thea walk up, looking at him in concern. "Hey," she said.

"Hi," he straightened. "How's Quentin?"

"Uh, on his way," Thea answered. "He was not happy, to say the least."

"I know the feeling," Oliver winced.

Thea nodded, then tilted her head. "Winn told me what happened."

"Yeah," Oliver sighed.

"Would ask if you're OK, but I think I already know the answer."

"Thinking about what Rene did," Oliver said slowly. "What did he do really? He kept a secret, and he – he put his daughter ahead of the team, and I feel betrayed. How can I feel betrayed by somebody doing the exact same things that I've done?"

"Because you've never sold anyone out on the team, Ollie," Thea answered. "And if you're convicted, you could end up spending a really long time in jail. But having said that, you're doing the right thing, looking at things through his perspective, and having done that, maybe you can see your way to forgiving him."

"Seriously?" Oliver frowned.

"Well, Rene is a . . . " Thea sighed. "A very desperate guy who just did a very desperate thing, but he's also the same guy who just last night was giving such a heartfelt, sweet speech and – and calling you his friend, and I really think that he meant that. It was a betrayal, no question. But since you've been able to see things from his point of view, you . . . you should also be able to see your way to forgiving him."

Oliver stared at her, then huffed. "Listen to you."

"Laurel needs the team right now, Ollie," Thea turned, watching him examine the mannequins lined up on the wall. "But he needs the whole one."

Oliver frowned, thinking that through, when Dig walked up. "It's almost nightfall," he said.

Oliver nodded, looking at him. "Let's have the team suit up." Dig nodded and turned, but Oliver called him back. "John . . . the _whole_ team. And ask Kara, Slade, and Malcolm for me, too."

Dig nodded. "Copy that."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver walked with Dinah and Curtis down the alley, meeting up with Rene at the end. "Thanks for having me back, man," he said gratefully.

Malcolm landed silently from where he grappled in, and Kara landed with Slade a second later. "If something goes wrong tonight, you'll get a matching mark on the other cheek," she threatened.

"If I don't get to you first," Slade growled in agreement.

"Enough," Oliver looked around. "Let's get Laurel back." He reached up for his comms device. "This is where Cayden James wants to make the exchange?"

"Yep," Felicity answered. "It's a no-brainer he picked this place. It's a digital black hole. There's no cameras, insulated walls. Once you guys get inside, we're totally blind."

"But that means so is he," Lena pointed out.

"Get the amplifier working?" Oliver asked.

"Hope so," Winn answered. "Otherwise, we're handing a crazy psychopath the means to crater the entire city."

"He means yes," Lena interrupted. "It's ready."

"Thanks, Checkmate, Telle," Kara sighed.

" . . . wait, what?" Winn asked.

"Well, you said it was about time you got a codename," Kara smiled. "So I gave you one. Telle – after the Kryptonian god of knowledge. What do you think?"

Silence on the other end. "Uh," Winn trailed off.

"Well done, Supergirl," Malcolm smirked. "You just broke one half of your tech support."

"She just asked you a question." All of them could hear J'onn's smirk. _"Telle."_

"Uh, yeah!" Winn cleared his throat. "Thanks, Kara. I mean, Supergirl. I love it. Thanks."

"No problem," Kara smiled.

"What's the plan, kid?" Slade asked.

"I will handle the exchange," Oliver answered. "Kara, eyes on everything. If anyone gets out, that's who you take. Slade, Malcolm, stay out of sight, but be ready for anything these guys pull. You three, be our eyes and ears. The priority is extracting Laurel, but if we get a chance to take Cayden James into custody, we take it. Whatever we're going through, whatever issues we have, let's put it aside and get the job done. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Dinah nodded.

"Agreed," Malcolm's eyes went to Rene.

But he nodded, too. "Agreed."

"OK," Oliver clenched his bow tightly. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver slowly walked into the main room of the building to see a ring of mercenaries in a semicircle, Cayden James in the center. "So we meet again," he mused.

"Where's Laurel?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, somewhere handy," he answered. "I'll be taking that amplifier now."

"You will be telling me where Laurel is," Oliver growled.

"A fair request," Cayden nodded. "Equally fair . . . lay down your bow. I'll let you speak with her." He pulled out a radio and huffed when Oliver didn't move. "I _am_ a man of my word. If I wasn't, there wouldn't be much point in vowing to destroy this city, would there?"

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Dinah Drake_**

From where he and Slade were crouched high above the meeting place, Malcolm scoffed lightly. "Oh, is _that_ why he hasn't done that yet?"

"Well, let's just be grateful the city hasn't been blown to bits and pieces," Slade grumbled.

Across from them, Dinah looked around. "No sign of Laurel, Evelyn, or Talia."

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"We can't see anything from up here," Rene complained. "Let's search the building."

"Green Arrow said stay put until he makes the exchange," Dig told him.

"What? We're his eyes and ears and we can't even look around?"

"Guys, we need you as backup," Felicity said.

"Then why aren't Black Wolf or Guardian here?" Rene snapped. "He's got Deathstroke and the Dark Archer watching him. He _has_ backup!"

"Thank you for that vote of confidence," Malcolm growled. "But Green Arrow gave you an order. _Follow it."_

Curtis scoffed. "Well, maybe if you bugged Laurel like you bugged us, we'd know where she was."

"Whoa," Winn protested. "We didn't bug you guys! We tracked your GPS! That's not bugging! That's totally different!"

Curtis rolled his eyes, reaching up and turning his comms off. "Bugging me now."

"Can still hear you," Lena snorted.

Rene just reached up and turned his comms off, too. "Screw it," he growled. "I'm not gonna sit around here and wait for Oliver to decide to trust us again."

He stormed off, and Curtis gritted his teeth, trying to decide what to do. Eventually, he ran after Rene.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver finally held up his bow, holding it out and setting it down on the ground. "See?" Cayden smiled in satisfaction. "Wasn't that easy?"

Oliver just glared at him, taking the radio offered. "Are you all right?" he asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Laurel answered. "Company could be better, but yeah, I'm fine."

"Yeah? Well, sit tight. Be there soon."

"Just don't compromise the city's safety for me."

"It's odd," Cayden tilted his head. "I always heard Laurel Lance was a dedicated civil servant, but that's the first I've heard her say something to demonstrate it since I met her. I wish there were more like her."

There was a snort over the comms. "There's a reason for that."

"Shut up, wizard."

"For the hundredth time, it's _magician!"_

"Now?" Kara seethed, on comms for the first time. "You're gonna do this _now?"_

Oliver was grateful Cayden was still talking. Otherwise, he would have snapped at them instead. "Proof of life, as requested," Cayden took the radio back, then held out his other hand. "Your turn now, I think."

Oliver held out the amplifier in response. "Take what you wanted."

"Hmm," Cayden frowned, looking down at it. "I think not. You see, what I wanted as a nanoaluminum amplifier . . . one that hasn't been sabotaged."

Oliver lowered the amplifier, surprised. "He knows?!" James demanded.

"How could he know?" Alex demanded.

"I'm disappointed," Cayden sighed. "Though not nearly as much, I imagine, as your friend Ms. Lance." He activated the radio again. "Kill her," he ordered, then pointed at Oliver. "And kill _him."_

He walked off, but before any of his men could make a move, Oliver pressed a button on one of his gauntlets. Sparks shot out of his bow, spraying everywhere and in the eyes of the men surrounding him.

It was the perfect opportunity for Slade and Malcolm to drop down from where they'd been watching and leap into action. Oliver recovered his bow, and soon green and black arrows were shooting everywhere, Slade's blade blurring silver as the three men worked together.

"Team, everything's gone south!" Felicity shouted.

"Back up Green Arrow!" Dig added.

Part of the roof caved in, and Oliver shielded his eyes as Kara landed on the ground and sucker punched one thug in the stomach. He went flying, and Slade and Malcolm had to roll out of the way so the thug didn't bowl them over. Dinah landed on the ground shortly after her, and Oliver watched his fiancée easily pummel half the men in the room, letting out her anger over Rene's betrayal.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"Wild Dog, Terrific, where are you guys?"

"We're on our way," Rene answered Felicity as he and Curtis ran through the building.

" _On your way?"_ J'onn repeated.

"Why weren't you in position?" Dig demanded.

"Haven't got time for that now, Hoss!" Rene told him. He and Curtis stopped behind a corner, and Curtis pointed silently. Rene peeked out, and perked up when he saw Laurel standing in the center of a group of mercenaries, Evelyn in front of her, speaking with her. "We've got eyes on Laurel," he said.

Curtis yelped suddenly, and Rene turned around to see an obsidian arrow in his arm. When he looked up again, Talia dropped down from the ceiling. "Talia!" he shouted.

Evelyn turned to see what was going on, then grabbed Laurel by the elbow and hauled her off, the sonic dampener in her other hand. The other mercenaries closed in as Talia approached Rene, drawing her sword.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

Kara drove her fist into the last mercenary's head, watching in satisfaction as he collapsed on the ground like a sack of potatoes. She took a few deep breaths, then looked up and around. "I can't see James," she said.

Slade kicked a mercenary's body. "His men are down," he added, glaring around.

Oliver looked around, scowling when he didn't see two team members. "Where the hell is everybody?" he snapped.

"I've got Laurel and Evelyn," Lena announced. "They're exiting the north side of the building."

"I'm on my way," Oliver turned to Kara. "Find the others."

She nodded and flew off, and Oliver ran to find Laurel.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

Rene grunted as Talia whacked him in the head with her bow, Curtis struggling to handle the mercenaries surrounding him. Wind rushed past them suddenly, and there were several cries of pain. Talia was next to be thrown away, making Rene blink.

Then he was pushed up against the wall, and he was staring into the blazing blue eyes of a furious Kryptonian. "Remember what I said about anything going wrong?" she growled.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen_**

"OK, one last stop," Evelyn pushed Laurel against the wall.

"You bitch!" Laurel grimaced, still feeling her body ache from earlier.

Evelyn glared up at her, then seethed. "Damn you for looking like her."

Laurel blinked in surprise, then was further stunned when Evelyn drew a knife and cut through the zipwire tying her hands together. "Evelyn?"

"Run," Evelyn jerked her head. "Before I change my mind."

"What?" Laurel stared at her, shocked.

That was when Oliver ran around the corner. Evelyn quickly turned, then screamed in the direction of the large tubes against the wall. They came rolling down, and Oliver dove out of the way as they crashed onto the ground, sparks flying everywhere. Laurel winced, shielding her eyes from the spray.

When she opened them again, Evelyn was gone.

"Laurel?" a familiar Australian roar came from behind.

"Laurel!" an American one followed that.

"I'm here!" Laurel finally managed to call, and Slade and Malcolm ran around from the other way. "I'm OK!"

"You sure?" Malcolm asked, running up to her.

"Yeah," she nodded as Oliver jumped over the tubes to join them. "What about you?"

"Still pissed off," Malcolm admitted.

"At least neither of you are dead," Slade sighed as Oliver walked up. "That's something."

"No kidding," Oliver looked at Laurel. "Good to see you."

"You, too," Laurel smiled.

"Can I get a sitrep?" Dig called.

"Is everyone OK?" Felicity added.

Staggering footfalls came from the other direction, and Oliver turned to see Kara haul Rene out from the building, her grip on his collar tight. Dinah and Curtis were right behind her, both looking wary. Other than that, they all looked fine. "Yeah," Oliver answered. "We're good here."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Everyone turned when the elevator doors opened, only to see Kara shove Rene out, another very red mark on his face. J'onn's eyebrows shot up as Kara grumbled in Kryptonese as she stormed out, the rest of the team following. "How's Laurel?" he asked instead of how they were doing.

"She's fine," Dinah answered. "She's back with Quentin, sleeping it off."

"Any sign of Cayden James, Evelyn, or Talia?" Oliver asked.

"Nada," Felicity shook her head. "They're completely off the grid."

"I should have cuffed her," Kara sighed.

"She's the eldest daughter of Ra's al Ghul, she could get out of whatever cuffs you found," Malcolm shook his head. "Besides," he shot Rene a glare. "It wasn't your fault."

"But we got Laurel back," Curtis tried to smile. "That was the objective, right?"

"Right," Oliver scowled, turning to them. "You and Rene were supposed to be backup. Where'd you go?"

"We were looking for Laurel," Rene answered. "And from what I can tell, we found her."

"Moving off of your position," Oliver narrowed his eyes. "Was that your call or Curtis's?"

"It was Rene's," Kara answered before either man could open their mouth. "I heard him." When Rene looked at her incredulously, Kara rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, did you expect me to just turn off my superhearing when you suddenly weren't on comms?"

"They weren't?" Slade looked at them sharply.

"That explains a lot," Winn whispered.

"It was my call," Rene nodded. "And it turned out to be the right one."

"You got lucky, Rene," Oliver told him. "Doesn't make it the right call."

"Look, man, I know you're pissed at me," Rene walked forward, glaring at him. "And I don't care because you left us blind out there. And even if she wasn't a goody two shoes in the beginning, I wasn't gonna let Laurel die just because you didn't trust us enough to go off leash and look for her."

"When we are in the field, there is a clear chain of command," Oliver told him. "Plain and simple."

"I've been the same guy tonight that I've always been since you brought me onto this team!" Rene snapped.

"Rene, yes, that's true," Oliver nodded. "You have. Sometimes, you go your own way."

"That's right," Rene held his chin high.

"And I put up with it because I trusted you," Oliver finished.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You got a second chance tonight, my friend," Oliver answered. "And you broke our trust, again. You don't get a third. You're off the team."

"Just like that?" Rene frowned.

"Just like that," he nodded.

Rene clenched his jaw, looking like he wanted to argue, but when Kara walked towards Oliver to stand by him, he stepped back as Slade and Malcolm followed her, making it clear where they stood in the matter as well. He huffed and turned around. "It's been real, y'all."

They watched him go, then Dinah lifted her head. "Yeah, I hate to say it, but Oliver is right," she said. "We're a team. We need to . . . we need to trust each other, need to believe in each other." She walked forward, looked Oliver in the eye, and declared, "I don't believe in you anymore."

"Dinah," Dig began.

"Don't," she threw him a look. She looked back at Oliver and shook her head. "It's too late. I'm out, too."

Oliver just nodded, accepting her decision. She turned and walked after Rene, leaving the rest of the combined team standing in silence.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

She was standing in a parking garage later, waiting, when Vincent walked over to meet her. "Guess we should both be glad I didn't leave town like you said," he told her.

"Oh, thanks," Dinah scoffed. "That's really what I needed right now, an 'I told you so.'"

"You OK?" Vincent frowned. When she nodded slightly, he frowned deeper. "You don't look it."

"I don't really want to talk about it," she said stiffly.

"Then why'd you reach out?"

"Because I had no one else to call," she answered simply.

Vincent scoffed. "I'll try not to be insulted by that."

"I really needed someone who believed in me," Dinah elaborated, finally turning to look at him. "I needed a friend."

"Friends," Vincent nodded, walking closer. "I can do that."

Dinah finally managed a small smile, glad someone was there for her.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"Sunflowers!" Zoe cheered as Rene let her into his apartment. "My favorite!"

"Well, I wanted it to feel like home," Rene shrugged, smiling.

Zoe stopped, then turned to look at him. "I'm not gonna have to leave again, am I?"

"Hey," Rene put his hands on her shoulders. "I won't let anyone split us up ever again. I promise."

Zoe nodded, running into him and giving him a hug. Rene clung to her tightly, closing his eyes, relieved she was back with him where she belonged.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"I'm just gonna say this," Dig said after Slade and Malcolm had left to check in with Laurel. "I don't think there's anything that has been said or done that can't be undone."

"I don't think I agree, John," Felicity shook her head.

"I agree with Felicity," Oliver nodded. "We need to move forward."

"That's the best that can be done in this situation," J'onn nodded.

"I'm sorry, guys," Winn tried to smile from where he sat with the others from Earth-38. "This . . . sucks."

"Yeah, Winn, it does," Alex sighed, rubbing her forehead. "But would you want to work with someone who betrayed you?"

Winn silently shook his head. "I wouldn't," Lena tapped her fingers on the table. "And I'm a businesswoman."

"Sorry I'm late," Curtis said as he walked into the room. "Um, I think I probably might still be a little hungover."

"One hell of a hangover," James raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Curtis took a deep breath. "I've also been thinking about a few things. Oliver, you and Dinah were right. No trust, no team." He straightened his shoulders, looking around at everyone. "You all spied on me, invaded my privacy. Whether you couldn't trust me or not, it means that I can't trust you."

"Curtis, what's that supposed to mean?" Felicity's eyes widened.

"I'm still a part of Helix Dynamics, Felicity," Curtis assured her. "That's separate. But this?" he gestured around the bunker. "I'm done."

He didn't wait for Oliver's response. He just turned and walked out the way he came in. That left those remaining to look at each other. "Oliver?" Kara asked quietly.

He took a deep breath. "Like I said. We need to move forward."

"Oliver," Dig began.

"Cayden James knew that we sabotaged the amplifier last night," Oliver interrupted. "We need to find out how."

"I wish we could stay and help," J'onn looked up at him. "But we've been away from our Earth for long enough."

"Your help was more than appreciated," Oliver looked around as those around the table stood. "Thank you, for . . . " He sighed. "Everything."

"If you ever need an extra scream," Alex put her hands on his shoulders. "Just call, OK?"

"I will," Oliver nodded.

Alex hugged him tightly, and the others said their goodbyes as well. Oliver led Kara off to the side, and she sighed, looking up at him. "I am so sorry, Oliver," she whispered.

"I know you are, Kara," Oliver sighed. "But there's not much any of us can do now. We just need to – "

"Move forward," Kara finished with him, chuckling slightly and adjusting her glasses. "I know." She looked up at him, licking her lips. "You'll let me know if you ever need me, OK? Not just for William, but with the team. Just remember, you have more people looking out for you than you think you do."

"I promise," Oliver nodded.

"Also," Kara tilted her head. "The invites?"

"Sent," Oliver chuckled. "RSVP is to here, not you."

"OK," Kara nodded. "You take whatever time you need to get things settled. You'll need it."

"Thank you," Oliver sighed, lightly tugging her closer.

"You're welcome," Kara said softly, kissing him.

Oliver kissed her back. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," she responded, squeezing his hand. She took out her extrapolator, took a deep breath, and activated it. "Good luck," she told Dig and Felicity.

They simply nodded, and Kara walked through the breach, followed by Alex, J'onn, Winn, James, and Lena. Oliver watched the breach disappear, then looked at Dig and Felicity. "Get some rest," he told them. "We all need it."

"Are you gonna be OK?" Felicity asked worriedly.

Oliver sighed, turning to look at the mannequins on the wall, three of them now empty. "I'm gonna have to be."

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharpe_**

Evelyn watched Dig and Felicity leave the screen, then looked up when Talia walked up to where Cayden was standing with his righthand man. "When you had us raid their bunker and plant that minicam two months ago – "

"Is this the outcome I had in mind?" Cayden finished the question as the door off to the side opened. "Quite so, Ms. Al Ghul. Although, I must confess . . . things have worked out even better than I anticipated."

"Hardly impressive," Anatoli Knyazev scoffed as he entered. "Left to his own devices, Oliver Queen will always push away those closest to him."

"So we've got them fighting with each other instead of fighting us," Vincent Sobel nodded, coming up on Anatoli's other side.

Evelyn stiffened slightly as the last member of the group came on her other side. "Please tell me that isn't your whole master plan," Ricardo Diaz gave Cayden a long look.

"Oh, not at all, Mr. Diaz," Cayden assured him. "In fact, I think it fair to say that this . . . " He smirked. "Is only the beginning."

Evelyn looked down the line to see Talia smirk, then looked back at the camera again, seeing her former team leader still standing in front of the mannequins.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

In fact, Oliver was still standing there a half hour later. He didn't turn away when he heard the elevator chime. He still didn't turn when he heard footsteps approach.

He did, however, finally speak. "You don't have to do this."

"Maybe not," Laurel shook her head, stopping on his left. "But things just got personal now."

"Besides," Malcolm came on Oliver's other side. "Dead people don't have busy nights."

They dropped their duffels on the ground and zipped them open, revealing their suits inside as Slade stepped in between Oliver and Malcolm. "And brothers don't abandon each other when one needs the other," he told Oliver, adding his duffel to the others.

For the first time since the betrayal reveal, Oliver truly relaxed. "Dinah and I said no trust, no team."

"Well," Laurel smirked. "Better hope you trust us, then."

"We've got your back, Oliver," Malcolm promised.

"So let's save your city, kid," Slade finished.

Oliver smirked, looking up at his suit on the wall. Now the three on either side of his wouldn't be so empty anymore once his new team members put theirs up.

"We've got work to do."

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, it took a while to write this one. Hope you guys like the new Team Arrow line-up on Oliver's side!**

 **Concerning Evelyn . . . I'll have to see what happens in the rest of the season before I figure out what to do with her. Talia would . . . probably make her more mature because I don't know if she would have bothered training her otherwise, so she may come around. The good news is that with both Evelyn and Talia surviving, it's easy to make one go one way and the other go . . . well, the other way.**

 **So, that's one midseason finale down. Next up is "Reign!"**


	39. Supergirl - Reign - Part One

**And here comes the second midseason finale! This one was one of the best I've seen, even if it did end on that big of a cliffhanger. It was an amazing episode.**

 **Before I get into the story, I believe I have mentioned before that after I finish this episode, I will be putting this series on hiatus until the end of the current seasons. People have told me (sometimes in negative ways) that they think I stick too close to canon. That's true, I do - because that's exactly what this book is for. It's a fanfiction book following the current seasons, which means _of course_ it's going to follow canon closely. Not much happened in the first half of the seasons that I could seriously deviate from except for small changes here and there. Obviously, that is not the case for the back half of the seasons. I do not want to keep writing and catch up with the episodes, only to watch one later and see the writers pull something that I need to adapt to, and I can't because I've dug myself into a hole I can't get out of. So, after "Reign," this book and series will be on hold.**

 **That said, I will not stop writing SuperArrow fanfictions. On my profile, you guys can find a list of future works I'm going to write. I'll probably take a few days after I finish "Reign," and then I'll start on "The Daxam Four," which will be a crossover not just with Supergirl and Arrow, but also with the Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. It will be a completely original fic that goes very AU after Supergirl 2x17, "Distant Sun." You can probably guess based on the title what's gonna happen.**

 **Anyway, you didn't come here to hear me talk about me stopping my writing (or maybe you did, I don't know). On with the episode!**

 **Mon-El and Imra share a bit about the future, and it gets crowded at Casa de Danvers . . . like, _very_ crowded. _Extremely_ crowded.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Then**_

 _ **Samantha Arias**_

When Sam woke in the morning, she gasped and shot upright, finding herself tangled in her sheets. The last thing she remembered in her dream was searing red beams of light . . .

"Mom?" Ruby ran into the room, eyes wide.

Sam panted, looking up at her daughter. "Yeah," she swallowed, holding her forehead.

"I heard you scream," she said worriedly.

"I'm sorry," Sam sighed, closing her eyes. "Sorry, I had a bad dream."

"I thought you'd wake me up when you got back from your trip," Ruby told her.

Sam frowned, looking up at her. "What trip?"

"Where you went yesterday," Ruby answered.

"I didn't go on a trip, Ruby," Sam shook her head. "I'm here."

"You said you were going somewhere," Ruby insisted. "To get answers. That something wonderful was gonna happen."

"I said that?" Sam asked in confusion. When Ruby nodded, Sam sighed. "I don't know what . . . " She shook her head. "I'm tired. I've just been so tired. Come here," she held out her arms, and Ruby crawled onto the bed to hug her. "Hi. Hi."

"Hi," Ruby smiled, curling into her.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven." Sam blinked, surprised, turning to see her clock. "Yeah, you slept in."

"It can't be eleven," Sam looked at Ruby, completely serious. "Because it's pancake o' clock!" Ruby giggled as Sam tossed the covers off, standing up. "What do you want, chocolate chip or banana?"

"Both!" Ruby shouted, running after her.

* * *

 _ **Now ~**_ _ **5**_ _ **Days Before Christmas**_

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"It's a long story," Mon-El looked around the table.

"Well, seven years is a long time," Kara pointed out.

Mon-El conceded the point with a nod. "Strange as it may sound, the 31st century is actually not that different from today."

"What, better smartphones?" Winn asked curiously.

Imra blinked in confusion. "What's a phone?"

"'What's a phone?'" Winn repeated, grinning widely. "Oh, the future's _awesome!"_

"Well, technology has developed beyond imagining," Mon-El nodded. "But, at the end of the day, it's still in service of communicating with each other, and entertaining each other . . . and also killing each other. In this day, or in a thousand years, conflict is constant, but so is strength."

"And that's where we come in," Imra nodded.

"So what are you?" Alex tilted her head. "Soldiers?"

"The governments were overwhelmed by violence, by chaos," Imra answered. "Mon-El organized us, and we banded together to help Earth's leaders keep the peace, at home and in the stars. We call ourselves the Legion. And . . . " She smiled shyly at Kara. "We exist because of you."

Kara did a double take. "Because of me?" she repeated, pointing at herself.

Imra nodded in confirmation. "You inspired me," Mon-El nodded. "So, when I founded the Legion, I chose to use you as an example of what we could be, of what we aspire to be."

"When I learned about your life and work and your compassionate fight for justice and your devotion to protecting others, everything just crystallized," Imra smiled. "Your example gave my life purpose. I can't express how much it means for me to meet you in person."

Had Kara been meeting her ex-boyfriend's wife over four months ago, she would have been uncomfortable with the words. Now, she just gave a small smile and nodded back. "Thank you."

Alex smiled, patting Kara on the shoulder. She was proud of the steps Kara had taken to adjust to having Mon-El back in her life, even if it was just back at the D.E.O. She still tried to avoid him, and Imra at times, but she was slowly starting to relax. Of course, things had gotten more tense since Team Arrow had split, but at least she wasn't void of emotions around the two aliens from the future.

"So," Winn smiled. "A legion of superheroes. Ha!"

"Sounds formidable," J'onn remarked.

"Well, not nearly as formidable as another group from the past," Mon-El shook his head.

"Another group?" Alex blinked, surprised.

"Yes," Mon-El nodded. "I can't say much, because it clearly hasn't happened yet, but there was another . . . I wouldn't call it a legion."

"It wasn't known as a legion, at least," Imra shook her head.

"But it was composed of several heroes," Mon-El nodded. "Not all of them alien. In fact, most of them weren't aliens at all."

"Huh," Winn mused thoughtfully. "Sounds like Earth-X."

"Let's not go there," Kara winced.

"Sorry."

"But you said not nearly as formidable?" Alex turned back to them.

"No," Mon-El sighed. "The future has some bad things happening."

"Yeah," Imra agreed. "The darkness is spreading."

"What's that?" Kara asked in concern. "What do you mean?"

"Well, my team and I were on a mission," Mon-El began. "And, uh . . . we got into some trouble. Our ship got knocked into one of those disruptions."

"A wormhole?" J'onn asked.

"Yes," Mon-El confirmed.

"We crash landed back on Earth twelve thousand years ago," Imra explained.

"So you traveled back in time by accident?" Alex clarified.

"Which is exactly why we couldn't just go home," Mon-El nodded. "So we went into cryo-sleep and set the ship to wake us up when we returned to the 31st century. But then the torpedo hit the ship, and damaged the ship, and that's when I woke up. But do you think we can fix it?" he looked around. "Can you help us get home?"

"We'll do everything in our power to help," J'onn nodded. "But for now, settle in."

"You might be here for a while," Alex nodded.

Mon-El nodded back, and the three D.E.O. members walked off. Kara fidgeted slightly, playing with the ring on her finger, then Imra smiled at her. "If anyone can help us, it's you."

Kara blushed slightly at that. "Thanks," she nodded, then cleared her throat. "Uh, everyone's coming over to my apartment for a holiday party tonight. You guys are welcome to join, if you like."

Imra's eyes widened in surprise, but Mon-El cleared his throat. "Thanks. We, uh . . . we need to work on the repairs."

"Yeah, that's fine," Kara nodded quickly, aware of Alex and Winn looking over. "That's – yeah."

She left to join them, blowing out her breath. "Just a holiday party?" Alex asked in amusement.

"It would have been slightly more awkward if I said it was a more holiday slash lowkey engagement party," Kara muttered.

"I'm guessing lowkey means not being the center of attention as the mayor's fiancée," Winn snickered.

"Shut up," Kara sighed, then pulled out her phone when it beeped. She opened the text she received, and her eyes lit up when she saw it: _All RSVP'd yes._ "Yes," she fist pumped slightly.

"What?" Alex frowned.

"RSVPs came in," Kara grinned, looking up. "Get your tech brain in gear and your badass mission stories ready. It's going to be a crowded night."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Now _this_ is a holiday party," Thea grinned as she and Winn brought out the champagne.

"Is the place gonna be big enough?" Quentin asked, looking around Kara's admittedly large apartment.

"Well, it handled the last party just fine," Alex shrugged as she and William put the last few ornaments on Kara's tree, Oliver and James placing present underneath.

"Yeah, except the last party didn't have people that could clear the entire appetizers table," Dig pointed out.

"Or all the booze," James added as Lena and Malcolm arranged the alcohol bottles on the counter.

"What?" J'onn blinked.

Everyone who had been at the rehearsal dinner all either said "Mick" or "Rory" at the same time. "Yeah, that was entertaining," James rolled his eyes.

"Ohhhh, that smells good," Winn inhaled deeply as Kara pulled the last tray of ham out of the oven.

"Thanks," Kara smiled. "And the cookies?"

"Done," Felicity gave two thumbs up, stepping away from the sugar cookies.

"OK," Kara rubbed her hands together. "Now I just need to think of what to tell Sam and Ruby when they get here and find out – "

"Everyone in this room has some connection to vigilantism?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly."

"Have fun," Laurel snickered.

There was a rapid knock on the door, and Kara cheated by lowering her glasses to see who was on the other side. "Hey!" Alex pointed at her. "Cheater!"

Kara just grinned and raced to the door. As soon as she opened it, Iris pointed at her. "Let me see!"

Kara just squealed and held up her left hand, revealing her engagement ring. Iris mimicked the squeal, hugging her tightly. "And here we all thought – " Barry began.

"We were gonna elope?" Oliver rolled his eyes, but he was grinning as he walked over to say hello. "We've been getting that a lot."

"Congrats, man," Barry grinned, giving him a hug.

"Thanks, Barry."

"Yeah, congrats," Cisco agreed as he, Caitlin, and Harry followed Barry and Iris into the room. "Saw the security footage."

"You hacked the proposal?" Oliver blinked, surprised.

"Only after your sister completely fangirled when she texted Iris," Harry snorted.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Malcolm laughed.

"Hey, I was excited, OK?" Thea defended herself.

"Suddenly I'm glad I wasn't on the receiving end," a familiar voice said, and Kara brightened when Sara sauntered through the door, her team behind her. "That must have gone on for hours."

"Seemed like it," Harry shrugged.

"Congratulations, you two," Sara smiled, holding out her arms. "Bring it in."

"Thanks, Sara," Oliver smiled, hugging the assassin.

"Ooo, new Earth," Ray looked around curiously. "It's nice here."

"Thanks Ray!" Kara beamed, hugging him after she hugged Sara.

"How's retirement, Professor?" Lena asked, walking over.

"Quite well, Lena," Stein smiled, giving her a hug. "But my work with Firestorm is still not finished."

"Nope, got the best mentor ever," Jax grinned.

"OK, it _is_ a bit crowded," James frowned, looking around.

"Hey, the more the merrier," Nate smirked.

"Keep telling yourself that, Pretty," Mick grunted.

Slade snorted into his glass, making Malcolm laugh. "Well, guys, welcome to Earth-38," Kara grinned, holding out her arms. "And happy holidays!"

"Let's party!" Thea whooped.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Wow," Lily blinked as Kara finished with the eggnog. "That is a lot of alcohol."

"Oh, yes," Kara nodded.

"Can't be as much as Grandma Esther's," Barry denied.

Curious, Iris took a cautious drink, then started coughing. "Wow," she covered her mouth as Kara and Alex laughed. "That's . . . wow."

"Exactly what I said," Lily nodded.

"OK, guys!" Kara called. "Come and get your eggnog!"

"Highly potent, intoxicating deliciousness," Alex confirmed.

"I heard intoxicating," Sara walked over with a wide grin.

"That would be Sara Lance," Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Just keep it away from Mick, he'll take it all," Sara smirked.

"Hey, where's the rest of the team?" Barry looked around.

Oliver tensed. "Let's not go there."

"Did something happen?" Sara asked in concern.

"Oh, something happened," Kara said darkly. "Rene outed Oliver, that's what happened."

"What?" Sara did a double take.

"You're kidding!" Barry's eyes widened.

"Because we would lie about the prosecution's secret weapon in my case," Oliver gave him a look.

"Man, that sucks," Barry sighed.

"Just a bit," Oliver sighed.

"OK, we don't need Rene or wherever Dinah and Curtis are," Sara told them firmly. "We are here to have a good time, and that's what we're going to do."

"Agreed," Kara nodded. "And thank you guys for coming."

"Of course," Barry smiled. "Like we would miss this."

* * *

 ** _Ray Palmer/John Diggle_**

"Whoa," Nate smacked his lips as he, Ray, and Amaya finished their first bit of eggnog. "That's got some alcohol in it."

"Danvers' famous eggnog," James chuckled in amusement. "What do you think?"

"I think Mick might drink it all," Amaya answered, making a face.

"I kind of want more," Nate turned back to look.

"So, any horrible things happen to the timeline?" Caitlin asked.

"Why do you assume something horrible happened?" Ray smiled nervously.

"Christmas became Beebo Day," Zari deadpanned as she walked up, already on her third sugar cookie.

Laurel choked on her wine. _"Beebo Day?"_ Quentin repeated incredulously as Malcolm clapped Laurel on the back, the metahuman still coughing. "As in that stupid blue doll that really likes cuddles?"

"Yep," Nate nodded. "That Beebo."

"Then it was Odin Day," Zari continued. "And then Sara went on a date that involved exorcising someone. Meanwhile, some of us dueled the Wicked Witch of the Water Totem, Leo went back to Earth-X, and when we came to let Jax and Lily spend time with her dad, we found out Mr. and Ms. Perfect over there got engaged and invited us to the party."

She got several stares. "Actually, that's a pretty accurate summary," Ray admitted. "Nice one, Z."

"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around Beebo Day," Caitlin shook her head.

"Yeah," Nate nodded. "Welcome to our lives."

"God, when did this become our lives?" Dig grumbled.

"Still blaming Barry?" Caitlin raised an eyebrow.

"Until Barry, the strangest thing I ever saw was mirakuru." He paused, then closed his eyes. "No offense, Slade."

"None taken," Slade smirked from where he was behind the man.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena shook her head as Mick went for yet another beer, then smiled politely when Harry walked up. "Figured you'd want the scotch," he held out a glass.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Because you've got a look on your face saying you need some of the good stuff," Harry answered, leaning against the wall. "And since I'm guessing you paid for all of the expensive alcohol in the room, it's probably good stuff."

"Accurate," Lena acknowledged, tipping her glass his way and taking a sip. "What makes you think I need it?"

"Because you look like you need a drink," Harry shrugged. "So what happened?"

Lena sighed. "Well, I'm keeping in mind that, in a way, it's my mother's fault that Oliver and Kara got together in the first place."

"Right, Project Cadmus," Harry nodded.

"Yeah, and she was my mother, so that stings just a bit."

"You were adopted, though."

"She was a Luthor, as am I," Lena said bitterly. "And did you hear about Project Cadmus on Earth-X?"

"Of course they had one there," Harry rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. Your mother did something to Overgirl, too?"

"No," Lena shook her head. "It was me."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You led Project Cadmus on Earth-X?"

"Yeah," Lena nodded. "On Earth-X, I had a part in getting my Nazi best friend killed."

"But she wasn't you."

"She probably looked like me."

"Well, Eobard Thawne looked like me, too," Harry pointed out. "Had my face and everything. Took it after he killed Barry's mother, wore it when the particle accelerator went off. Had it when he became an SS general, had it when he tried to cut Danvers open, had it when he nearly put a hand through Smoak's heart. He still wasn't me, though. Just like Earth-X Lena Luthor isn't you."

Lena looked long and hard at Harry before chuckling. "Congratulations, Dr. Wells. You managed to cheer me up."

"Well, you don't seem the type to be a Grinch," Harry shrugged, holding out his glass. "Happy holidays."

"Amen, hallelujah," Lena smiled, clinking her glass against his.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/J'onn J'onzz_**

"For real?" Cisco groaned.

"Seriously?" Felicity asked at the same time.

"Dude, I do not understand your obsession," Winn nodded in agreement.

"It is _the_ greatest Christmas song of all time!" J'onn protested.

"It _is_ a good one," Jax admitted.

"Yeah, but four times already?" Cisco gave him a look. "For real?"

"Hey, none of us complained at the party on the _Waverider!"_

"If my father learns nothing else this holiday season, he will learn about Hall and Oates," J'onn scowled. "Put it on."

Winn sighed, then tapped the song on his tablet. As "Jingle Bell Rock" started up again, groans came from everywhere around the apartment. "Again?" William complained.

"Seriously?" Mick glared.

"Dude, come on!" James scowled.

"J'onn's fault," Felicity pointed at him.

"Yeah, take it up with Papa Bear," Winn nodded.

J'onn just laughed, walking over to where M'yrnn was cradling a mug in his hands. "J'onn, I do not know why you introduced me to coffee first," he smiled. "This brown water is vastly superior."

"Ah, the wonders of hot cocoa," Stein smiled. "It is indeed a treat."

"Yeah, I don't take advantage of hot cocoa enough," J'onn agreed.

"I enjoy Christmas," M'yrnn decided as Lily walked over to join them. "What a wonderful way to close your year. Paying homage to an evergreen creature."

"What?" Lily blinked, only for Stein to shake his head.

"It so reminds me of Life Day," M'yrnn sighed.

"Life Day?" Lily repeated.

"Excuse me," Winn poked his head in, followed by the three others. "Hi. Life Day? As in the Star Wars Holiday Special? It was on CBS." M'yrnn just raised an eyebrow. "Princess Leia, like, sang a song?" He threw a hand up in the air. "You have no idea what I'm talking about."

"Do you even know what Star Wars is?" Felicity asked curiously.

"Do _you_ know what Star Wars is?" Cisco asked J'onn.

"Excuse me?" J'onn scowled, offended. _"The Empire Strikes Back_ is the best movie sequel of all time."

"Man," Cisco grinned. "Respect!"

"I just love you more and more each day," Winn grinned as well.

M'yrnn just looked confused. "What's a sequel?"

That even made the Steins and Jax look at him incredulously.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Alex Danvers_**

"You know, it's good to not be at a party where I'm getting hounded by politicians," Oliver grimaced.

"Nope," Kara shook her head. "It doesn't suck."

"Definitely not," Alex agreed. "And you were right about selling this as a holiday party, not an engagement one."

"Hmm?" Barry blinked. "I thought this was both."

"Yeah, well," Kara grimaced. "That would have been awkward to tell my ex . . . who is married."

"Any trouble?" Oliver looked between Kara and Alex.

"No, no trouble," Kara shook her head. "It's been getting better. Everything that happened when we found their ship was just . . . way too overwhelming. I still would have been upset with him – "

"Considering he didn't tell you for a day he was married," Alex chimed in.

"He didn't do what now?" Sara's eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah, that happened."

" _But,"_ Kara gave her sister a look, "it doesn't mean I need to act like . . . well, like Overgirl."

"Fair enough," Alex nodded.

"What about you, Danvers?" Sara tilted her head. "You doing OK?"

"Well," Alex blew out her breath. "Christmas without Maggie . . . that's not my favorite thing, but I am not wallowing."

"Good for you," Sara smiled.

There was a knock on the door, and Kara grinned. "That'll be the last of the guests!"

"Guess that means superhero talk is over," Barry remarked.

"I'll get it," Alex smiled, walking towards the door.

"Hey, William!" Oliver turned around, and his son poked his head up over the couch where he was chatting with Thea. "I think the Arias ladies just arrived!"

"They did?" William brightened.

Alex opened the door and smiled when she saw Ruby standing there, bundled up in a wool coat and earmuffs. "Hey," she smiled, then frowned. "Is everything OK? Where's your mom?"

"Sorry!" Sam shouted, and she ran down the hall, panting, arms full of gifts and bags. "I'm late, I know. It's been a really long day, but I got the cookies."

"No worries," Alex chuckled, holding the door wide open. "Come in."

"Oh, hey," Nate left his glass on the counter, hurrying over. "Let me help."

"Thanks," Sam smiled in relief, then paused. "Wow, there are a lot of people here."

"This was the date that worked," Kara smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sam."

"It's fine," Sam shook her head. "Good to see a bunch of people care. Sam Arias," she added to Nate.

"Nate Heywood," he smiled, taking the presents from her. "Nice to meet you."

"Anyway," Sam turned around. "Christmas shopping, conference call with some very unpleasant men who were yelling at me in German – "

"I hate Krauts," Mick grumbled.

Amaya elbowed him in the ribs in reply. " – and then Ruby told me about the cookies I'd forgot, the Italian bakery that I really liked, it was closed, so, you know . . . " She held up the grocery store cookies. "You get these."

"OK," Alex laughed as Sam set down the cookies. "Sounds like somebody needs to take a break, and maybe have a drink or two."

"Yeah," Sam sighed in relief.

"Want some good stuff?" Laurel asked, walking over.

"Yeah," Sam laughed. "Thanks."

"Hey, Ruby," William waved.

"Hey," Ruby waved back.

Alex put a hand on Ruby's shoulder and leaned down conspiratorially. "Did I ever tell you that I work with Supergirl sometimes?"

Ruby perked up. "OK, I have four questions."

It made Iris giggle as Alex led her over to the couch, where Jax and the Steins joined them. "So," Sam pushed her hair behind her ear nervously as Kara and Oliver walked over. "First off, congratulations. Again."

"Thank you," Kara smiled, giving her friend a hug.

"And second," Sam bit her lip. "I know no one else."

"Well," Kara held out a hand to Barry. "Barry is the one who introduced Oliver and I to each other."

The speedster mocked a bow. "You're welcome."

That got a laugh from the businesswoman, who started to relax. "Sam Arias, meet Barry Allen," Oliver rolled his eyes. "The annoying little brother I didn't know I had."

"Thanks, Ollie," Barry rolled his eyes, but smiled as he shook Sam's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"And this is Sara Lance," Kara gestured to the blonde time traveler. "If anyone here seems to be a misfit, they're with her."

"What can I say?" Sara smiled charmingly. "We're all wonderfully screwed up in some way."

"Feeling the love, Sara," Nate snorted. "Really feeling the love."

"You get used to them," Kara giggled.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"OK," Ruby shifted excitedly. "One: has Supergirl ever flown you anywhere? And two, if so, how was it? And three – "

"Yes," Alex laughed. "Yes, yes, she has flown me. Several times. And actually," she grinned, "last year, she caught me when I jumped out of a skyscraper during a shootout."

"During a _shootout?"_ Stein's eyes widened.

"Awesome!" William grinned.

"OK, I have more questions," Ruby grinned eagerly.

"Me, too," Jax admitted. "Girl, you really are a badass."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Hey," Lena walked up to join Kara and Sam.

"Hey," Sam smiled back.

"Are you OK?" Lena asked in concern. "I mean, you look a little pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam nodded, pouring herself a glass of scotch. "I'm just tired. Not enough hours, I guess."

"Yeah, I get that," Lena said sympathetically.

Peals of laughter came from over by the Christmas tree, and the trio looked over to see Cisco and Harry were in the middle of an argument, with Winn, James, and Felicity laughing hard. Lena smiled slightly, shaking her head, and Kara grinned. "What, you wanna get over there and join in?"

"Ah, no thank you," Lena shook her head, a slight blush in her cheeks.

"OK," Sam looked at Kara. "Which one is it?"

"Kara, I swear to God," Lena began.

"Oh, you know, just another genius CEO," Kara smirked. "She needs someone as brilliant as her."

"Of course," Sam nodded in agreement.

"No," Lena violently shook her head, but she was still blushing slightly. "That is never gonna happen."

"I would love to see you tell Winn that," Kara grinned.

"Pink cheeks," Sam pointed. "That means something."

"OK, I'm gonna have to kill both of you, all right?" Lena raised an eyebrow. "But then I wouldn't have either of my best friends, so that wouldn't work. So, I'm just gonna have some more scotch."

"Which Harry got for you," Kara mumbled into her glass.

Lena choked, coughing, then glared at her. "Kara Danvers!"

Sam laughed, and Kara smiled. "You know, some parts of this year have been really tough for me, but I did get some really great things out of it."

"A fiancé," Sam grinned.

"Oh, that's the best thing I got for sure," Kara nodded in agreement. "I got some overprotective brothers and another sister . . . and I got the two of you guys."

"Aw," Sam smiled.

"I am not wearing waterproof mascara," Lena warned Kara.

"Well, I gained several things this year," Kara smiled. "Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, Laurel, everyone from Star City, and I've always had my sister, but I've never had anyone like the two of you."

Sam sniffed. "OK, now you're gonna make _me_ cry."

"Oh, no!" Kara giggled.

Lena smiled fondly. "I am very grateful for both of you."

"Me, too," Sam nodded in agreement, reaching for Kara. "I love you guys."

Kara smiled, hugging her back. "Love you, too, Sam."

A clinging of metal on glass got their attention. "OK, time for me to gloat!" Barry called.

"Oh, God," Oliver rolled his eyes as everyone laughed.

Kara bounded over, beaming up at him, and Oliver smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist as everyone else circled around. "So, I had two very different experiences when I first met each of them," Barry looked around. "Oliver completely terrified me, and I thought Kara was absolutely adorable."

"That's them in a nutshell," Sara grinned.

"Thanks, Sara," Oliver huffed as Kara blushed.

"They didn't get along when they first met, believe it or not," Barry added to Sam and Ruby. "They couldn't be more different. And to be completely cheesy," he turned to his friends. "It looks like opposites attracted." Kara giggled, and Oliver smiled as Barry continued. "I don't know how I was so oblivious to what was right in front of me, but you two care so much about the people you love, I would call it unmatched. It's fitting that you found each other. You have been through so much, whether it was in Central City or Star City or here. You have been through hell for each other, and you have come out stronger together." Kara smiled warmly at the words of the House of El, feeling tears in her eyes, and Barry smiled softly at her. "You two deserve each other. You deserve to have your lives happy, and full. And if I know the two of you, because I think I do, that's absolutely going to happen." He raised his glass to them, smiling widely. "To Oliver and Kara."

"To Oliver and Kara!" everyone else cheered.

Oliver kissed Kara, making Sara wolf whistle, earning her a smack on the back of the head from both Laurel and Alex. As the blonde assassin whipped around to start complaining, Barry walked over to his friends. "And I promise I have said nothing to the FBI," he told Oliver cheekily.

"Thank you, Barry," Oliver smiled, touched.

"You're absolutely welcome," Barry grinned, hugging him.

"Thank you so much," Kara hugged him as well.

"Kara." She tensed slightly and turned around to see J'onn walk up, a concerned look on his face. "I really hate doing this again . . . but I just had a call. We gotta go."

All three heroes groaned. "OK," Kara nodded, sighing.

"I'm really sorry, but it sounds important," J'onn looked between Kara and Oliver apologetically.

"It's fine," Oliver shook his head, pursing his lips. "It's part of our job."

Kara paused before she followed J'onn, then hurried over to where the Legends were speaking. "Hey, Ray," she tapped him on the shoulder. "Can I borrow you for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure," he nodded.

"OK," Kara turned around, then hurried over to the couch. "Hey, Professor Stein, can I borrow Jax and Lily?"

"Well, of course," Stein blinked. "As long as they're all right with it."

"Yeah," Lily nodded.

"Sure," Jax stood up with her.

"What's up?" Ray asked.

Kara looked between them. "Any of you want to be the first newbies here to see National City?"

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Jefferson Jackson/Ray Palmer**_

"I'm sorry, Supergirl," Vasquez told Kara apologetically as Kara and J'onn walked up to the D.E.O. agents, Ray suited up as the Atom and Jax and Lily merged as Firestorm behind them. "I know tonight was a big night."

"What happened?" Kara asked.

"Looks like someone took a flamethrower to large swaths of the property," Vasquez answered.

"It wasn't us," Jax held up his hands.

"Any chance it was a brush fire?" J'onn asked.

"I don't think so," Vasquez shook her head, leading them further out.

"But why call us for arson after the fact?" Kara asked, looking around. "The fire's already out."

Vasquez sighed. "There's something you should see."

"Where?"

Vasquez just pointed up. "Bird's-eye view."

Kara looked between Ray and Jax. "Shall we?"

"After you," Ray nodded.

Kara leapt into the sky, Ray flying after her, Jax propelling himself up. They flew high above the ground and turned to see what happened to the field.

"What the hell?" Jax's eyes widened.

" _What the hell is that?"_ Lily asked in Jax's head.

Kara swallowed, looking down upon the diamond shield burned into the field, a skull-like shape in the center of it. The shape was just like the crest of House El on Kara's suit. "Kara?" Ray asked quietly. "What does it mean?"

Kara shook her head, stunned. "I don't know."

* * *

 **A/N: Because what better way to get the Legends to finally see Earth-38 other than an engagement party? Hopefully I've written everyone correctly, and I hope it doesn't seem too crowded, because everyone's gonna be sticking around for quite a while!**

 **Next part should hopefully be written tomorrow!**


	40. Reign - Part Two

**Heroes join forces, Lena does her own investigating, and Kara meets back up with a familiar face. Also, Imra was adorable in this episode. Just saying.**

* * *

 _ **Sara Lance/Oliver Queen**_

Amaya straightened from where she was leaning on the balcony railing, running back down into the D.E.O. "They're back!" she called.

"Good," Sara sighed.

But Kara swooped right over their heads, going deeper into the D.E.O. "Whoa!" Cisco swerved to avoid her, watching with wide eyes. "OK, the last time she did that, Samantha died."

"Oh, I hope someone didn't die," Felicity winced.

Ray and Firestorm flew in next, and the moment they hit the ground, Firestorm separated into Jax and Lily. "Please tell us no one died," Dig looked over, completely serious.

"No," Ray shook his head, pulling off his helmet. "But there's a bigger problem."

"What could be a bigger problem than someone dying?" Iris frowned.

"That field we were called to?" Jax folded his arms. "Someone burned what looked like a Kryptonian symbol in the grass."

There was stunned silence from everyone. "OK, that's probably a bigger problem," Iris admitted.

"I thought Skirt and her cousin were the only ones left," Mick scowled.

"Guess not," Malcolm sighed.

"Did Kara recognize it?" Oliver asked.

"No," Ray shook his head. "But it was a diamond shield, just like hers."

Felicity looked down at her tablet when it beeped. "It just came in," she tapped it, then blinked. "Oh . . . yikes."

"That was about our reactions," Lily sighed.

"Whoa," Nate's eyes widened when he saw the symbol as Felicity flipped her tablet around. "That's . . . OK, yeah, this can't be good."

Barry sighed. "I'll run back to S.T.A.R. Labs and get my suit."

"Wait, what?" Felicity looked up, surprised.

"Guys, you don't have to stay," Oliver began.

"Kara was worried by that symbol," Ray shook his head. "If she was worried, this can't be good."

"And if it _is_ Kryptonian, we all know how hard it is to take one down," Jax pointed out. "I'm inclined to stay. That's if the captain is OK with it."

"Anyone opposed?" Sara turned to look at the Legends. When no one did, Sara turned around. "Then we'll go back to Earth-1 and grab our gear. We'll help."

"Well, I've got to get back to Star City," Quentin said. "Wish I could help, but someone's got to be in the office."

"Thank you for coming," Oliver told him sincerely.

"Of course," Quentin nodded. "Let me know how things turn out."

"Will do."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara looked at the symbol on a tablet of her own, frowning. "I've seen this before," she said. "When I was a kid on a field trip to the ruins of old Krypton." She looked up at the hologram in front of her. "What does it mean?"

"The symbols predate recorded history," the hologram of Alura Zor-El answered. "The glyphs are known as Low Speech and used in Urrika, the Kryptonian continent where life began."

"And the people who used them?"

"The Juru were matriarchal, tribal, polytheistic. Over time, their sun god became known as Rao. The tribes began to worship Him alone, and modern Krypton was born."

"So, then the Book of Rao must have something that can help," Kara said.

"There is nothing in the book," Alura said. "The ruling council destroyed much of Krypton's so-called superstitions."

Kara blinked. "But if someone's trying to send me a message through this, I have to know what it means! This feels important!"

"I represent the total accumulation of knowledge on the twenty-eight known galaxies," Alura said. "If I cannot translate it, the translation may not exist."

Kara sighed in frustration, turning the tablet off.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

" _These ominous symbols have appeared around the city overnight and the NCPD currently has no information on the source,"_ the news was saying, and Lena shook her head bitterly as she watched. _"With the city still reeling from the Daxamite invasion, these mysterious symbols are causing tensions to run high."_

"OK, guys," James turned around in his office. "I know it's almost Christmas, but we have some breaking news. We gotta pull some people in. We need eyewitness accounts. We need coverage on the City Council's press conference. Crime, I need you to talk to NCPD, figure out if they've initiated any lockdown procedures on federal buildings. OK? Guys, we need in formation. And we also need to decide how to frame this story so that we don't incite further panic. Let's get these stories into copy by noon. Thanks, guys."

"Nice place," a voice behind Lena said.

She jumped, startled, and turned around to see Iris and Harry walk in. "Hey," she smiled. "Uh, I just bought CatCo this year."

"It's still nice," Iris looked around. "Then again, it's headquarters for a media empire."

"Working on figuring out that symbol?" Harry guessed.

"I've been thinking about it," Lena admitted.

"Well, we just came back from the D.E.O.," Iris said, lowering her voice. "We think it's Kryptonian."

"You're certain?" Lena asked, surprised.

"It's shaped like Kara's," Iris pointed out.

"You think it's something else?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Kryptonian could make sense," Lena looked back up at one of the TVs broadcasting the symbol. "But the first appearance of this symbol was on L-Corp property."

"You think it may be a personal attack?" Harry frowned.

"Kryptonian seems like a better idea," Iris admitted.

"It would be a Kryptonian symbol," Lena nodded. "But maybe it's not a Kryptonian making the symbol?"

"A frame-up?" Harry tilted his head. "It's not the craziest thing."

"OK, but who would want to frame a Kryptonian as part of a personal attack on you?" Iris frowned.

"Easy," Lena folded her arms. "Morgan Edge."

"Who's he?" Harry frowned.

"Tried to buy CatCo originally to make the media swing to his side, and after I bought it instead, he put chemicals in a swimming pool so that when children used it, they became sick with symptoms similar to lead poisoning."

"The Daxamite lead bomb," Iris realized, eyes wide. "He did that?!"

Lena nodded grimly. "Bastard," Harry summed up in one word.

"He has a vendetta against me, and believe me, he will go to any lengths," Lena told them. "Plus, he's the only man who has the tech and the resources to pull something like this off."

"And that's if it wasn't a rogue Kryptonian," Harry reminded her.

"Then let's go ask him," Iris shrugged.

"Yeah, because he's just going to willingly give up that information."

"I was gonna go on my own," Lena told them.

"Not a chance," both said at the same time.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"You can't just barge in!" Edge's secretary shouted as Lena led Harry and Iris into Edge's office. "Mr. Edge is a very busy person!"

Edge looked up from his desk, watching the three walk in. "Lena," he said in surprise. "Didn't recognize you without a .38 in your hand."

"A what?" Iris looked at Lena in surprise.

"Maybe I should hit you over the back of the head and put you on a drone headed for the reservoir," Lena retorted.

"He did what?" Harry blinked.

"Allegedly," Edge frowned. "Come on. I assume this visit is still off the record, though."

Lena just pulled up a picture on her phone. "Morgan, what is this?" she held it up, showing him the symbol.

"I don't know," Edge walked around his desk to take a closer look. "It looks weird. What, are you rebranding? I mean, hey, it worked for Prince, right?"

"Are you behind this?" Lena snapped as he chuckled. "More fearmongering, more of the same? I'm not surprised if you are, you're so predictable."

"Lena, Lena, Lena," Edge looked at her incredulously. "Come on, it's Christmas! Where's your Christmas spirit? It's my favorite time of the year!" He walked past them to pick up a few rolls of paper. "The only fires I'm lighting are the ones I'm gonna roast chestnuts over." He walked back in front of Lena, glaring at her. "And if you think I had anything to do with going after you, which you sure as hell can't prove, my line of attack would be much, _much_ more effective."

"Did he just threaten her right in front of us?" Iris looked at Harry.

"Sounds like it," Harry agreed.

"Careful, Morgan," Lena smirked. "You might get another visit from the vigilantes."

"Haven't been seen around lately, though," Edge countered. "Besides, they seem more like Supergirl's personal attack dogs than yours." All three scowled at the man describing Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel as Kara's attack dogs. "Besides, looks like you brought backup of your own. Did you think I was going to go after you in my own office?"

"We're just a neutral party," Harry shook his head.

"Really?" Edge raised an eyebrow. "I'm getting the feeling where the neutral side is swaying considering where the two of you are standing."

"You get feelings?" Harry countered without skipping a beat, making Iris grin widely.

Edge just scowled. "I, for one, have work to do, so if you wouldn't mind, it's time to go." Lena spun on her heel at once and headed for the door, Iris and Harry giving Edge glares before heading after her. "Oh, hey, come on, look," Edge stopped them, making them turn around. "Hold up. What am I thinking? Where's my manners?" He put the rolls of paper down and headed for the tree in his office. "Little parting gifts." He bent down and picked up three mugs filled with Christmas goodies, walking over. "Company present. I like to spread the cheer."

All three raised eyebrows. "Bah humbug," Harry deadpanned.

None of them took the presents as they left.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"OK, so your mother doesn't know what the symbol means," Barry told Kara as they, Oliver, Sara, Winn, Ray, Nate, and Cisco entered the alien bar. "How would anyone here know?"

"Even if it _is_ a super cool alien bar?" Nate looked around.

"Someone is burning a Kryptonian symbol everywhere, so someone out there must know who it is," Kara answered.

"Kara! Winn! Oliver!"

" _Barry? Cisco?"_

Three of the five people mentioned froze and the other two whipped around in surprise. "Oh, great," Oliver closed his eyes. "Of course they're here."

Kara put an uneasy smile on her face and turned to see Imra beaming at them and Mon-El looking in surprise at Barry and Cisco. "Yeah, they are."

"Uh," Nate frowned. "Who – ?"

"This is the ex who waited a day to tell you he was married?" Sara looked at Kara.

"Yes," she winced.

"Ouch," Ray frowned.

"So you want me to provide a distraction?" Winn asked, looking between Kara and Oliver.

"No need," Kara shook her head. "Don't be silly."

"Maybe," Oliver cleared his throat.

"Hey, guys," Kara walked over. "Oh, uh, Imra, you've – "

She gestured to the corner of her mouth, and Imra blinked, setting down one of her chicken wings and reached up to rub the spot of sauce on the side of her mouth. "Here?"

"No, no," Kara shook her head. "It's – "

"It's all right, I got it," Mon-El took a napkin, wiping it off for her.

"Thanks," Imra smiled.

"Good to see you again, Barry," Mon-El smiled at the speedster. "You, too, Cisco."

"Yeah," he nodded. "When Kara came for Iris's bachelorette party, I heard you were gone."

"Like, for good," Cisco added.

"Time travel," Mon-El said simply.

"As long as you didn't screw anything up," Sara smiled tightly.

"OK, how many times do I have to apologize?" Barry huffed.

"Oh, no, that was us," Ray shook his head. "We broke time."

"But sometimes, we screw things up for the better," Nate nodded.

"Rip seemed surprised that was our motto," Sara tilted her head.

"Well, to be fair, we just came up with it."

Mon-El and Imra stared blankly at the three. "Uh . . . "

"Mon-El, Imra, meet Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, and Nate Heywood," Kara smiled. "They're from Earth-1, too."

"I think I kind of remember those names," Mon-El nodded slowly. "She called you the Legends?"

"That's us," Sara nodded. "Never heard much about you, though."

"OK, topic change, please," Oliver cleared his throat.

"Yeah, so, you settling in?" Kara asked, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded. "You know, Imra wanted to see what the times were like, so . . . "

"Everyone's been very kind so far," Imra smiled. "It's fascinating to see Earth this far back."

"Where are you guys from?" Ray asked curiously.

"31st century," Mon-El answered.

"Oh, man," Nate grinned. "So this must be like medieval times for you guys."

"You eat things with your hands," Imra giggled. "So fun! Oh, Mon-El tells me there's a place in town where you can eat all the ribs you want."

"Is there?" Barry perked up.

"Yeah, we'll go before you guys leave," Kara grinned. "We should totally race!"

"Oh, I'm in!" Barry held up his hand for a high five.

"Money's on Barry," Cisco grinned as Kara high fived him.

"Mine's on Kara," Winn countered.

"Kind of obvious who mine's on," Oliver smirked, pointing out his ring on Kara's hand.

"That's no fair," Cisco whined.

"I would love to try it," Imra smiled. "What did you call it? 'Food until you're full?'"

"I _like_ that," Barry grinned. "And kind of true."

"Very close," Mon-El laughed. "It's 'all you can eat.'"

"OK," Imra nodded, smiling.

The two groups nodded, then Winn cleared his throat and looked at Imra. "Have you had beer year?"

"Does it go with ribs?" Imra tilted her head.

"Does it go with ribs?" Sara repeated, grinning. "Whatcha got, Winn?"

"Come on," Winn jumped up from his seat, and Sara and Imra followed him. "Come on!

"Uh, so we should ask around," Cisco held up his phone with the symbol.

"Right, we'll do that," Ray nodded, standing up.

Barry and Nate all but ran after them, leaving Kara and Oliver with Mon-El. "They're not very subtle, are they?" Mon-El asked.

"Definitely not," Oliver agreed, shaking his head.

Mon-El sighed, looking down at the remnants of chicken wings. "Look, um . . . I need to apologize. The way I acted after I woke up . . . there's no excuse. I was confused, worried, but that's no excuse for hurting you," he looked up at Kara, who blinked, surprised. "I should have given you your necklace back. I shouldn't have waited to tell you about me and Imra. And I'm happy you were able to live your life after what happened to me. I just . . . " He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I guess, in a way, I thought things wouldn't have changed that much after seven months."

"Seven months is a much shorter time than seven years," Kara pointed out. "But, thank you. Sorry for whatever Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel did to you."

"They probably aren't," Oliver snorted with a grin.

"I think my ears are still ringing," Mon-El tilted his head from side to side.

"It's awful being on the receiving end," Oliver nodded. "Look, you're not my favorite guy right now – "

"I completely understand," Mon-El winced.

"But after what happened with the rest of my team, you're not at the bottom of the list, either," Oliver finished. "Just don't hurt Kara again."

"You got it," Mon-El nodded.

"Good," Oliver nodded. "Now, switching topics again . . . Kara mentioned your ship needs fixing?"

"Yes," Mon-El sighed. "And it is broken beyond my understanding."

"Oh, no," Kara covered her mouth.

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded. "That's why it's good to see this place again. I forgot how much I missed it."

"The club sodas are not the same," Kara grinned.

"You were a bartender here?" Oliver asked curiously.

"For a time," Mon-El nodded. "I ruined the first drink I made Kara, though."

"Rao, it was awful," Kara exaggerated a shudder, making Oliver laugh.

"Hey, do you want me to tell him about the time I gave you Adebaran rum?" Mon-El threatened with a grin.

"Mon-El," Kara's eyes flew wide.

"What kind of rum?" Oliver looked at Mon-El, raising an eyebrow.

"Aldebaran," Mon-El grinned. "Let me tell you, if you get her drinking enough of it – "

" _Please_ do not remind me," Kara buried her face in her hands as Mon-El laughed. "You know, you are so lucky I did not lose my job at the D.E.O. that day!"

"It gets her drunk?" Oliver asked in surprise.

"Oh, yes," Mon-El nodded.

"And if you tell Thea," Kara began.

Oliver grinned. "I didn't plan to until you mentioned it."

"Oh, Rao," Kara thunked her head on the table.

Both Oliver and Mon-El laughed, and Mon-El smiled at Oliver. "I didn't say it before, but congratulations. Really, congratulations. All of this?" He looked over at where Sara and Winn were speaking with Imra. "It's worth it."

"Thanks," Oliver nodded.

Kara's phone buzzed, and she pulled it out. She took a look at the Caller ID and frowned. "I should take this," she said, answering it. "Hello?"

" _You have a collect call from the Albatross Bay Correctional Facility,"_ an automatic voice said.

"Albatross Bay?" Kara mumbled, frowning.

Oliver straightened. "Coville," he realized.

Kara's eyes widened, and she rose from her chair, nearly tripping over it. "Hey," Barry hurried over from one of the booths. "You OK?"

"I gotta go," Kara pointed to the door, hurrying out.

"Sara, come on!" Oliver shouted, grabbing Barry and pulling him after her.

"What's going on?" Sara jogged over, the three of them going after Kara.

"We're going to visit one of the crazier people I've met in National City," Oliver answered grimly, dialing on his phone and raising it to his ear. "Malcolm? Albatross Bay Correctional Facility. Remember the Supergirl cult?"

"She had a what now?!" Barry squawked.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"You sure about this?" Oliver asked Kara as they, Barry, Sara, Malcolm, Laurel, and Slade entered the facility.

"It's got to be just me," she nodded, swallowing.

"Call if you need us, little one," Slade told her.

Kara nodded shakily, then walked deeper into the facility. The doors opened for her, and she stared at the man in a prison uniform handcuffed to the table inside. "'They will receive a blasphemous sigil,'" he declared. "'And in its wake, many cowards, killers, and vile men will burn.'"

Kara stopped short as the doors shut behind her. "That's not from the Book of Rao."

"'And every eye will look upon the heretic, and they will call it 'Worldkiller,'" Coville finished. "Kara Danvers, there is so much that you still don't know."

"Worldkiller?" Kara repeated, walking to the table.

"It's here," Coville told her. "The End of Days."

"There are no End of Days in the Book of Rao," Kara denied.

"The prophecy I speak of predates the Book of Rao . . . but I suspect you already know this if you've tried to find the meaning of the Kryptonian symbol that's all over the news. They are the mark of a dark god. A devil."

"How do you know this?" Kara demanded, sitting down.

Coville scoffed. "You know that I spent two years on a pilgrimage all over the world collecting artifacts and texts, learning everything I could about Rao and your people. But I didn't just find objects. I met people – the forgotten from Fort Rozz."

"You know about Fort Rozz?" Kara swallowed.

"I met a disgraced Kryptonian priestess who told me about the god _before_ Rao," Coville informed her. "A Lilith made of darkness and teeth who ends everything. There are three steps leading to the End of Days. Fist is the Mark of the Beast."

"The glyph in the field," Kara murmured.

"They're all over National City now," Coville nodded. "After that comes the Work of the Beast in the form of many deaths. And finally comes the Reign of the Beast. And this is when She comes."

"She?" Kara leaned forward, frowning. "Who is 'She?'"

"Worldkiller," Coville answered. "The one who will bring about the end of time." His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, making Kara jump. "This is your purpose: to fight the Devil."

"There's no such thing as the Devil," Kara hissed, yanking her hand back.

"The lost gods must fall for a new god to rise," Coville told her. "And Her rise will come at the fall of the righteous. And She will reign unless you stand and smite Her."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

The six turned around when Kara all but ran towards them. "What happened?" Sara straightened.

"What did he say?" Laurel asked.

"Kara?" Oliver frowned, seeing her taking some deep breaths. "What did he say?"

Kara looked up at him. "Apparently, I need to fight the Devil."

"You have a Devil?" Sara's eyebrows shot up.

"According to him," Kara sighed. "And apparently she's been making those symbols."

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

" _The NCPD is investigating another fatal shooting involving the One-Seven Gang, which happened this morning."_ Sam looked up from her desk when she heard the news report. _"Witnesses say they saw a man belonging to the One-Seven Gang open fire on a convenience store, killing the owner."_

Sam narrowed her eyes, only to turn when she heard Ruby enter. "Mom? I finished all the chips in the kitchen. It's time to go for dinner. I'm starving!"

Sam sighed, tapping her pen on her desk. "Babe, Mrs. Queller's gonna pick you up."

"What?" Ruby protested. "But it's almost Christmas!"

"I know it's nearly Christmas," Sam sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm so behind on everything. I feel terrible. I'm sorry, baby."

"Are you gonna miss Christmas, too, or just sleep through it?" Ruby scowled, turning to leave.

"Hey," Sam frowned. "Hey. Come here." Ruby frowned, walking over. "Sit down," Sam pushed her chair away from the desk, and Ruby sat down on her knee, curling into her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Do you remember that Christmas that year I got that job in Central City? You were really, really mad at me for making you leave your friends in the middle of the school year. I was making us drive all the way down."

"It was days in that car," Ruby recalled.

"It was days in that car," Sam chuckled. "We ended up spending Christmas at a truck stop on Route 34. We had that snowball fight in the parking lot and then we made that tree out of newspapers." She smiled fondly at the memory. "And that night, when we were lying in that awful bed, it smelled like mothballs . . . I'll never forget it. You whispered to me, and you said that it was the best Christmas you'd ever had. It was for me, too, Ruby. You wanna know why?" Ruby looked up, and Sam smiled at her. "Because we were together." Ruby smiled, and Sam patted her arm. "I have something for you. I was gonna wait till Christmas, but . . . "

She reached over and picked up a black velvet box, handing it to Ruby. She flipped it open and gasped when she saw the glittering silver House of El crest necklace inside. "How did you know?" she asked.

"I'm your mom," Sam smiled. "I know everything. Did you know that it means 'stronger together?'" Ruby smiled, and Sam gestured between the two of them. _"We_ are, always." She pulled Ruby close, hugging her. "I love you _so_ much."

"I love you, too, Mom," Ruby whispered, hugging her back.

* * *

 ** _Sara Lance_**

"OK, everyone, look alive," Sara announced as the group arrived back at the D.E.O. "We're gonna fight the Devil."

"We're gonna do what now?" Zari's eyes widened.

"Coville says that this is like the sign of the Devil," Winn said. "A Kryptonian 666."

"So we're fighting the Kryptonian Devil," Dig clarified.

"Can we even do that?" Caitlin frowned.

"That's a pretty strong Devil," Mick snorted.

"And that's if we believe it's actually the Devil," Barry pointed out.

"Do _you_ believe him?" Alex asked Kara.

"No," Kara said bluntly. "No, I think Coville calling me is an excuse for him to feel relevant."

"It reaffirms the narrative he chooses to believe and gives his life purpose," J'onn nodded in understanding.

"We don't even know if the person burning these symbols is Kryptonian," Stein agreed.

"So what, it's just a bunch of vandals who don't even know what it means?" Jax frowned.

"Yeah, that just happens to be a Kryptonian symbol?" Lily agreed.

"Do you need fresh eyes?" Imra suggested, walking up to them. "I can take a look through the data you've collected, suspects you might have already dismissed. I'm the 31st century version of a kip."

Everyone blinked. "You mean a cop?" Felicity asked.

Imra blushed slightly. "Wait a minute," Cisco frowned. "Where are Harry and Iris?"

"Uh, they went to go update Lena," Caitlin answered, frowning and checking her watch. "But that was . . . a while ago."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Iris West_**

"Where are we going?" Iris asked as she and Harry followed Lena in the dark.

"I told you, this guy has access to Edge's bank records," Lena answered. "If Edge has been buying technology that can make those Kryptonian marks, this will lead us to him."

"That's great," Harry nodded absently. "But literally, where are we going?"

Lena grinned at him. "Harrison Wells, are you scared?" He scoffed, and Lena giggled. "Don't worry, I'll protect you – "

She stopped short when she saw a burning symbol on the huge column in front of them. "That's it," Iris whispered in shock.

An explosion came from behind them, and Lena and Iris both ducked as sparks flew. "Go!" Harry grabbed Lena, then Iris. "Move, move, move, move!" They ran between buildings, ducking red laser shots firing all around them. "West, go left!" Harry pointed.

As they turned the corner, Harry pulled Lena to the right, Iris ducking behind a trash bin on the left. When a guy turned the corner, wielding a laser gun of some kind, Iris grabbed the lid of the trash can and smacked the guy in the back of the head, making him drop like a sack of potatoes.

Harry looked up from where he was protecting Lena as Iris dropped her makeshift weapon. "Hey," Iris grinned. "So . . . we're alive!"

"Yeah, well, thank God I was here," Lena quipped as Harry stood.

"You OK?" Harry asked, holding out a hand.

"It's just my quarterly assassination attempt," Lena rolled her eyes, accepting his help in standing up.

" _Quarterly?"_ Iris blinked.

"Yeah, about that," Harry frowned, looking down at the unconscious man. "Who the hell's this guy?"

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

Felicity looked down at her phone when it beeped, and her eyes widened. "Oh, my God!"

"What?" Kara looked up from where she and Imra were looking over another tablet.

"That was Lena," she swallowed, looking up. "She was investigating with Harry and Iris. They just got attacked."

"They _what?"_ Barry demanded as heads all over shot up.

"Yeah, Iris managed to knock the guy out, they're back at CatCo," Felicity began.

Barry sped off without another word.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Barry Allen_**

"Christmases are never boring around heroes," Harry grumbled as he looked over Lena's shoulder, looking at the guy on the screen.

"Are you complaining?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Well, there are worse ways to spend the holidays."

"All right, thanks," James hung up his phone, and Iris looked up from where she sat on the couch. "The ADA said laser guy lawyered up," he told them. "He's not talking."

"Iris?" Barry ran into the office, eyes wide.

"Barry!" Iris stood up, hugging him tightly.

"Are you OK?" he demanded, looking her over.

"I'm fine," Iris nodded. "Wasn't even that much of a fight."

"One shot to the head, and he was a goner," Harry nodded.

"Hey," Sam hurried into the office behind Barry. "I couldn't get here any faster. Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lena nodded. "Thanks to Harry and Iris."

"Felicity said someone tried to kill you?" Barry looked over.

"Why?" Sam asked when Lena nodded.

"Morgan Edge hired him," Lena said simply.

Barry frowned in confusion, but Sam narrowed her eyes. "You have proof?" she asked.

"Circumstantial," Lena turned her laptop around. "But the shooter used to work for the annual National City Tech Conference. Morgan Edge hosts it every year."

Barry frowned when Sam clicked on Edge's picture. "He looks cheery."

"Yeah, found our Christmas Grinch," Harry snorted.

"He shouldn't be alive," Sam scowled.

Lena frowned at her words, but Iris gasped, her eyes on the TVs behind them. "Guys? Look."

Harry turned around, and his eyes widened. "Oh, my God."

"James, turn the sound on," Barry swallowed.

Lena turned around as James picked up the remote, turning the sound on, and she blanched when she saw the bodies covered in white sheets on screen. _"We're hearing that as many as a dozen members of the One-Seven street gang have been found murdered,"_ one of the reporters said. _"We should warn you, the images you are about to see are graphic."_

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam glowered at the picture of Morgan Edge on screen, ignoring the reports on the TV. _"Now, Susan, police are still looking for a suspect in the multiple killings of members of the notorious National City One-Seven Gang."_

Leaving the others to watch the report, Sam strode out of the office and towards the elevator. When she was inside and the doors closed behind her, she tore open the front of her shirt, revealing a black suit underneath.

On her chest, just like the House of El crest was on Kara's, was the Kryptonian symbol that had been appearing around National City.

* * *

 **A/N: I don't know what it was, but when the back half of Supergirl came on, I could totally see Kara and Imra getting along, as well as Oliver and Mon-El. I hope it's not just me, because I cannot stop thinking that.**

 **Next chapter ends "Reign" and will start this book's hiatus!**


	41. Reign - Part Three

**It absolutely _sucks_ that this is the last part I will be writing for this book until the seasons end. I think I'm stopping on a good note, though . . . of course, that's if a cliffhanger can be called a good note . . .**

 **Anyway. Tensions run high in National City, and Kara finally comes face to face with her big bad of the season, and she doesn't come alone. Sadly, the outcome remains the same.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"Samples from the remains of the victims confirm," Winn turned away from the news grimly. "They were killed by heat vision."

"It really is a Kryptonian doing this," Amaya swallowed.

"Yep," Winn nodded. "And Morgan Edge had nothing to do with it."

"Well, at least it's not related to the guy with the laser gun who went after Lena," Felicity pointed out.

"Nope," Laurel shook her head. "Just some guy Edge hired to try and kill him."

"And Harry and Iris were just in the crossfire," Caitlin sighed.

"So he thought he could get away with killing her and blame it on the Kryptonian?" Stein asked.

"See why we don't like him?" Malcolm snorted.

"Just like Coville said," J'onn said. "'Work of the Beast.'"

"That's not creepy at all," Cisco shuddered.

"Coville strikes me as a fanatic, not a prophet," Slade frowned.

"The two don't have to be mutually exclusive," J'onn shook his head. "He said this. The Beast would come. She would mark the city, and then She would take it. I think it's worth pushing through the noise here to see the truth."

"Well, the moment you start believing in something is the moment you give your power away," Kara huffed. "I'm not gonna give away mine. So what we know about this Kryptonian is that she's a pretender. I beat Kal down to the ground when I had to. I'll beat her down, too."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena looked down her phone when it rang, and frowning, she picked it up. "Hello?"

"I heard you were attacked by someone who tried to make it look like it was perpetrated by that thing that's leaving those alien marks," Edge said, and Lena growled, making Harry look at her in surprise. "That's awful! _Awful!_ I mean, it's Christmas!"

"Morgan, you are a vile, despicable scrooge who's gonna die alone and in prison," Lena spat.

"Well, gotta go," Edge said cheerfully. "Christmas party!"

Lena hung up angrily, and Harry raised an eyebrow. "The Grinch?"

"Yeah," Lena seethed.

* * *

 ** _Nate Heywood/Kara Danvers_**

"OK, how hard can it be to track down a Kryptonian going around killing people?" Nate asked later, looking up from his work.

"She probably disguises herself like Kara does," Amaya answered.

"And we don't even know what she looks like," Caitlin pointed out.

"We have a lot to do," Alex sighed, rubbing her temples.

Kara was walking down the stairs when her phone rang, and frowning, Kara picked up. "James?"

"Someone just tried to heat-vision Edge," James cut to the point, making Kara freeze. "He's calling a press conference."

"Is he hurt?" Kara demanded, hurrying down the steps.

"Sadly, no. Of course this guy has a lead-lined panic room in his office. But whatever's out there wants him dead. He just got lucky."

"I'm on it," Kara seethed, hanging up and heading for the balcony.

"Kara?" Oliver walked over, frowning. "What happened?"

"The Kryptonian attacked Edge in his office," Kara answered as the others started gathering around.

"Oh . . . no," Winn blinked. "No? No, that's bad. That's objectively bad."

"I wouldn't lose any sleep," Malcolm snorted.

"It doesn't matter who the target was, they're just killing whoever they want," Kara shook her head.

"We're doing everything we can to track them," J'onn assured her.

"I'll head to Edge's office with some of the others, we can see if they left behind anything we can trace," Alex added.

"No," Kara said firmly. "No, I'm tired of playing hide and seek. The longer we wait, the more people are gonna die."

"So what are you thinking?" Sara asked as Kara headed out to the balcony.

"We do it their way!" Kara answered, shooting into the sky.

Winn sighed. "Well, that's comforting."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara flew over National City, and when she reached CatCo, she fired her heat vision, tracing the House of El crest into the roof. She looked down in satisfaction, then smirked. "Your turn."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"I can't believe this guy," Harry grumbled as he watched the news.

Lena scowled as she watched Edge work the press. _"I'm sure that it's not the first time that a woman who's gone crazy has attacked a powerful man. I'm fairly certain it won't be the last."_

" _Are you saying Supergirl attacked you?"_ one of the reporters asked.

" _I'm saying I can't say it_ wasn't _Supergirl,"_ Edge responded.

"Sociopathic cockroach," Lena snarled angrily, turning and walking towards the elevator.

"I agree with you, and I just met the guy," Harry snorted, walking after her. "But look, neither Danvers nor Queen are gonna let him get away with this."

"Or Slade, or Malcolm, or Laurel," Lena smirked.

"Nope," Harry shook his head. "He'll get what he deserves. If it's one thing I've learned working with Allen, it's that they always do."

Lena nodded, pressing the button for the ground floor. "You know, your plan today probably saved my life."

"Well, right place, right time," Harry shrugged.

"I still think that means I owe you a drink."

Harry raised an eyebrow, folding his arms and looking at her. "Ms. Luthor, are you asking me on a date?"

"It's a thank you drink," Lena corrected, though there was a slight blush in her cheeks. "And please. It's Lena."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "All right, _Lena,"_ he emphasized her name. "I'll take that thank you drink. Been a heavy day, after all."

Lena grinned as the doors opened. "To heavy days and Christmas, then."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara smiled fondly as she watched Mon-El and Imra in the training room, then turned when Sara walked up to her. "Hey there," she smiled.

"Hey," Kara smiled. "What's up?"

"Well, I realized I never really asked," Sara leaned against the wall. "Are you OK?"

"What?" Kara blinked. "Yeah, Sara, I'm fine."

"OK," Sara nodded. "It's just that it can be argued that you had the roughest of all of us doing the Earth-X crisis, and then when I heard that guy had come back not long before it . . . I just wanted to make sure."

"Yeah," Kara nodded, clearing her throat. "It was . . . really tough at first. It was a hard day."

"Laurel told me all about that," Sara nodded. "She was quite smug."

"She would have been," Kara chuckled.

Sara bit her lip, looking down. "She also said you gave Slade your necklace."

"I did," Kara confirmed, nodding. "Do you still have a problem with him and Malcolm?"

Sara sighed. "It's just . . . I didn't think I would ever be able to associate either of them with the word 'hero' after everything they did before Earth-X. But after Earth-X, seeing how they truly care about you . . . it's getting easier to see them that way." She looked up at Kara. "Besides, I don't have to deal with them as much as you do. It's your opinion that matters most to them. And Ollie's. But probably yours."

Kara smiled. "It's hard not to laugh when they do the wizard/magician bicker in the middle of an op."

"They do?!" Sara's eyes widened.

"Yeah!" Kara laughed. "And they did it while Oliver was trying to talk to a bad guy."

"Oh, my God," Sara closed her eyes. "They are literal children."

Kara was still giggling when she heard a triumphant shout from below. "Kara!" Winn quickly ran up the steps with Oliver and Alex behind him. "The Kryptonian responded!"

"How?" Kara's eyes widened.

"Just showed up right where you left your mark," Winn shrugged.

"And waiting for you," Alex nodded.

Kara slowly nodded, then turned around. "Hey," Sara reached out and took her hand. Kara turned back, raising an eyebrow, and Sara swallowed. "You may be Kryptonian, but so is she, and you haven't faced her before. Don't take any chances. At least take _some_ help."

"When all of you trained against me," Kara began.

"We didn't have a Kryptonian fighting with us," Sara interrupted. "Kara, I know this is your universe, and ignore this if you want. But none of us fought to get back to you just to see you get killed here while we stood by."

Kara swallowed, then nodded jerkily. "I'll need some of the Legends."

"You've got them," Sara nodded back.

Kara took a deep breath and turned, heading towards the staircase. "Kara," Oliver walked after her, taking her hand.

"I've got to do this, Oliver," she told him.

"And I'm not gonna stop you," Oliver shook his head, stopping her. "Look . . . remember when Edge was first a problem? When we were worried about Bloodsport?"

"Yeah," Kara nodded.

"You told me you didn't want to be Kara Danvers. You focused on being Supergirl. You tried to get rid of your humanity." Kara ducked her head, still embarrassed she had once thought that. "Forget being human," Oliver told her, and Kara looked up, shocked. "This isn't a human you're facing," he explained. "This is a Kryptonian. This is an alien, and you may have been raised with humans, but you're alien, too. So forget being human for this fight. Be cold, and be Kryptonian. Because for some reason, this Kryptonian?" He swallowed. "She scares me, Kara. So please, if it means you win . . . be alien."

Kara nodded, reaching up and kissing him. "I'll come back," she whispered. "I promise."

Oliver nodded, squeezing her hand, and Kara walked down the stairs. "Barry!" she shouted. "Ray! Nate! Jax! Lily!" The five ran from where they were speaking with the others, and Kara swallowed. "Are you five with me?"

"Wherever, whenever," Barry nodded instantly.

"We got your back," Nate nodded.

Kara took a deep breath. "Then suit up."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Ray Palmer_**

Barry skidded to a halt on top of the CatCo building, setting Nate down beside him. Ray and Jax flew to hover above them as Kara landed in front of them. "Guys," Ray swallowed. "We're in position."

"And this Kryptonian is definitely not playing nice," Nate eyed the brunette woman at the other end of the building, clothed entirely in black, including the mask concealing her identity.

Kara walked forward, sizing up her opponent. "So you're supposed to be the Devil?"

"The Devil isn't real," the Kryptonian said, her voice warped.

"Then who are you?"

"I'm from the time before fathoming," she answered. "Born to cleanse the scourge and deliver the awakening. I am Reign."

"And she will reign," Barry whispered, remembering Coville's words.

"How did you get here?" Kara asked.

"I survived Krypton's death," Reign answered. "Sent here upon its destruction."

Kara frowned in confusion. "If that's true, then where have you been?"

"Dispensing justice."

"By terrorizing people? _Killing_ people?"

"This world has sunken into chaos and sin," Reign looked around. "Too many have eluded judgment."

"We're not gonna let you hurt anyone else," Kara scowled, walking forward. "Surrender now before we make you surrender."

Reign just smiled darkly, walking forward to meet her. "So full of hubris, just like the righteous Kryptonians who feared my makers, worshiping false gods as they watched our planet suffocate by shame and burn from memory. Stand down, or I will make you join them in their purgatory."

Kara lifted her head defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere."

Reign scowled. "Then I will dispense my justice on _you."_

"Take your best shot," Kara challenged.

Before any of the Earth-1ers could even blink, Reign blurred, and Kara was suddenly hurtling through the air, Reign flying after her. "Right," Ray blinked. "Kryptonian . . . super speed."

"Flash, go!" Nate told the speedster.

He raced off, following the aliens through their fight.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Barry Allen_**

A few buildings away from CatCo, a Christmas party was interrupted by Kara and Reign flying in through the windows, exchanging blows over the conference table. Reign shoved Kara through the refreshments' table and into the Christmas tree, knocking both over, the Christmas tree lights flickering. Kara was yanked up by Reign, and she swerved to try and avoid Reign's fists as the lights started flickering behind her.

Barry suddenly sped into the room, ramming into Reign from behind. Reign staggered slightly and spun around, and Barry stumbled away slightly, too. "Super strength, too," Barry winced. "OK. Right."

Reign sneered and turned to punch him, but Kara grabbed her arm and spun her around to punch her. Reign ducked and reached out, grabbing Kara by the throat. Her eyes bugged, and she choked, trying to get Reign off her.

Ray flew in through the window and aimed at Reign, firing a blue blast of energy at her. Reign twisted and let it fly past her, but it distracted her enough to lose her concentration. Kara spun Reign around and tossed her over the conference table, and Reign slid all the way down and onto the ground. When she stood up, Kara flew over, grabbed her, and flew her through the roof out into the night. "Firestorm?" Barry shouted.

* * *

 ** _Jefferson Jackson_**

Jax swerved in midair to avoid getting hit by the Kryptonians, and he turned in midflight. "They're heading for the waterfront!" he called.

" _It looks like a shipping dock,"_ Lily added.

"With a lot of heavy stuff to throw around," Jax muttered.

" _Exactly."_

Jax nodded and flew after the Kryptonians, seeing Barry speed out of the building and Ray fly out after him.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara rolled onto the ground among the shipping containers, wincing. She heard Reign take off again and rolled onto her knees, looking to see where she had gone.

Her eyes widened when she saw Reign place her hands on two shipping containers and push, rocking the dock and shoving them towards her. Kara fell back on the ground as the dock rocked, raising her arms to block the containers heading for her.

Lightning zipped between the containers, and Kara gasped when she found herself on top of one of them. "You OK?" Barry asked in concern.

"Yeah," Kara took a few deep breaths before launching off the container and grabbing Reign, flying back to the city.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Sara Lance_**

" _Guys, they're heading your way again!"_

" _Copy that!"_

" _On our way!"_

Oliver paced anxiously around the D.E.O., listening to the comm chatter as Winn, Cisco, and Felicity monitored everyone. "No one's damaged," Felicity said.

"Come on, guys," Sara clenched a fist. "You've got this."

* * *

 ** _Harry Wells/Kara Danvers/Barry Allen_**

Kara and Reign crashed in the middle of a busy street, creating a small crater in the asphalt and tossing a car through the air, making it crash into the ground and explode. As civilians panicked, Harry and Lena ran onto the scene, eyes wide. "Get back!" Harry shouted. "Get back!"

"Everyone, get back, now!" Lena yelled.

Kara was panting as she punched Reign with everything she had, but Reign was strong, stronger than any opponent she had ever faced. She always stood back up after she was hit, and her punches never diminished in strength.

Reign jumped into the air and brought her fist down hard, ramming her fist into Kara's head. She yelped and fell to her knees, gasping as she felt her world spin. When she looked up, she saw a blonde girl starting to move from behind a car. "Get back!" she held up her hand. "Stay back! Stay back!"

"Supergirl, look out!" Nate shouted.

Kara tried to turn, only to yell in pain when Reign hit her in the back of the head with something metal. "Supergirl!" Ray yelled.

Kara reached up to her head, feeling something sticky on her fingers. When she looked down, she found her fingers stained red. "Distract her," she whispered.

Barry sped in front of her, and then he was speeding around the two Kryptonians, the civilians letting out exclamations of shock. Reign glared around, following the speedster, and when he launched a lightning bolt at her, it did nothing to phase her. Barry skidded to a stop, and Reign shot her heat vision at him, ruby red instead of bright blue. It hit Barry in the chest, and he went flying down the street, landing with a thud.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Barry's been hit," Cisco blanched.

"Guys, look at this," Iris looked up from the center console, eyes wide. "They're broadcasting it!"

The others gathered around to see live coverage from helicopters, and Oliver swallowed when he saw Reign glaring after Barry, Kara struggling to her feet. "Oh, my God."

"Come on, Kara," Thea whispered, crossing her fingers anxiously.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Barry Allen_**

As Reign moved to go after Barry, Kara surged up from her crouch and punched Reign in the shoulder. She spun around and blocked the next one, grabbing the collar of Kara's suit, hauling her off the ground. The black-clothed Kryptonian smirked at her before headbutting her hard, dropping Kara to the ground. She stomped hard on Kara's chest, making her retch.

Firestorm flew down next and lobbed a fireball at Reign. She backed up, surprised by the onslaught, and as Kara weakly rolled onto her stomach, Firestorm flew to hover above Kara, throwing more fireballs. Reign stepped back, narrowing her eyes, and before Firestorm threw the next fireball, she blew hard.

Her freezing breath hit Firestorm in the chest, catapulting the metahuman out of the sky. The metahuman crashed onto the roof of a small building nearby, and a burst of flames signaled Firestorm separating back into Jax and Lily. Barry rolled onto his knees, took a deep breath, then sped over to check on them.

Reign smirked triumphantly and turned back to Kara, only to be met by metal in the chest. Kara had managed to stand and grab the same metal rod Reign had used on her, hitting the other Kryptonian with it. She watched Reign smash into the crashed car, then collapsed again, hacking and coughing, her breath ragged.

* * *

 ** _Martin Stein/Sara Lance_**

Papers went flying from agents' desks, and everyone spun around as a trail of lightning left, leaving Jax and Lily on the ground, both of them groaning in pain. "Lily!" Stein ran over, followed by Caitlin. "Jefferson!"

"What happened?" Zari demanded.

"Blew us out," Lily coughed as her father helped her up. "She's really strong."

Sara swallowed, turning back around. "Ray, Nate, Firestorm is out of the fight."

"Oh, God," Felicity whimpered as Slade and Malcolm exchanged startled glances.

* * *

 ** _Nate Heywood_**

"Ray," Nate said from where he stood on top of another building, looking down at the feebly stirring form of Reign. "She's waking up."

"I'm on it," Ray flew down.

Nate's eyes widened when the Kryptonian's heat vision shot again, and Ray went tumbling through the air. "Ray's been hit!"

"Barry, get him out of there, now!" Sara yelled.

Before Ray hit the ground, Barry zoomed by again, and Ray was gone. Nate jumped off the building and landed on the ground in steel form, approaching Reign cautiously. He stopped when he saw her rip a door from the car, dragging the flaming object on the ground. Confused, he walked away from her, only to freeze when he saw Kara stagger to her feet. "Supergirl, _no!"_ he shouted.

His warning came too late; Reign swung and threw the car door at her, knocking Kara's feet from out of her. Kara tumbled head over heels, and Reign shot her heat vision at her, flinging her high into the air, back to the top of the CatCo building. He saw something clatter on the ground, and he ran over, looking through the rubble as Reign took off. He swallowed when he found what he came away with. "Supergirl's comms are down." He looked up, taking a deep breath. "Reign's going after her again."

* * *

 ** _Sara Lance_**

Sara ground her teeth, turning away from where Felicity and Zari were helping Ray take off his suit, the man himself barely keeping upright. "Where are they?"

" _Back on top of CatCo,"_ Nate answered. _"I can't get up there. Guys, she was bleeding, badly."_

Oliver turned as white as a sheet, and Sara looked around desperately. "Anyone have any ideas?"

Everyone seemed too stunned to offer anything.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Barry Allen_**

Kara's breath left her when she collapsed on the roof of CatCo, slumped on the ground, everything hurting. The roof shook as Reign landed shortly after. "I'm gonna kill you," she snarled, storming over.

Kara's breath was uneven as she struggled to her knees. "You don't – " She coughed, barely holding herself up as she looked up at Reign. "You don't scare me."

"You're no god," Reign sneered, standing over her. "Just as I'm no devil. All I am is _truth."_ She leaned down and grabbed Kara by the collar of her suit, hoisting her into the air.

Barry sped onto the rooftop as Kara choked, and he gulped. "I can't do anything without hitting Supergirl, too."

"And judgment," Reign continued.

Barry's eyes widened when Reign stepped onto the edge of the roof, dangling Kara over the edge. He sped off, stopping by Nate. "Hang on," he said, grabbing his friend and speeding off.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Nate Heywood_**

"And death," Reign sneered. "And I will _reign!"_

With that, she let the hero go, watching in dark satisfaction as Kara tumbled through the air, dropping several stories to the ground below.

Except she didn't smash into the pavement. Barry sped Nate just below her, and he quickly turned into steel and held out his arms, catching Kara before she crashed. The force of her fall made him fall to his knees, but he cradled her close, his eyes wide as Kara went completely limp, her head lolling. "Supergirl?" he asked helplessly as civilians ran to see. When she didn't answer, he looked up at Barry. "Get her out of here!"

Barry carefully took Kara in his arms, then sped off again. Nate stood and watched him go, dread making his heart heavy.

Had they really just saved Kara from the Nazis only for her to nearly be killed by one of her own kind?

* * *

 ** _Sara Lance/Caitlin Snow/Oliver Queen_**

Radio silence. Complete radio silence. "Does _anyone_ copy?" Sara finally lost her composure, yelling and making Zari flinch.

For another second, there was silence. Then there was a loud cracking sound, and suddenly, Barry was in the medbay behind them. "Help her!" he yelled, eyes wide.

And for the first time, Laurel screamed in horror, clapping her hands over her mouth as Cisco dropped his tablet, eyes blown wide as he took in the completely still Kryptonian Barry was lowering onto the bed. Everyone else was just as frozen, Sara looking at Oliver, the man himself even whiter.

Finally, Alex started yelling for the medical team, running to her sister, Caitlin shaking herself out of her stupor and running after her. Barry ran off again and returned a second later, Nate not even stopping to catch his breath before he ran to the doorway of the medbay, waiting for the medical staff to run in and join Alex and Caitlin before turning to Oliver and Sara as they ran over, the rest of the heroes running to check on Kara. "She just dropped her right off the building," he swallowed. "She fell unconscious right after I caught her."

"She's a monster," Thea covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes as she watched Alex and Caitlin work. Felicity was already crying, Dig trying to comfort her as he watched, stunned speechless. "She's a complete monster!"

One of the medics looked up. "She's crashing," he told Alex.

Another swallowed hard when she saw her vitals on screen. "She's crashing!"

Alex tried to calm her breathing, and Caitlin looked up. "We need to intubate," she ordered. "Hurry!"

The medics ran around to follow her orders as Mon-El and Imra ran in, joining J'onn and Winn with the others. Amaya swallowed as she watched Alex and Caitlin do their best not to panic in front of everyone. "Has she ever been hurt like this before?"

Oliver swallowed hard, thinking back to Cadmus. "Not by a Kryptonian."

"She came back from that, kid," Slade put a hand on his shoulder; how tightly he gripped showed just how worried he was, too. "She can come back from this."

"She's strong, Ollie," Sara nodded, though tears were glittering in her eyes, too, as she tried to stay strong for her friend. "She can do this."

"She'll be OK," Imra agreed confidently, though there was worry in her eyes as well.

Oliver just swallowed and nodded, reaching out. Sara took his hand, squeezing tightly, understanding the man was finding it hard to speak, and they watched Alex and Caitlin fight to save his fiancée's life. "Come on, angel," he whispered, his voice choked with tears. "Fight!"

"Stay with us, Kara," Alex begged.

But Kara didn't move as Caitlin nervously watched the monitors beep ominously. She had to pull through this. She _had_ to. Otherwise, they might lose every hero from Earth-1 when they went on a rampage to kill Reign themselves.

"Stay with us!"

* * *

 **A/N: To be continued with "Legion of Super-Heroes" when Arrow Season 6 and Supergirl Season 3 conclude!**

 **I really hate wanting to stop, but I also do not want to write something in an episode that has aired and dig myself out of a hole I can't get out of later because the writers pulled something I didn't see coming. I absolutely love this series, and I do not want to make a mistake like that.**

 **But I am not on hiatus for writing in general. Now that this episode is done, I can finally get started on my second original SuperArrow book (I'm counting "Won't Let You Down" as an original), "The Daxam Four!" I'm hoping to get the prologue down soon to announce its starting, so stay tuned, guys! I'll see you back here whenever Supergirl finishes!**


	42. Legion of Super-Heroes - Part One

**Hey, guys! So I'm back, a little earlier than I expected, but since Arrow has finished its run and Supergirl is about to hit its twentieth season, I think I've got enough material to get back to this book as well as work on The Daxam Four.**

 **With that being said, now that I'll be working on two books at once, don't expect updates back to back. Also, it's my summer break. I have other things to do besides write fanfiction all day long. Don't get me wrong, I love to write, but I love spending time with my family and friends, too. Please respect the time I have away from writing, and it will make my job much easier.**

 **So, without further ado . . . the heroes reel from Kara's defeat, but Mon-El has an idea, and it involves Kara meeting - in my opinion - a very hilarious character who won me over much quicker than another Legionnaire did.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Barry Allen/Mon-El**_

If the heroes of Earth-1 hadn't been in and out of the medbay enough times to coax the man to leave for just a few minutes, they would have thought Oliver would have won the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent as a statue.

Not that Barry blamed him, of course. If Kara was the love of his life, he would be spending every second of every day she was in a coma by her side, too. And except for the precious few times he, Thea, and Slade could get Oliver to move, it was either himself, Sara, Slade, Malcolm, Laurel, or one of Kara's team members that took Oliver's place until the archer returned. The Earth-X invasion had proved just how much Oliver loved his fiancée, but if Barry hadn't known then, he knew for sure now.

Because while Kara looked dead, it seemed like seeing his beloved in a coma was killing Oliver slowly, too.

"Two days," Oliver finally muttered, voice slightly hoarse from having barely used it in the past few days.

"I know," was all Barry could find in him to say.

" _Two days_ she's been like this," Oliver ground out, shaking his head. "You know, I never thought I would see her like this again after what Cadmus did to her? The Earth-Xers did a number on her, but Cadmus was awful to her. And Overgirl was powerful, but this Kryptonian?"

"We should've been more prepared, man," Barry shook his head. "She surprised all of us."

"She took Ray and Firestorm out without batting an eye, from what we could tell," Oliver deadpanned. "Your lightning did nothing to her. I don't know how much more you could have done."

Barry sighed, then looked up when footsteps entered the medbay. Oliver didn't even look away from where his hands were holding Kara's. "I'm not moving," he said.

"I'm not going to make you," Mon-El shook his head. "Just figured you may want this."

Oliver finally looked away as Mon-El held out an open water bottle for him, and Oliver finally nodded, letting go of Kara's hand with one of his, reaching out to take the drink. "Thank you."

Mon-El nodded, and Barry mouthed "thank you" to the Daxamite before heading for the door to update the others. Mon-El watched him go, then looked down at Kara and sighed. "I'd ask how she's doing, but she looks the same."

"Hasn't moved," Oliver shook his head. "Hasn't made a sound."

Mon-El chewed his lip. "I may have an idea," he finally said.

Oliver blinked and looked up at him. "What?"

"The D.E.O. and Team Flash have tried everything they can to help her, short of going back to Earth-1 and letting . . . uh, whoever Gideon is, try and help her," Mon-El explained. "But the Legion may have something that could work. I didn't want to offer anything right away in case you guys had something that could work, but since Kara's condition hasn't changed . . . "

He shrugged, and Oliver looked between him and Kara. "Did you tell Alex?" he asked.

"I figured I should tell you first," Mon-El said. "I don't know where we stand on the friendship scale, but everyone's desperate to help Kara, and you haven't left her for more than a few minutes. I'm going to tell Alex based on what your answer is."

Oliver looked back down at his limp fiancée, then took a deep breath. "What's your idea?"

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara blinked her eyes open, flinching slightly away from the sunlight streaming through her windows. She slowly sat up, scooting to the edge of her bed, and looked around her room, frowning. Something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what.

Knocking interrupted her thoughts, and Kara shook herself more awake, climbing out of bed and moving through her loft. She opened the door to see who was outside, and did a double take when she saw a blue-skinned, white-haired male in a skin-tight black jumpsuit. When he turned around to look at her, she saw three blue lights in his forehead and a familiar upside-down triangle formed by three dots on the chest of his suit.

The man stared at her, looking just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. "It's . . . you," he said faintly, looking at her in awe.

"Can I help you?" Kara asked slowly.

"Now you're talking to me," the man gulped. _"Supergirl_ is talking to me."

Kara leapt forward the moment he said her name. "Inside," she hissed, grabbing him and pushing him inside, closing the door behind them. _"Now."_

"I am Brainiac 5," the man told her as soon as the door shut, turning to face her and linking his fingers together behind his back. "Half-computer, half-organic lifeform, all Coluan, and, not to brag, but a 12th-level intellect." Kara blinked, still confused, and elaborated more. "My name is Querl Dox, but the Legionnaires just call me Brainy."

"Legionnaires?" Kara repeated, blinking rapidly. "Did Mon-El send you?"

"Yes!" Querl nodded. "Yes, to make sure that your neural pathways are clear and intact." He picked up a vase of flowers, twisting it this way and that, examining the purple and white blossoms. "Your brain is in truly remarkable health for someone languishing in a coma."

Kara balked, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, did you say a _coma?"_

"Mmm?" Querl turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Did I bury the lede? You've been in a coma for two days."

Kara shook her head, the wrong feeling growing stronger. "I'm in my loft!"

"Wow," Querl muttered before perking up. "Oh! You mean the physical manifestation of the place in which your subconscious feels most comfortable? That loft?"

Kara gaped like a fish for a few seconds as Querl passed her, then spun around. "If I'm in a coma, how are you here?"

"Mon-El woke me up from hypersleep to communicate with you on behalf of him, your family, and your fellow heroes," he answered. "31st century technology. It's also what's keeping you alive."

"Alive?" Kara repeated faintly.

"Reign defeated you," Querl nodded, frowning. "Don't you remember?"

 _~ "Stay with us, Kara." ~_

 _~ Hovering above the burnt field, Ray and Firestorm flanking her, looking down at the Kryptonian symbol. ~_

 _~ The black-clothed, black-masked Kryptonian throwing punches that overpowered her, despite the attempts from Barry, Ray, and Firestorm to help. ~_

 _~ Reign's cruel, sneering face as she dropped Kara from the roof, Nate catching her just before she hit the concrete. ~_

 _~ "Come on, angel. Fight!" ~_

Kara jerked as if she could back away from the memories, swallowing hard as Oliver's voice echoed in her head. "No, this is crazy," she stammered, looking around. "This – " She turned back to Querl, gaze hardening. "Reign is still out there. People are dying. I _have_ to wake up!"

Querl blinked, trying to think that through as Kara ran past him. "I don't think you're listening to me," he began, turning around.

He found Kara yanking on her loft door, trying with all her might to open it. "What?" she gasped in confusion, yanking even harder.

"Can we just, maybe, relax a little bit?" Querl tried hopefully.

"Damn it!" Kara yelled, turning around and collapsing against the door, panting heavily, face growing angrier. "It won't open!"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver stood with Mon-El on one side, Slade on the other, with J'onn, Imra, Alex, and Winn on Mon-El's other side, Malcolm, Laurel, Barry, and Sara on the other side of Slade. All of them were watching in anticipation as Querl stood in front of the tank Kara was floating in, the Coluan standing still.

When Querl suddenly took a deep breath and turned around, all of them turned their attention from Kara to him. "Well, the good news is her mind is active and alert," he reported.

Oliver let out his breath in a rush, his entire body relaxing. "Good," Slade sighed in relief, Laurel turning into Malcolm, the archer giving her a one-armed hug as Barry and Sara high-fived.

"Oh, thank God," Alex breathed at the same time, Imra smiling happily.

"Yes," Querl nodded, wincing. "The bad news is she is _very_ angry."

"Well, I'm sure she _loves_ being trapped inside a mind prison," Winn said sarcastically.

"So you're speaking with her right now, even though you're speaking with us?" Sara asked.

Querl nodded, pointing to the white device on Kara's forehead. "The crown connects to my internal AI core. It translates her brainwaves to English and sends electronic signals back to her."

"These tanks have incredible healing power, so she just needs to rest and let it do its work," Imra told Oliver reassuringly.

"Thank you," he told her gratefully. "All three of you."

The Legionnaires nodded, but Barry frowned. "You guys are from the future . . . did you know this was gonna happen to Kara?"

"No," Mon-El shook his head. "But she's through the worst of it. She'll live."

"I'll kill her myself if she doesn't," Laurel mumbled.

"But when will she wake up?" Malcolm asked.

Mon-El sighed. "We don't know."

"Well, Reign is still out there," J'onn frowned. "I don't like our odds without Supergirl by our side."

"I mean, Reign's been quiet," Winn looked at them. "Maybe she got injured, too?"

"I hope so," Sara narrowed her eyes.

"It's only a matter of time before she strikes again," Alex nodded.

"Well, you'll have help," Barry told J'onn. "Iris and I agreed, we're not leaving until we know Kara's woken up."

"Same with us," Sara nodded.

"Thank you," J'onn told them gratefully.

"Really, thank you," Oliver looked over at them. "It means a lot."

"Nowhere we'd rather be right now," Barry clapped a hand on his shoulder.

* * *

 ** _Ruby Arias_**

Ruby gulped as she hurried through the house, looking over her shoulder nervously. When she saw movement from the other end of the hall, she ran past the staircase and into the kitchen, ducking to hide around the corner. She took a few deep breaths, watching out of the corner of her eye. When Sam came around the corner, she grinned and raised her Nerf gun, firing quickly.

Sam squealed, backing up and returning fire. Ruby kept firing at her, though, and Sam backed up, crashing into a table behind the couch. "Oh, crap!" she jumped, startled, then raised her arms when Ruby ran up, firing repeatedly. "OK, stop! Hold on, pause game!"

Ruby giggled, lowering her gun. "And you thought _I_ was gonna break something!"

"Ah, jeez," Sam sighed, crouching down to pick up a broken frame, picking up pieces of glass, too.

A car honked from outside, and Ruby turned. "That's Clara."

"Ah, already?" Sam complained.

"The movie's in half an hour," Ruby reminded her.

"OK," Sam nodded, standing up and taking the frame over to the counter. "Well, you're making me dinner tonight, right? It's your turn."

"Any dietary restrictions I should know about?" Ruby teased.

"I'm allergic to bad food," Sam answered seriously.

"OK," Ruby grinned. "Well, save up for dinner. Don't eat too much." She paused when she saw her mom completely still, looking down at the newspaper. Ruby peered past her, keeping in a shiver when she saw it was of the black-clothed Kryptonian standing over a beaten Supergirl, the headline reading _"Rogue Kryptonian Still At Large."_ "Mom," she reached up, kissing her cheek. "Love you."

She left without looking behind her. Had she stayed a few more seconds, she may have seen Sam's eyes flash red.

* * *

 ** _Reign_**

"You have done well, my child," the Fortress hologram smirked as Reign looked up from where she was kneeling. "You easily vanquished the daughter of the House of El. You left your mark on the city. But there is much yet to be accomplished."

"What would you have me do?" Reign asked.

"This world needs to be cleansed. Not just of sinners, but those who harbor them. It is time to deliver the awakening."

"How?"

"Those who would do evil operate in broad daylight without shame, for the righteous have cast their eyes to the ground. Force their gaze back to the light. Show them what justice really is."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena looked up from a few flyers in her hands when she inhaled a whiff of caffeine, and her eyes widened when she saw who was walking up. "How did you remember?"

"Scientists and geniuses all seem to have one thing in common," Harry answered, handing her one of the steaming cups he held. "We all can't run without coffee. And you drank it enough, so it was easy to remember your favorite."

"First he gets me coffee, then he compliments me," Lena raised an eyebrow. "My, how you are moving up in the world."

Harry snorted. "Well, it's either you or being around all the worry warts back you know where."

Lena tilted her head. "Was _that_ a compliment?"

"Yes," Harry assured her.

"Well, then," Lena smirked, taking a quick sip. "Thank you very much."

"Thank you," a voice from behind said, and Harry and Lena looked over as Iris hung up her phone, James looking away from the multitude of screens broadcasting the news, many asking where Supergirl was. "That was Barry," Iris told them, smiling. "They've found a way to help her. They've already established her mind is fine."

"Oh, thank God," Lena closed her eyes in relief.

"Best news in two days," James grinned.

"Do they know how long it'll take for her to wake up?" Harry asked.

"That they still don't know," Iris shook her head. "On the other hand, it sounds like this Querl Dox person is entertaining to be around."

"Who's he?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"According to Mon-El, a 12th-level intellect."

"Oh, boy," Harry snorted.

The sound of glass shattering made all four turn, and CatCo employees scattered as a man, battered and bruised, collapsed on the floor. His eyes were wide and unseeing, and he didn't move at all. Panic quickly rose as Reign flew in afterwards, walking in like she owned the building. Lena clenched her jaw, pushing past the others, Harry and James behind her, Iris raising her phone to record them. "Why have you come here?" Lena demanded.

"To deliver a message," Reign answered.

"We are _not_ your messengers," Lena growled.

Reign just smirked. "Yes, you are." She turned and pointed at one of the employees. "You," she barked. "Turn your camera on me." The man hastily complied, and Reign pointed at the man on the ground. "This man was a thief, condemned by his own actions. You've allowed sin to take root and fester like a weed. And worst of all, you have looked away. Apathy is the greatest sin of all. From now on, it will be punished in kind. There will be no more mercy. There will only be justice. I'm here to help."

She gave Lena one last look before walking towards the window, flying out as quickly as she arrived. Lena exchanged worried looks with the others in the room as Iris ended the recording, typing out a message to Barry as well before sending it. "I may need more caffeine," she finally whispered to Harry.

"No kidding," Harry sighed, looking down at the thief's corpse.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Hey, guys! You've gotta see this!"

Oliver turned away from the tanks when he heard Barry yell, and exchanging worried looks with Slade, he hurried out. "What is it?" he asked, Sara coming from the other direction with some of the Legends.

"We jinxed it," Barry said grimly, holding his phone out to Mon-El. "Can you put this on the screen?"

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded, taking Barry's phone.

"Iris just sent this," Barry explained as Mon-El worked. "Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear."

Stein watched Reign's message play, then shook his head. "Did she just declare war on criminality in National City?"

"She did worse than that," Caitlin whispered. "She just declared war on the entire justice system!"

"We have to stop her," Alex swallowed.

"Without Supergirl?" J'onn raised an eyebrow.

"Hello? The heroes and vigilantes that took down an invasion of Nazis from Earth-X?" Winn gestured to the Earth-1 visitors. "And remember, we also have a literal Legion of superheroes here!"

Mon-El sighed heavily, and Oliver closed his eyes, already knowing what he was about to say. "I owe you all my life," he said. "And I hope you know that I would do anything I could for you. But, unfortunately, this can't be our fight."

"What?" Ray blinked.

"Surely we can help them somehow," Imra said.

"If we die now, we will endanger the future," Mon-El shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Zari frowned, folding her arms.

"We're on a mission," Mon-El began.

"Careful," Querl warned.

Mon-El sighed, carefully picking his words. "Our involvement here could jeopardize that."

"I hate time travel," Cisco grumbled.

Barry silently held out his fist, and Cisco bumped it with his own. Mon-El's lips twitched upwards in a small smile at the sight. "Is there anything you know that can help us?" Amaya asked.

"Well, what we do know is that Supergirl lives, and that eventually, Reign will leave," Mon-El nodded.

"That's _it?"_ Nate blinked.

"That's all you've got?" Thea scowled.

"We really don't know much at all," Imra nodded.

"In the year 2455, Earth experienced a third-degree extinction phenomenon," Querl said.

"Humanity came together, but Earth suffered catastrophic destruction," Imra continued. "It wasn't just loss of life. It was its history, culture, art, music."

"It was everything interesting," Querl summed up.

Nate cringed at the thought. "Wow," Felicity whispered.

"Mon-El taught us everything we know," Imra nodded. "From Aristotle, Shakespeare, Bon Jovi – "

Malcolm snorted slightly at that, then winced when Laurel smacked the back of his head. "But we have some gaps," Mon-El finished. "And unfortunately, even if we know the end result, we don't necessarily know how it happens."

"So we know that Supergirl lives, and we know that Reign leaves, eventually," Alex ground her teeth.

Mon-El nodded. "But without knowing how much time we have, Reign could slaughter thousands," Slade closed his eye.

"So what do we do to avoid that happening?" Lily looked around.

"The Sundown Protocol," J'onn sighed, and everyone looked at him, confused. "A highly-classified contingency plan to take down Superman if ever he turns against us. Red sun grenades, sound bombs, Kryptonite darts . . . everything we'd need to take down a rogue Kryptonian on the loose."

Oliver's jaw clenched. "J'onn, we got rid of all the Kryptonite after what went down with Cadmus."

"We helped you with that," Dig nodded in agreement.

"Clark _and_ Kara agreed to get rid of it," Alex affirmed.

"That was before Reign," J'onn stated. "We still have the Kryptonite from Coville's probe, right?"

Oliver, Malcolm, Laurel, and Winn all groaned simultaneously, confusing the others, but Winn nodded reluctantly. "Do we want to know?" Jax looked around.

"Kara had a cult worshiping her," Malcolm answered.

Cisco choked on air. _"What?"_

"Long story short, he had soil from Krypton, and that means he had Kryptonite," Oliver cut in.

"Which can be used against Reign," Sara nodded.

"Oliver, you don't need to come with us for it," J'onn began.

"Reign is why my fiancée is unconscious in a tank from the 31st century, and was nearly beaten to death," Oliver's voice rang sharply in the room, making Barry wince. "It was hard using Kryptonite against Overgirl because she _looked_ like Kara. Reign doesn't, and Kara is going to be nowhere near this fight when we go against her. Like hell am I not taking a chance to go after her."

J'onn sighed, then nodded. "Well, how can I not join in after hearing that?" Sara walked up to Oliver's side.

"League of Superheroes, ready for action," Cisco nodded, then winced. "No. God, no. We need a better name than that."

"Name later," Alex shook her head. "Prep whatever you have to . . . but before you use it, there's someone I have to talk to."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex didn't go alone, either. When she walked in to speak with Coville, she had Amaya and Zari with her. "Ooo," Alex winced in mock sympathy when she saw the black eye Coville was sporting. "Your eye! What happened to you?"  
"Oh, I was spreading the truth to my fellow inmates," Coville answered as she sat down. "They would have preferred I lied."

"Do you want to spread a little truth to me?" Alex tilted her head. "I'll pass it along to Supergirl. You're her biggest fan, right? She said that you knew about the reign of the beast. What else do you know that can help us beat her?"

"Beat her?" Coville repeated. "She's already won."

"What?" Zari's voice rang out sharply.

"She hasn't won," Amaya shook her head. "Supergirl is still alive."

"She was supposed to rise, find her faith, and deliver it," Coville shook his head. "But Supergirl refused her faith and she failed the test."

"Supergirl will defeat her," Alex said confidently. "You just have to help us stop her."

"Supergirl lost so that Reign can prepare us for what comes next," Coville leaned forward.

Zari chuckled, making all three look at her. "Look, buddy, I don't know what drugs you were on – or still _are_ on, but I don't care about that," she sauntered over, planting her hands on the table. "All I care about is one thing that, despite all your worshiping, you don't seem to know when I've only known her for a few weeks, and not very well." She leaned down and smirked. "You should _never_ underestimate Supergirl."

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, how I've missed writing Kariver in this series . . . even if one of them is currently in a coma.**

 **So, I'll say this - I don't know when the next update will be. My mom is leaving her high school this week, and I'll be helping her finish pack up her room, and again, it's summer break. I have other things to do. Also, I know my writing limits, and the last thing I want is to burn myself out like I did multiple times writing Crisis on Earth-X. Just please, let me live my life, and it will be much easier writing both this and The Daxam Four.**


	43. Legion of Super-Heroes - Part Two

**So some people also want to know what I'm planning to do about Siren-X, as she was introduced in "Fury Rogue" as being very much alive and hell bent on making the Freedom Fighters pay for the deaths of her fellow Reich members. Don't worry, I plan on addressing her situation later - _much_ later, since that was episode 19 of the Flash, and I've just gotten to double digits. Hopefully I'll make it believable for all of you.**

 **On to the story - Kara's subconscious is stubborn, Brainy is still hilarious, and the heroes try to take on Reign without Supergirl. It goes about as well as the first time did.**

* * *

 _ **Lena Luthor**_

"Hey," James walked out to meet Lena and Iris. "Just put out a press release telling the city that CatCo is no longer under siege and urging the public to stay calm."

" _Calm?"_ Lena repeated incredulously. "The streets are desolate. People are barricading themselves in their homes. The city is terrified!"

"And we know that there are people working on getting Kara back and working on Reign," Iris reminded Lena. "We've got that hope, it's time to spread it to the people."

"Well, on the bright side," Harry walked up, balancing a tray of coffees in his hands. "Desolate streets mean no lines at the coffee place."

"Oh, you're a life saver," Lena sighed in relief, taking her cup.

"Well, I try," Harry drawled as the others took their cups.

"Thanks, Harry," Iris smiled.

"Speaking of people," Lena cleared her throat. "Anything about Kara?"

"The Legion is still working," James shook his head.

Lena sighed, slumping slightly. "God, I hope she wakes up soon."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara groaned in frustration, pacing her loft. "This is _torture."_

Querl looked up from examining her blue blanket, watching her plop down on one of the couches. "Out of all the 4,237,642 versions of our first meeting that I envisioned, you calling it 'torture' wasn't one of them."

Kara sighed, putting her head in her hands, then frowned, watching Querl move to the other couch, looking at the pillows. "What are you doing?"

"Checking for brain damage," he answered. "In simulacra, like the one we're in now, brain damage could present itself in any number of ways. Mildew, mold. Rats indicate neurological issues. It's just to prepare you for reality re-entry."

"Reality re-entry?" Kara repeated.

"If you're not properly prepared when we wake you up, you could go into shock," Querl nodded. "Some people die immediately."

"Yeah," was all Kara could say to that, before she blinked. "Wait, though. Does . . . does that mean I'm ready to wake up?" she asked hopefully, standing up.

Querl blinked. "Did I bury the lede again?"

Kara whooped gleefully, tossing her pillow at him, making the Coluan catch it, startled. "Yes!" she cheered, turning around. "OK, do I need to do anything?"

"Well, your loft is the manifestation of your subconscious, and that door seems to be the only way in or out," Querl shrugged. "My assumption? Walk through it."

Kara nodded, walking over and putting her hand on the handle.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"It's starting to drain."

Oliver turned sharply when he heard Querl speak, and he hurried over to see Kara's tank was indeed starting to drain. "Is she OK?" he asked as Alex ran over, Barry and Sara turning to see what was going on.

Querl nodded in confirmation. "She's ready."

After a few seconds, though, there was no change in Kara's condition. "Kara?" Oliver asked, walking over to the tank. "Kara?"

"Kara?" Alex banged on the tank. "Kara, it's us!"

Querl frowned, looking at the tank in confusion as the water continued to drain, the level now at Kara's neck as her head lolled to the side. "She should be fine."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara yanked on the door repeatedly, looking between the door handle and the door itself before finally turning to look at Querl. "It's not opening."

Querl hurried to the door to try it himself, but it failed to open for him as well. "You should be fine!"

* * *

 ** _Querl Dox_**

"I thought you said she was ready!" Oliver glared at Querl.

"She should be!" he insisted.

"Then why isn't she waking up?" Sara asked, looking the tank up and down.

Querl just shook his head, looking dumbfounded.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Querl Dox_**

Kara growled, still yanking on the door, as if repeated attempts would end with the door miraculously opening. "Why won't this open?"

"Your body is fine," Querl told her, pouring himself a cup of tea. "We drained the tank. You suffered no ill-effects from the hibernation."

"Then why am I still stuck in my brain?!"

"There's nothing wrong with your brain," Querl shook his head. "We've ruled that out."

"Well, you're the 12th-level intellect," Kara stormed over. "Why don't you figure it out?"

Querl took an experimental sip of his drink, then frowned. "Well, that rules out the physical. So, barring another explanation, I would have to say the only thing keeping you here is _you."_

Kara did a double take, then scoffed. "Well, that doesn't make any sense, 'cause I'm the one that wants to get out of here. Then why won't this thing open? It opened for me earlier."

"To let me in," Querl reminded her, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other. "Going out – " He raised an eyebrow, watching Kara try to punch the door, only for it to warp and not give. "Different story. Is there some reason your subconscious might be – " He paused, watching Kara try again, ending with her staggering backwards. "Preventing your escape? Self-preservation, perhaps?"

Kara seethed, turning around and walking away from the door. "I'm not afraid," she stated.

"You were badly beaten," Querl pointed out, taking a sip of his drink, watching Kara turn and fire her heat vision at the door. "Fear is a logical response to that stimulus."

Kara jerked back slightly, clenching her hands into fists. "I am _not afraid!"_ she roared, using her heat vision with all her might.

Querl winced as her heat vision backfired, making things all around him explode, paper flying everywhere. He looked down when part of his mug cracked and fell to the ground; when he looked back up, Kara was stopping her heat vision, looking around in horror . . . and slight fear.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Come on, little one," Slade growled, looking down at the blonde Kryptonian lying in bed, the crown still on her forehead. "Snap out of it!"

"Brainy will figure it out," Mon-El assured him.

"Don't overpromise," Querl warned. "I've never seen anything like this before." Five vigilantes – one of them Kara's fiancé, the other four her siblings – turned stunned gazes at Querl, and Sara coughed meaningfully. Querl blinked, seeming to realize what he said. "I'm sorry," he looked down. "Insensitive."

"What happens if she stays like this?" Alex was the one to tentatively ask.

Querl sighed. "The longer she remains unconscious, the more likely it is that it will become permanent."

"Oh, God," Oliver closed his eyes, Slade clasping his shoulder firmly.

"Kara," Barry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The lights suddenly flashed red, and there were startled yelps from nearby. "Hey, guys!" Ray shouted. "Reign's attacking again!"

"I'm pulling up a feed now!" Felicity's voice chimed in.

When the others arrived, Felicity was already pulling up images of a burning building. "What's that?" Malcolm narrowed his eyes.

"Meth lab," Cisco answered. "And when the cops arrived, she attacked them, too."

"She really _is_ trying to fight everyone, isn't she?" Lily whispered in shock.

Stein hugged her comfortingly, and Querl cleared his throat. "I'll run another scan on Kara."

Imra watched him leave, then looked at her husband. "Mon-El – "

"We can't risk it," he shook his head.

Oliver frowned, looking at Mon-El. "Risk what?" he asked.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Alex Danvers_**

"So 1,000 years from now, this farming planet, Winath, goes dark," Mon-El began, pulling up a hologram image of a green planet. "Our friend, Ayla, she's from there, so she goes to check it out."

"Winath was a paradise," Imra continued. "But Ayla made planet-fall and found it – "

"Decimated," Mon-El finished as the hologram turned blood red, then darkened to black. "It was completely dried out."

"The creatures that did this, we call them the Blight. They consume everything in their path."

"And Brainy found a way to stop them, but they were on us before we could use it," Mon-El said, turning the image off.

"So we hid the information in the safest place we could," Imra nodded. "Our DNA, where it can't be lost, can't be stolen."

"It's written in your _genes?"_ Caitlin's jaw dropped.

"Astonishing," Stein breathed.

"So, if we die, our DNA never makes it to the future, and everything's lost," Mon-El said. "You have no idea how badly I wish we could help."

Oliver looked at the place where Winath had hovered, then looked at Mon-El. "But you'll keep helping Kara?"

"Yes," he nodded at once.

Oliver nodded back, turning and heading back to the medbay. "Just make sure my sister wakes up," Alex told Mon-El, walking away and reaching for her comm device. "J'onn, where are you on Sundown?"

"Sound guns are almost done, but the grenades will take an hour, at least," he answered. "And we still don't know where Reign is gonna strike next."

Sara suddenly started to grin. "Hey . . . I may have an idea how to get ahead of her."

"Oh, God," Nate said with a completely straight face.

Sara shot him a nasty look, leading to Ray and Zari snickering.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"Told you it was a good one," Sara smirked as she checked the machine gun she would be wielding.

"Yeah, yeah," Alex sighed. "You're awesome."

"Don't I know it," Sara winked.

"Uh, not that I'm happy seeing Sara look happy while flirting, but can we get back to the fact we're trying to take down a Kryptonian _without_ Kara?" Ray asked.

"No Supergirl, no cavalry, and Reign is strong," J'onn walked up. "She doesn't know what all of us together are capable of. Let's show her."

Alex turned when she saw Oliver walk in with Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel. "You ready?"

"To face the Kryptonian who just about killed the love of my life?" Oliver raised an eyebrow, catching the gun Alex tossed him. "Never been more."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Alex Danvers_**

Work at the National City Bank was interrupted by a group of seven people in all black, faces hidden by masks, firing rifles into the air. "Get on the ground!" the one in the lead shouted. "Get on the ground!"

"This is a robbery!" another one snarled, punching one man into the desk.

"Don't touch that button!" one with a feminine voice smacked another down with her gun.

"Hurry up!" another woman snapped.

The windows high in the building shattered, and the robbers turned around as Reign landed, sneering as she stood. "You were warned."

The lead robber jumped off from where he was standing on a shelf, and he lifted his mask to reveal J'onn. The six others took off their masks to reveal Oliver, Alex, Sara, Slade, Malcolm, and Mick. Reign scowled, looking around as some of the people in the bank came into view with guns of varying sizes, with Barry, Laurel, Firestorm, and Zari holding the largest. "Hey, bitch," Sara walked forward, holding up a grenade that glowed red. _"Catch."_

She activated it and threw it at Reign, and the red sun grenade exploded just inches in front of her face. Reign grunted as the blast threw her back, and J'onn watched in satisfaction as she collapsed on the floor. "Fire up!" he ordered.

Barry and Firestorm were the first to activate their guns, sending soundwaves at Reign. Laurel and Zari activated theirs from the other side, and the four inched closer, trying to keep Reign down, even as she slowly staggered to her feet. Sara watched, scowling, then looked up. "Now!"

An elephant trumpeted, and Reign barely managed to look up before a steeled-up Nate and Amaya, the spirit of an elephant dissipating behind her, jumped from above, bringing iron chains down hard on Reign's neck. She cried out in pain, forced to the ground as Nate and Amaya cracked tiles when they landed.

"Finally," Oliver smirked as a breach opened behind them, and Cisco jumped through, followed by Caitlin and Ray, all three of them suited up.

Caitlin sneered at Reign as Ray handed off two more sets of chains, both with glowing shards of Kryptonite dangling. Oliver and Alex took one apiece, walking forward as Nate and Amaya kept Reign down. "Payback's a bitch," Caitlin smirked.

Reign screamed as Oliver and Alex dropped the chains unceremoniously over her neck. What they didn't expect was for Reign to scream louder, stand, and use the chain held by Nate and Amaya to throw the two Legends away from her, sending D.E.O. agents and Earth-1 heroes running to avoid being hit by the two.

In fact, Alex was so shocked, she turned to see where Amaya landed and completely missed Reign lashing out with the chain, wrapping it around her lower leg and jerking. She didn't miss the sickening crack, nor the explosion of pain she felt, from her leg, and she herself screamed as she crashed into the ground on her back. "Alex!" Sara's eyes widened.

Reign sneered as she stood up, removing the Kryptonite from around her neck. Oliver clenched his jaw, backing up so he stood in front of Alex. Reign stormed towards him, but Barry sped forward, grabbing Alex and getting her out of the way. J'onn grabbed Reign's wrist, pulling her away from Oliver, then punched her in the gut. Reign went flying to the other end of the room as Oliver backed up, recognizing that the Kryptonite . . . had done practically _nothing_ to Reign. He couldn't fight against that kind of strength, even if he wanted to . . . and he _really_ wanted to.

Reign rose to her feet, giving them all one last sneer before flying through the windows again, out into the night.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Caitlin Snow_**

"Well, that all sounded horrible," Dig winced, watching Querl and Caitlin work on putting Alex's leg in a cast.

"It _was_ horrible," Barry ran a hand over his face.

"At least none of you are dead," Felicity tried to look on the bright side.

"Yeah, but Reign _isn't,"_ Thea grumbled.

"And she's still out there," Nate agreed, wincing as he rolled his shoulder, Amaya still rubbing her back. "Gotta say, I was not expecting that."

"None of us were," Slade shook his head.

"Are you OK?" Imra asked worriedly as she ran in, Mon-El behind her.

"Considering my tibia's been snapped in half?" Alex asked dryly.

"What about Reign?" Mon-El asked.

"She shrugged off that Kryptonite like it was nothing," Oliver scowled.

Alex cried out suddenly, and Caitlin scowled at Querl, swatting him away. "That's good!"

Querl blinked, then stood up and hastily backed up. "Thank you," Alex whispered to Caitlin, then looked up. "The same amount incapacitated Kara."

"So why was Reign resistant?" Thea asked.

"Maybe she's more than just Kryptonian?" Stein suggested.

"No," Alex shook her head. "The soil _did_ hurt her, just not enough."

"Got a plan?" Sara raised an eyebrow.

Alex nodded. "Concentrate it. We'll put it straight in her bloodstream. Jugular should work."

"And who of us is strong enough to hit the bitch and pull that off?" Mick scowled.

Oliver just shook his head, walking back towards the medbay. Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin all turned at the same time to look at the one alien in the room they knew could be that strong enough.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"I swear, if you pull the 'people are counting on you not to die' card again, I will get Caitlin to find a way to remove that cure from you and find something lead to stab you with," Sara folded her arms.

Mon-El sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Then there's no other card for me to play."

"Oh, for the love of – "

"Mon-El, you keep saying that," Imra shook her head. "That this is not our fight. What about Tommy and Gina, hmm? 'You live for the fight when it's all that you've got.'"

Mon-El smiled slightly. "Bon Jovi."

"Mmmhmm," Imra nodded. "Or was that all a lie?"

"No," Mon-El shook his head. "No, he speaks the truth."

Imra put a hand on her shoulder. "I know we had a plan, but we are supposed to help people. We're _sworn_ to helping people."

"And we really need your help, man," Barry nodded. "Nate's recovering, and Amaya's cautious to use more than one spirit at a time. You're the only one that could get close enough to Reign and stick the needle in her."

"We can help them, Mon-El," Imra urged. "It's who we are."

"Besides, you said that you know what happens in the end," Sara leaned against the window. "You don't know _how_ it gets to that end."

"Yes," Mon-El frowned.

Sara held out her arms. "So how do you know that you shouldn't be involved? For all history knew, the Legion was supposed to be here to help fight Reign."

"There are times when I really hate time travel, but Sara's got a point," Barry nodded. "If the fight against Reign really is pretty much unknown . . . what's to say you can make that history yourselves?"

Mon-El looked like he was considering it, looking past Sara to see Oliver sitting by Kara's side, the archer looking utterly exhausted and drained, yet he still managed to stay awake as he held Kara's hand in both of his.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Why are you cleaning?" Querl frowned, pacing as Kara picked up some things from the floor. "None of this is real."

"I don't know," Kara admitted, sighing as Querl crouched down in front of her. "I guess I just like putting things back in order." She stood up, taking the basket over to the table. "And my brain originally is like an empty little attic and you must stock it with such furniture as you choose. It's Sherlock Holmes." Querl nodded, standing up as Kara picked up a book on the table, absently flipping through it, then Kara paused, a thought coming to mind. _"This_ is the furniture I chose."

Querl tilted his head back and forth. "Hmm . . . oversimplification." Kara gave him an exasperated look, and Querl cleared his throat. "But, yes, go on."

"So there must be something in here my subconscious wants me to see."  
"Hmm," Querl mused. "That's . . . that's actually not a bad idea." He blinked, an offended look briefly crossing his face. "Why didn't _I_ think of that?"

Kara put the book down and walked back over to the rug, picking up a magazine to flip through. If there was something here in her loft that she needed to find, she was going to find it if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver heard the familiar sound of heavy footsteps behind him, turning away for a short second as Slade walked around to the other side of Kara's bed. "Hey, kid," he said quietly, sitting down and looking Kara over. "Every bloody time she's in a bed like this, it gets worse for me to see."

Oliver nodded absently, then shook his head. "It's my fault."

"What?" Slade narrowed his eye.

"That she's like this," Oliver chewed his lip. "I did this to her."

"No, Oliver," Slade shook his head instantly. "You didn't. Reign was the one who hurt her."

"And I was the one who pushed her further into that fight," Oliver argued. "You know what she told me, Slade? That for the longest time, she tried not to be human. She didn't like being Kara Danvers, but back when Bloodsport was a problem? She told me those days, when she didn't try to be human, were some of the worst days of her life. I told her that Kara Danvers was my favorite person then . . . and then, before she went to fight Reign, I told her to forget who she was." He swallowed, looking down. "And after hearing that she might not wake up the longer she stays asleep . . . "

"She knew what she was going to be fighting when she left, Oliver," Slade shook his head. "She was ready to fight anyway. She may be my sister, but she's _your_ fiancée. You need her, but she needs you just as much. Don't you give up on her for a second, kid. She's a fighter, you know that. Don't give her a reason to stop fighting. She'll come back to you. The two of you always have. And it is Reign's fault she's like this – it is _not_ your fault."

Oliver took a shaky breath, nodding. "Thank you, Slade."

Slade nodded, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Kara's head, squeezing Oliver's shoulder before he left. Oliver looked down at Kara, swallowing hard. "Please," he begged, voice cracking. "Wake up!"

From where he stood around the corner, Querl watched Slade head back to the others, mulling Oliver's words over in his head.

* * *

 **A/N: Poor Oliver. And poor Kara. I really like putting Kariver through the ringer, don't I?**

 **But next time is the final part, and we'll see if Brainy pulls through!**


	44. Legion of Super-Heroes - Part Three

**Hey, everyone! I'm guessing some people have been wondering where I've been for a while. Well, last Tuesday, when my parents and I arrived for vacation, our car's windows were smashed in and a lot of our things were stolen. We got quite a bit back, but no electronics were recovered. That includes my laptop. I only just recently got a replacement, and boy, have my fingers been itching to get back to writing.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has been patient waiting for me to get another update out for all of you. :) Thank you for respecting my time, it's something I, and a lot of other authors, appreciate.**

 **Guest: A lot of people really want me to hand Coville to Malcolm on a silver platter, including me, so you're not alone! :)**

 **Guest: SuperCorp definitely won't take the same direction it did in the show. There will probably be tension because it's Kryptonite, but hopefully my version will leave readers much more satisfied.**

 **And finally, one thing I want to say . . . I don't like plagiarizers. I really don't, and the same author on Wattpad copied the first book and the beginning of the second book in this series for the second time this year. So please, I would prefer to be asked if elements of my story that I have made my own, such as dialogue or very specific plot points that can be attributed to me, would like to be used by anyone, and if I say yes, I would also like to be credited for what was used, especially if it's as specific as dialogue that is mine practically word for word, like the author did when Kara made her entrance in the final fight against Prometheus and Black Siren and so many other interactions. This is at least the third plagiarizing issue I have had in the past two years, and I really don't want another one.**

 **So, with that in mind . . . the Legion of Superheroes steps up, Kara has a decision to make, and teeth might rot at the end.**

 **Enjoy the final part of "Legion of Super-Heroes!"**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Querl Dox**_

Kara could feel Querl occasionally looking at her from where he was picking up broken pieces of glass and pottery, but she focused on picking up various papers that had flown everywhere.

However, something under an old envelope caught her eye, and frowning, she reached out and picked up a black framed picture. She looked at the picture, curious and confused. "Huh."

Querl stood up, looking grateful for the distraction, and he walked over, looking over Kara's shoulder. "You had a pet?"

"Yeah," Kara smiled, looking down at the picture of her and her cat, but frowned again as Querl crouched down next to her. "But if this is my subconscious trying to tell myself something, I don't get it."

"Could be a random neuron firing," Querl mused. "What's its name?"

"Streaky," Kara answered. "I, uh . . . I found him on our street right after I came to Earth, actually. He was a stray, too."

"You felt an emotional kinship," Querl nodded.

Kara tilted her head, thinking it over, then grinned. "Yes," she nodded, thinking he made sense. "Yeah. We were . . . " She was distracted by movement on one of the chairs, and her eyes widened. "Friends." Querl turned to look as well, and he saw what she had: the same black cat in the picture was curled up on the chair. "I used to go out every night and feed him," Kara stood up, walking over to Streaky and squatting down, holding out her hand to gently stroke him. "I didn't wanna touch him. I was so strong, I could have hurt him. So, I practiced being gentle. And then, one day, I pet him." She picked Streaky up, giggling when he purred, just like he had years ago. "And he purred, and everything was OK." She sat down, putting Streaky in her lap, running her hands over his fur as Querl stood. "I felt like an alien on Earth for so long, and he helped me feel like a human."

She smiled as Streaky purred, and she continued to pet him, not noticing Querl's thoughtful expression.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"Reign is finding bigger targets," J'onn paced in front of the heroes. "She wants to teach us an abject lesson."

"She's going to cleanse the sinners of society locked away," Alex tapped her fingers anxiously on one of the consoles. "The ones that she feels were granted mercy."

Malcolm closed his eyes. "And where do we know where several sinners of society are locked away?"

"Albatross Bay," Laurel seethed.

"That's crazy," Thea groaned.

A screen nearby started flashing an alert, and Cisco pointed. "Crazy's happened."

"She's already there," Mon-El looked at the schematics showing a break-in.

"She's gonna kill everyone," Amaya breathed. "It won't matter if they're guards or prisoners."

"And they'll all be fish in a barrel," Lily gulped.

"Well, we've got to do something," Nate turned around.

"You're still injured," J'onn reminded him. "I'll go."

"You can't, J'onn," Slade shook his head. "Not alone. You know how strong she is."

"What other choice do we have?" Nate argued.

Mon-El, however, nodded as if deciding something, and turned around. "You know, we _have_ been asleep for many years."

Barry slowly started to grin. "Feeling up for some exercise?"

"I am," Imra smiled back.

Querl looked back and forth as Mon-El nodded at Sara, who nodded back and held out her hand as Barry held his out to Imra. The two Legionnaires shook their hands in response, then Querl looked at his leader. "You're being facetious?"

Mon-El rolled his eyes fondly as Cisco snickered. "This guy."

* * *

 ** _Reign_**

Chaos was kind to describe the horror going on inside Albatross Bay. A better word to use was a _massacre._ And the Kryptonian causing it couldn't have been any happier.

She strolled past bodies of inmates and guards and ignored the showering sparks from failing lights. Every person she had crossed so far was dead.

However, as she approached another cell, she stopped for a second, hearing a voice inside. Every inmate so far had tried to attack her. All of them failed, but they tried to fight all the same. So why was one lone prisoner not making any move against her?

She walked closer to the cell, only to pause when she could clearly hear the words being spoken. " – of the renewal, I submit to you," the man inside was saying. "For Rao is the light, but he was born of fire."

Reign moved into the doorway, eyes narrowed. "How do you know those words?" she demanded coldly.

The man kneeling in front of a Kryptonian symbol on the wall slowly turned. "I – " he stammered, looking up at her in a mixture of awe and terror. "I was awoken to them."

"People are quick to claim salvation when faced with death," Reign scowled, stepping further into the cell. "Do you think that is enough for me to spare you?"

"You don't have to spare me," he shook his head. "You just have to let me serve you."

Reign tilted her head, looking at the man long and hard, but before she could make the decision, something stopped her.

Music suddenly started playing, sounding tinny in the prison, but loud enough to draw her attention. Reign narrowed her eyes, turning away and looking up. She gave Coville one last warning look before storming towards the walls that led to the outside of Albatross Bay. She used her heat vision to blow a hole in the wall, and she walked out, narrowing her eyes as the music increased in volume.

And then, from the bay, the sleek lines of a spaceship emerged, water rolling off metal, and Reign narrowed her eyes as it rose into the sky.

* * *

 ** _Sara Lance_**

"I gotta say," Mick watched Reign walk out on a monitor, smirking as Ray and Nate laughed hysterically behind him, Felicity and Cisco in the same shape as everyone else watched in anticipation. "Nice use of Bon Jovi."

Sara's lips quirked up in a smirk, then her attention was drawn as Querl, clad in his Legion suit, brought the pilot's chair into position so he could see all of the screens and his fellow Legionnaires. "I think we've got her attention," he announced.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Down on the ground, Mon-El raised an eyebrow as the woman stopped in front of him and Imra, "Livin' on a Prayer" still blaring in the background. "You don't say."

"You will not interfere with my mission," Reign warned.

"Interfering is our specialty," Mon-El smirked.

"I've only come to cleanse the sin of this world."

"Didn't feel like starting with yourself, then?" Imra retorted.

Startled laughter came from the comms, followed by a cough. _Thea,_ Mon-El thought with a smirk. "I'm not of this world," Reign scoffed before flying into the air.

Mon-El just watched her go, smirking. "Neither are we."

On his and Imra's right hands, the gold rings depicting the Legion's L glowed fiery red orange, and both flew into the air to Reign's height, Querl flying their cruiser to hover behind them.

Reign narrowed her eyes, but before she could attempt anything, Querl fired their cannons. Reign swerved to avoid, but the fiery explosion propelled her through the air. She landed on bended knee on the tarmac, looking up as Querl repeatedly fired, sending her through the air and against the chainlink fence.

* * *

 ** _Sara Lance_**

"Who'd've thought the Brainiac had it in him?" Sara blinked, impressed as she watched.

Barry snorted behind her. "Clearly you haven't heard about Indigo."

"Who?"

"My point exactly."

"Engaging cannons," Querl reported as he moved around the screens.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara looked up when she heard Querl's words, confused, then blinked when she saw him with his eyes closed, tapping midair. "Aloian attack formation," he continued.

"Are you _fighting?"_ she asked in disbelief, setting Streaky down.

"Oh, Sprock!" Querl winced, eyes popping open. "Did I say that out loud?"

"What's going on out there?" Kara demanded, standing up.

Querl squirmed. "Little, tiny, tiny baby battle," he answered. "Actually, let's keep talking. It'll help get my mind off this life-or-death scenario."

"Your mind _should_ be on the life-or-death scenario!"

"I'm perfectly capable of multitasking," Querl rolled his eyes, picking up three oranges and starting to juggle them. "I'm actually working on your Sunday crossword right now. Six down is 'anguilloform' – " He jerked suddenly, catching two oranges and dropping the other as he turned to a nonexistent person. "Mon-El, evade!"

"Don't be here," Kara urged. "Go help them."

Querl swallowed, then nodded and stood up, walking past her. He paused, then turned to look at her. "For what it's worth, it looks like Supergirl had a pretty great life."

"These aren't Supergirl's things," Kara shook her head. "They're Kara's."

Querl nodded, then made a face. "Your fiancé said something similar a few minutes ago."

Kara blinked at the mention of Oliver, not expecting that from Querl. "What?"

"He said Kara Danvers is his favorite person," Querl nodded.

Kara smiled faintly, watching Querl interlock his fingers and bow his head before he shimmered out of existence. That was Oliver, all right. She sighed, rubbing the back of her head and turning, trying to think of what else she was missing –

A glint of light off glass caught her eye, and Kara froze when she saw her glasses resting on the counter. Her heart skipped a beat as she hurried over, snatching them up and looking at them in shock. Those had _not_ been there the rest of Brainy's time there!

She blew off the dust covering them and rubbed the smudges off with her cardigan, then slipped them back on, tugging her cardigan tighter around her and looking around. Yes, Kara Danvers _did_ have a great life, she knew that, _of course_ she knew that. So what was her subconscious trying to tell her? She rubbed her hands together, only to freeze when she realized she wasn't wearing something else as well.

As if in a trance, she tilted her left hand, her heart feeling like it stopped when she realized she was also missing her engagement ring. Her eyes flew wide as her head flew back and forth, and she ran to check every single surface of her loft. She could _not_ have lost it! She couldn't have!

She was near tears in her search when a glitter caught her eye, and turning around, she saw the familiar black gold band on a side table nearby. She blew out her breath in a rush, running over and gingerly picking it up. After twisting it from side to side, she smiled widely, a small sob of relief coming from her mouth as she slipped it on. There was no damage to the ring at all, thank Rao. She twisted her hand this way and that, watching the light catch in the heart-shaped emerald center stone, unable to stop smiling. Of everything Kara Danvers had, this possibly meant the most to her.

She finally looked up to take a look at what else was on the table, and tears filled her eyes when she saw it had just one picture on it. She reached out with a trembling hand and picked the frame off the table, blowing the dust off of it. It had just three people in it, but just looking at it made Kara stagger backwards with the realization of what was keeping her trapped in her subconsciousness.

It was of her in Oliver's loft, laughing and looking happy, with Oliver holding her close to his side. Both of their arms were around a beaming William, and all of them were looking at the camera Alex had been holding.

" _Even though you live on different Earths? You're alien, he's human? You think this will work in the long run?"_

" _I can't see myself living without him."_

" _Till death do you part, hmm?"_

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen_**

Querl fired a missile at Reign, but she got to her feet and deflected it back at the ship. It hit the front, making Mon-El and Imra swerve. Cisco yelped as he, Felicity, and Caitlin went flying, Nate reaching out to catch Sara before she crashed into Querl's seat, Barry flashing around to retrieve Jax and Lily. "Careful, Brainy!" Mon-El shouted. "You got precious cargo onboard!"

"Knocked out the tri-cannons," Querl reported. "I'll need a minute to get it back online."

"Come on, guys," Barry whispered, bouncing on the balls of his feet anxiously as Sara held crossed fingers to her lips, eyes narrowed as they watched Querl's monitors. "Come on!"

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen_**

Imra landed in a graceful crouch, Mon-El landed a few paces away as Reign approached. The Kryptonian narrowed her eyes, daring them to make a move.

Imra dared, holding out her hand. Heavy metal plates lifted off the racks in front of her, swirling in the air until Imra flung her hand out towards Reign. The plates flew in her direction, but Reign's heat vision flared red, incinerating each plate as they approached. While she was distracted, Mon-El pulled a Kryptonite syringe from his gauntlet and raced full speed towards Reign.

Unfortunately, that was the time when Reign incinerated the last plate and saw him coming. She narrowed her eyes, then blew hard. Mon-El stopped in his tracks, grunting as ice crystals formed on his skin. Imra's eyes widened, and she put her fingers to her temple, hoping she was in time. Relief flooded through her as a shimmering forcefield of blue energy formed around Mon-El, protecting him from the cold, even though he was now inside a frozen sphere. Imra gulped, turning to look back at Reign as she smirked, walking towards them.

J'onn rose through the ground in front of her in full Martian form, narrowing his eyes. "Time to put you back in the hole you came from," he declared, grabbing her and phasing her into the ground with him.

All around the Legionnaires, the pavement raised as the two fought underground. A few seconds later, the two aliens burst through the tarmac and into the air, then crashed to the ground. As J'onn panted heavily, Imra ran to help Mon-El as he tried to punch his way through the ice. She didn't see Reign until she came around the side of the ice sphere and punched her in the ribs, sending Imra through the air and to the ground.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara had meant what she said back in Midvale. After everything she and Oliver had gone through together, through Lian Yu, Cadmus, Oliver's indictment, the Legion arriving, and Earth-X, she couldn't see herself without him, she _couldn't._ This entire time, she just wanted to get out of her mind prison and get back to him.

But at the same time . . .

" _How the hell are we going to keep going? He's the mayor of Star City, National City needs me to be Supergirl. We barely exist on the other Earth. We make it work now, but in the future? We're serious, Alex. We're really serious, and I love it . . . and it scares me."_

How could it _not_ scare her? Of all her relationships, only the one she had with Mon-El had gotten to the point she couldn't have seen herself with anyone else before. Mon-El was an alien, like her. He had lost his home planet, like her. He wanted to be a hero, like her. And he was one of the kindest people she knew, like her. Then he was gone, and in the seven months he had been gone, Oliver had worked his way further than Mon-El ever had in his heart. She loved him with every fiber of her being, and despite living in different universes, despite their jobs, despite him being _human,_ they made their relationship work.

And yet, the future . . .

" _I can outlive him, Alex! I don't know how long it'll be, but with Mon-El, I could adapt to living without him. I can't with Oliver. I don't want to miss out on a life like that. You and Maggie would have grown old together, you would've been with each other all the way to the end. Me, I'll just keep living and having to watch Oliver die . . . I don't want to see that!"_

Kara sank onto the couch behind her, one hand clutching the frame with a death grip, her other hand holding onto the cushions for dear life. All this time, she thought she was having lingering doubts about whether she was alien or human. She truly had left that in the past.

No, what was keeping her here was her fear about her future. Where she would go, how she and Oliver could make being married work, how they would deal with their different universes, their different species . . .

How she would go on once she inevitably outlived him. And oh, Rao, how would she go on once she outlived _William?_

She put the picture gently on the couch before leaning forward, burying her face in her hands. Alex and Maggie would have had the same lifespan. She and Mon-El were similar enough in biology, surely they would have had around the same amount of time. But her and Oliver . . . there was no way to avoid the simple fact they weren't the same species and that he would die before her, whether it was in the field or of old age. Kryptonite could hurt her, yes, but with how rare it now was on her Earth and the yellow sun still shining down on Earth, there was practically no chance of her dying before him. And no parent should have to outlive their child . . . yet Kara could see that happening, because she loved William, too, and just the thought of him dying, and she still living on . . .

"It would be this," she whispered, tears clogging her throat.

How could it not be? One of her greatest fears was being alone in the world, and of everyone she loved, only Clark and J'onn, and now Mon-El and possibly Imra and Querl, were the only ones she was certain had the same longevity she had. And even then, Mon-El and his team were based in the future. They would be gone sooner or later, too.

But even as her heart broke for the inevitability of being alone once her family died, Kara's gaze went back to the picture, a smile forming on her face as she looked at the wide one she had in the picture. Yes, their deaths were inevitable . . . but that was still a long time in the future. There could be all those years full of moments like the ones they had. Full of people like Alex and Slade and Malcolm and Laurel and Barry and Sara, full of people who cared for them and would support them and would be there for them. Her life would be happy, and her life would be full.

Would that life be worth the heartbreak that would come later?

Kara took a deep breath, straightening in her seat. She set her jaw, swallowed, then nodded to herself. As she did so, her eyes fell to the coffee table in front of her, and a smile of victory formed on her face as she reached out and picked up the gold key that hadn't been there before. "El mayarah," she whispered. "Till death do us part."

Her decision made, she stood up and marched over to the door, inserted the key into the lock, and opened the door. "To life being full," she declared, smiling as she walked through.

Yes, that life was what she wanted, and she would make it worth it.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver was sure his ears deceived him when he heard a hitch from the bed next to him. But when he heard a shaky exhale, his head shot up from where he had been holding Kara's hand, and had he not been sitting, he was certain he would have collapsed in relief as Kara's eyes blinked open. "Oh, my God," he breathed, squeezing her hand tightly and standing up. "Kara!"

Kara immediately turned towards his voice, and her blue eyes looked everywhere before they finally met his green eyes. The moment they did, a weary smile formed on her face. "Oliver," she beamed, even as tears filled her eyes.

Oliver bent down and kissed her, closing his eyes, letting the fact that Kara was _awake_ and _alive_ and _here_ sink in. "You came back."

"Every time," Kara whispered, reaching up with her free hand to cup the back of his neck as his other one cupped her cheek. "You stayed with me?"

"Nowhere else I'd rather be," Oliver smiled, kissing her forehead. "When you wouldn't wake up – "

"I had a decision to make," Kara looked up at him, smiling. "I had people to come back to. I made my choice." Oliver smiled in relief as Kara lifted her head slightly so their foreheads touched, then she took a deep breath. "Querl said there's a battle going on?"

"No," Oliver immediately shook his head. "No way."

"I have to help them," she insisted, sitting up.

"They're using Kryptonite, Kara!" he protested.

"I don't care if it makes me vulnerable," she shook her head. "I'll use it against her." She looked up at him, a determined glint in her eyes. "Reign won't see it coming."

Oliver swallowed. "You better come back to me, angel."

Kara smiled, squeezing his hand. "Every time," she promised.

He took a deep breath, then nodded, and Kara kissed him before heading for the exit.

* * *

 ** _Querl Dox/Barry Allen_**

"Tri-cannons back online," Querl announced.

There was a crackle of static, then – "Good!" Kara's voice rang out, and Querl nearly fell off his seat in surprise.

Alex let out a hysterical cry of relief as Laurel laughed, spinning around and hugging Slade and Malcolm, surprising them as she squeezed them tightly. "Yes!" Sara cheered, throwing her hands up in relief as Barry whooped. "Yes, yes, _yes!"_

"Barry, Firestorm, I hope you're up for round two!" Kara continued.

"Wherever, whenever!" Barry couldn't stop smiling as Jax and Lily shared grins before fistbumping and merging into Firestorm.

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen/Kara Danvers_**

Imra rolled onto her knees as Reign sauntered up, a cruel smile on her face. "If you defend a sinner, you must _be_ a sinner," she said, ignoring Mon-El furiously trying to punch through the ice. "And I will wipe away the sin of this world."

Imra took a few deep breaths, then lifted her chin, bracing herself for whatever Reign was going to do.

Until suddenly, twin beams of heat vision hit Reign in the chest, followed by a yellow lightning bolt and a fireball. Reign screamed as she flew backwards, and Imra spun around, looking up in shock. Barry skidded to a stop on a nearby building, and Kara floated down, Firestorm and the Legion cruiser behind her. "Like she said!" Barry called.

"You didn't think to start with yourself?" Jax tilted his head.

"I thought you were dead!" Reign howled angrily.

"I got better!" Kara retorted. _"Now!"_

She dove for Reign as Barry ran down, circling the ice where Mon-El was trapped. He launched another lightning bolt at the same time as Firestorm threw another fireball. Both shattered the ice surrounding Mon-El as Kara slammed into Reign, the two Kryptonians sprawling on the asphalt. Reign got to her feet first, bending over Kara, an ugly sneer on her face. "Now I cleanse you of your sin."

Barry slammed into Reign, this time surprising her enough to knock her off balance. At the same time, Firestorm flew over Kara's head, dropping something that glinted green. Kara reached up and grabbed the Kryptonite syringe, then jammed it into Reign's neck.

Reign's eyes bugged open, and she released Kara with a pained gasp, backing away and grabbing at the syringe. Kara winced as she staggered to her feet, Barry immediately taking her arm and helping her up. As Firestorm landed and Mon-El, Imra, and J'onn got to their feet, Reign took off into the sky, and Kara and Barry watched her go, all of them panting.

A second later, Barry was scooping Kara up and spinning her around, hugging her tightly. Kara burst out laughing, wrapping her arms around her friend. "I thought Earth-X was bad, but _never_ scare us like that again!" Barry fumed as the cruiser landed.

Kara giggled as he set her down. "I'll try not to."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Well, that was Iris," Barry said as he walked down the hall with Oliver, Kara, and Sara. "James is working on a press release right now that Supergirl is back in action, and Lena is bringing her and Harry back to go back to Earth-1."

"Harry and Lena, really?" Kara tilted her head. "Is that a thing?"

"If it is, nothing surprises me these days," Sara smirked, patting her on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're all right, Kara."

"I'm happy to be back," Kara smiled, then looked past her to the medical bay. "Ah, excuse me one second?"

"Sure," Sara nodded, walking off. Oliver squeezed her hand, then he and Barry left with her.

Kara watched them go, then knocked on the metal doorframe. "Hey," she greeted, smiling when Mon-El and Imra turned to look at her, one of the D.E.O. doctors working on a scratch Imra had on her head. "We beat her . . . for now. Thanks for fighting alongside us."

"It was an honor," Imra smiled.

Kara smiled back, then headed down the hall. A second later, Mon-El's voice sounded closer. "Hey, Kara!" She turned around and smiled at him, and he smiled back. "I was really worried about you when you didn't wake up." He took a deep breath. "I know you're with Oliver now, and I respect that because I have Imra. But . . . I still care about you."

"I know," Kara nodded. "I still care about you, too."

Mon-El smiled, holding out his hand. Kara took his forearm, and they gave each other a warrior's handshake. "It was great fighting with you again," Mon-El grinned.

"You call being trapped in an ice cube 'fighting with me?'" Kara grinned back.

Mon-El laughed, shaking his head and releasing her hand. "I missed that."

Kara gave off a small salute, and Mon-El returned it as he turned to head back to the med bay. "You know," Sara remarked, and Kara jumped and turned around to see the blonde had actually doubled back and was leaning against the railing. She had also apparently raided a vending machine, because she was munching on a packet of fruit snacks. "After what Ollie told me about him, he's not so bad now."

"Yeah," Kara smiled. "We've all changed for the better, I think."

"Tell me about it," Sara nodded, popping a fruit snack in her mouth. "Ollie's matured enough to decide to marry someone, and you've both warmed up to each other after the Dominators."

Kara squawked indignantly, swiping for Sara's fruit snacks, but Sara danced out of the way, laughing. Kara laughed with her, then someone blue caught her eye. "Hey!" she called, perking up. "It's you!" Querl turned around from his path to the medbay, instead walking towards her and Sara, smiling. Kara smiled back, then blinked, narrowing her eyes. "Are you _shorter?"_

Querl frowned, then tilted his head. "Are you suggesting that I augmented my height while I existed in your consciousness so that you might see me as a more stable and trustworthy figure and therefore work with me to help you?"

Kara blinked rapidly as Sara snorted, then she hastily covered her mouth, turning around. "Uh . . . " she held out slowly. "Yeah?"

Querl nodded slowly, then admitted, "Yes. I did do exactly that."

"OK," Kara giggled as Sara grinned.

"It's nice to meet you in real life," Querl grinned at her, then saluted Sara. "Captain Lance."

"Brainy," Sara saluted back.

"OK, give me one of those," Kara reached for her fruit snacks.

"Uh uh!" Sara ran off, grinning wildly.

"Oh, come on!" Kara sprinted after her, the two blondes' laughter carrying through the D.E.O., a welcome sound after the past few days.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"So, Supergirl wakes up from a coma just in time to save a bunch of convicts who were about to be wrongfully executed by a murderous alien," Lena smiled widely as she walked into the main room of the D.E.O. "Quite the grand entrance."

"Yeah, well, you know me," Kara smiled warmly.

Lena chuckled, hugging her. "I missed you."

"Missed you, too," Kara hugged her back.

"Welcome back, Supergirl," Harry smiled, he and Iris stopping behind Lena.

"Thanks, Harry," Kara nodded. "I told the others you can stay a while longer . . . ?"

"We've got our own Christmas to go to," Iris shook her head. "But thank you, Kara."

"Any time," Kara nodded.

"All right, everyone," Sara clapped her hands as she walked into the room, Barry behind her, Cisco putting on his goggles. "The anachronisms won't save themselves."

"It'd be easier on us if they did," Mick grumbled, even as he shuffled to stand with Sara along with the rest of the Legends.

"It was a pleasure to have you, Captain Lance," J'onn smiled.

"Pleasure to be here, Director," Sara nodded, shaking his hand. "If you need our help again, just give us a call."

"Will do."

"That goes for you guys, too," Sara pointed between Kara and Oliver.

Kara giggled as Oliver nodded. "We will."

"You," Sara pointed at Barry. "Stay out of our timeline." Barry held up his hands placatingly, then Sara turned to the Legionnaires. "And you three . . . try and keep those two out of trouble?"

"Hey!" Oliver protested as Kara squawked, her eyes wide.

Imra laughed as Mon-El grinned. "Sounds like a difficult job," he joked.

"Don't let me down," Sara smirked.

"Good to see you again, man," Barry walked over, holding out his hand.

"Same," Mon-El nodded. "I'm sorry about H.R., and give Joe my regards, will you?"

"Absolutely," Barry nodded.

"Think you can keep yourself out of trouble?" Harry raised an eyebrow at Lena.

"For at least a few months," Lena rolled her eyes.

"Ah, yes . . . _quarterly assassination attempt."_

Lena blushed slightly, slapping his arm. "Get out of here."

Harry chuckled, shaking his head. "Take care of yourself, Lena."

Lena smiled, giving him a quick hug. "You, too."

Kara saw Sara wagging her eyebrows, and Kara rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Sara."

"I didn't say anything," the blonde grinned.

"Oh, but you wanted to."

"But I didn't, did I?"

"OK," Cisco said loudly, rubbing his hands together. "Let's stop having a drama party and get back home."

"Cisco, you are in the presence of the walking drama party," Laurel snorted, pointing at Oliver and Kara.

"You know what, Siren?" Oliver narrowed his eyes playfully as Kara blushed.

"Yep, we're leaving," Cisco opened a breach. "Let's go, everyone!"

"Bye, guys!" Ray waved as he went through.

Team Arrow, Team Supergirl, the Legionnaires, and the D.E.O. members in the room waved as the members of Team Flash and the Legends departed, going back to their universe. "Well, that was a Christmas I didn't expect," Dig remarked, turning to the others.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Kara winced, wrapping her arms around herself as Oliver put his arm around her waist. "And it's not even the day itself yet."

"Getting there, though," Dig smiled. "And I think you two need some time to yourselves."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Oliver smiled down at Kara, who blushed and looked down at her boots. "Merry Christmas, John."

"Merry Christmas, Oliver," Dig nodded, giving him a quick hug.

"We'll see you guys when you get back, OK?" Felicity waved.

"Thanks, Felicity," Kara nodded.

"Unless I hear from you before tomorrow evening, I'll bring William over then," Thea came next, smiling. "John's right, you know. Take a bit of time for yourselves. What happened hurt me, and it wasn't my fiancée lying in a coma."

"Look after him?" Oliver requested.

"What kind of aunt would I be if I didn't?"

"Thank you, sis," Oliver kissed her cheek.

"You're welcome," Thea smiled, giving Kara a hug, heading after the others.

Oliver turned to the last three remaining, then sighed. "None of you are going anywhere, are you?"

"You know us too well, kid," Slade smirked as Malcolm and Laurel laughed.

Oliver shook his head fondly, chuckling. "Yeah, I do."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"And . . . it's my masterpiece!" Kara finished signing Alex's cast with a flourish, holding her arms up triumphantly.

"Wow," Alex grinned, impressed. "That's something."

"Wait," Kara bent back down to edit something. "Let me do that." She blinked, catching sight of another signature. "What's this one?" she leaned over, peering down. "100101 – "

"Brainiac 5," Alex explained.

"Ah," Kara giggled, understanding.

"Yeah, that's code," Alex nodded as Kara sat back. "I'm glad you're OK."

"I'm glad I am, too," Kara nodded, capping the pen. "I thought I could come back after I was done healing, but . . . "

"But?" Alex prompted.

Kara bit her lip. "Remember Midvale?" Alex nodded, frowning, and Kara sighed. "Oliver and I have a lot to talk about."

"Then go to him," Alex smiled. "He needs you more than I do right now."

"You'll call if you need anything?" Kara asked.

"I promise," Alex nodded. "Go."

Kara smiled, kissing Alex on the top of her head before standing.

* * *

 ** _Reign_**

No one could hear Reign's screams in her Fortress as she worked through the Kryptonite running through her veins. She panted heavily, chest heaving as the effect slowly wore off. She rolled over to get to her feet, glaring with hatred at the abandoned syringe a few feet away. She scowled as she stood, turning to leave –

"What happened?"

Reign stopped when she heard the hologram speak, and she turned around, sneering, "Supergirl stopped me. She had friends I didn't expect."

"You have friends, too," the hologram informed her.

Reign narrowed her eyes, walking closer. "What do you mean?"

"There are others like you."

Reign's eyes widened, but just as quickly, she narrowed them even more. "Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"You hadn't proven yourself," the hologram answered. "But now you have. You just need to know how to find them."

"I can help you with the path," a male voice behind her said.

"El mayarah," the hologram hissed as Reign turned.

"Stronger together," Thomas Coville translated with a smile.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara headed to her apartment, fiddling with the key she held in her hands, then took a deep breath and unlocked the door, stepping inside. "Hey," she said with a smile, setting her key and glasses down.

"Hey," Oliver smiled, corking the wine bottle and putting it aside. "How's Alex?"

"Well, as good as she can be, for having her leg broken," Kara shrugged, tugging her cardigan tighter around herself. "She'll live."

"Alex Danvers against a broken leg," Oliver chuckled, picking up the two wine glasses and walking over. "I pity her leg."

Kara smiled, taking the glass he offered her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Kara swirled the wine in her glass as she sat down on the couch, looking down at it. "You knew I was gonna come back, right?"

Oliver sat down next to her with a sigh. "All I could do was hope you would. I was really worried about you. At least knowing Brainy would communicate with you . . . that helped."

Kara nodded, taking a deep breath. "You both really helped me come back."

"Me?" Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Brainy was in your mind helping you. What did I do?" Kara took a gulp of wine, then put her glass down, fiddling with her hands. She licked her lips worriedly, trying to figure out how to start this conversation, and Oliver frowned, leaning forward. "Kara?"

"Um," Kara tucked her hair behind her ear, taking a deep breath. "I thought I was done being scared."

Oliver blinked. "What?"

"When Alex and I were in Midvale, Eliza said something," Kara explained, keeping her eyes on her hands. She didn't think she could make her way through this if she looked at her fiancé. "And it's something that made me overthink and genuinely scares me to think about." She chewed on her lip, fidgeting, then finally closed her eyes and forced out, "I'm going to outlive you, Oliver. You _and_ William."

"Oh, Kara," Oliver sighed, reaching over and putting his glass down, too.

"And I thought I made my peace with that," Kara babbled, her words coming out in a rush. "But I couldn't stop thinking about it after Brainy left, and it's not me having a problem with you being human and me being Kryptonian, it's just – "

"Kara," Oliver reached over, putting his hand on top of hers, squeezing. "Breathe, OK? Breathe."

Kara took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes and swallowing. "I was alone for so long in the Phantom Zone," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I felt so alone when Mon-El left. If there's one thing I fear the most, aside from Kryptonite, it's being alone. And marrying you doesn't scare me. I want it _so much_ . . . but I think further down the road, and I can't stop thinking about how I'll feel if you're killed in the field or you die of old age, and then I keep thinking what'll happen when I outlive _William_ . . . " She shook her head, choking as she felt tears in her eyes. "It hurts so much, Oliver. It _hurts."_

"Come here, angel," Oliver held out his arms, and Kara crawled over to him, sprawling across him and burying her face in his chest. He held her close as she cried and clung to him, kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair. When Kara finally stopped shaking, he finally spoke again. "Kara, I'm worried, too. I don't like the thought of dying, especially when it means you and William are left alone. I can't say I understand how you feel about it since, like you said, we _are_ different species. But I promise, I will be with you for as long as I can be. We're in this together. We'll make this work." He snorted. "There's not exactly a guidebook for how this'll go." Kara smiled through her tears, which she was certain was Oliver's goal. "And however long that is, we do what we can. We make the most of that time.

Kara swallowed hard. "Don't die for a very long time."

She felt him smile. "You got it, angel."

Kara sighed, shifting so her head was lying on his shoulder. "I needed to hear that."

"Then next time, we talk about this," Oliver squeezed her, looking down at her. "We're going to make this work. That's how we'll do it."

Kara smiled. "In this together." Oliver nodded, and Kara lifted her head, kissing him. Oliver kissed her back, and Kara closed her eyes, feeling completely content. "Can we stay here for a while?"

"Absolutely," Oliver smiled, letting her get comfortable again. If that meant she was lying against him or on him, that was fine. He had her back with him, where she belonged. "As long as you want."

Kara smiled, looking down at where her arm entwined with Oliver's, looking at her engagement ring. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

* * *

 **A/N: I actually felt my teeth rotting when I wrote the ending part, wow. I missed my Kariver.**

 **With that being said, this chapter wasn't written in a day. Before my laptop was stolen, I had written up to Mon-El's "you don't say." For those of you reading Daxam Four, it will take me much longer to get an update out to you guys, especially since a big fight is next. So, please give me time to write, and I will update when I have material to update.**

 **And when I come back, it'll be time for girls to run the show!**


	45. Supergirl - Fort Rozz - Part One

**Girls are running the show this time! Supergirl, Saturn Girl, Livewire, Psi, and more are heading to space!**

* * *

 _ **Alex Danvers**_

Alex lounged back on her couch, watching the black and white film on screen, when she heard a knock on her door. "Enter!" she called, pausing the movie and putting the remote down.

"Hey!" Kara called cheerfully as she entered.

"Hi," Alex beamed.

"Look who I found," Kara continued, opening the door wider.

Ruby poked her head around Kara's legs, grinning, and Alex's smile grew to match hers. "And we come bearing carbs!" Sam announced, walking in afterwards.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Alex smiled, then hastily held up her hands. "But I'm really glad that you did!"

"Hey, Aunt Alex!" William waved as he entered, Oliver behind him.

"Hey, bud!" Alex grinned, holding out her arms. "Come on, come here!" William grinned and hurried over to hug her. "Oh, it's good to see you. How was Christmas?"

"Much better than Barry's, as we found out," Oliver sighed.

"Barry?" Alex asked in concern.

"What happened?" Sam asked, frowning as well.

"Just, ah . . . business related," Kara answered, giving Alex a meaningful look.

"Uh oh," Alex frowned.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "It's along the lines of what I'm going through on the other side of the job spectrum."

Alex frowned, thinking it over, when she blanched. Oliver was still under investigation, and if he was found guilty . . . _"No."_

"Yes," Kara nodded.

"You're _kidding!"_ Alex gasped, sitting up straight. _"Barry?"_

"Yeah," Oliver nodded grimly. "That happened."

"Oh, my God," Alex rubbed a hand over her face as William nodded, sitting down next to her. "That's awful."

"It's why we'll stop by after work, make sure everyone's OK," Kara nodded.

"I'd go, too, but . . . " Alex gestured to her leg.

"Yeah," Oliver chuckled. "We'll send your regards."

"Thank you," Alex nodded, then grinned cheekily. "Is Lena going with you, by any chance?"

Kara burst out laughing as she took the dish from Sam. "Oh, she's never gonna live that down."

"Nope," Alex shook her head in agreement.

"Can I sign?" William asked.

"Of course," Alex grinned. "My step-nephew-to-be can _always_ sign."

"Yes!" William fist pumped, reaching for the Sharpie on the coffee table.

Oliver smiled fondly at his son's enthusiasm, and Alex smiled at Ruby as she approached. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Ruby smiled back, watching William sign his name. She frowned, peering at another name. "Who's _Wine?"_

"That's Uncle Winn," William told her.

"I'm telling him you said that!" Kara grinned as Oliver laughed.

"Go ahead!" William grinned back at her. "He's pretty much your little brother!"

"He really is," Oliver couldn't help but agree.

"Hey," Alex poked Ruby as Sam's phone chimed. "You wanna sign?"

"Of course," Ruby grinned, sitting down on the couch to wait for her turn.

"Oh, come on!" Sam groaned, looking down at her phone.

"What's wrong?" Kara frowned.

"I have to go on a trip, and Mrs. Queller just canceled," Sam sighed, frustrated.

"Is that your babysitter?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Sorry, guys, carry on, I'm gonna just deal with this."

"Well," Alex sat up slightly. "I mean, I'm not doing anything, and I was gonna watch William today anyway."

"Ruby can stay with us!" William perked up, grinning at the girl.

"Yeah," Alex nodded in agreement as Ruby's face lit up. "We're happy to have her here with us."

"No, I couldn't ask you," Sam shook her head. "Look at your leg!"

"A broken leg isn't gonna keep Alex Danvers, of all people, down," Oliver chuckled.

"Please, Mom?" Ruby pleaded, eyes wide. "Let me stay with Alex and William!" She leaned forward, grinning. "At the engagement party, she promised to teach me how to punch without breaking my thumb."

Sam's eyebrows flew up as Oliver and Kara burst out laughing. "That's Aunt Alex," William nodded in agreement.

"Full disclosure, I'm _not_ a good babysitter," Alex smirked.

"Yeah, you should listen to her," Kara nodded. "'Cause one time, she made me watch The Shining and I had nightmares for _weeks."_

"Um, OK, she was fifteen," Alex started defending herself.

"So?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

"So you were the one who wanted to watch it!"

Kara giggled as Oliver rolled his eyes. "Sisters," he said fondly.

"I'll tell Auntie Thea you said that," William smirked.

"Don't you dare," Oliver pointed warningly at him.

Sam sighed, turning to look at Alex. "Are you _sure_ it's OK?"

"Yes, absolutely," Alex nodded. "I'm going a little bit stir-crazy, so yeah. And if she gets out of line, I will call for backup."

"You're a live saver," Sam grinned widely, and Kara fumbled for her phone as it vibrated. "Thank you. _Thank you."_

"Oh," Kara checked the message she received. "That is work for me."

"Guess we gotta go," Oliver smiled.

"Have fun!" Kara waved.

"Thanks!" Alex smiled.

"Don't burn the place down, William!"

"Hey!" he complained.

Oliver laughed, holding the door open for both women. "See you later, buddy!"

"Bye, Dad!" he waved. Sam waved to Ruby, and once all three were gone, he turned to Alex. "So are we watching The Shining?"

"Totally," she grinned, making Ruby giggle.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"Did you guys hear?" Oliver asked Slade and Laurel as he and Kara hurried into the D.E.O.

"We did," Laurel nodded, face like stone. "Clifford DeVoe is one sick son of a bitch to pull that."

"Yeah, that's the agreement across the board," Kara nodded, checking her phone. "Sara's asking if she can find a way to go kick his ass."

"Wouldn't stop her," Oliver shook his head.

"How does that thing connect in the temporal zone?" Slade frowned.

"Cisco," Oliver said.

"Gideon," Kara said at the same time.

"Probably both," Laurel snickered.

"Anyway," Kara straightened as J'onn walked over to join them. "You have news about Reign?"

J'onn nodded. "Coville told you he met a dying priestess who escaped from Fort Rozz. She told him everything about Reign."

"Well," Winn took up the explanation as they joined him, Malcolm, Mon-El, and Imra at the central command console. "We combed the manifests of Fort Rozz and found there are exactly two priestesses onboard, one being . . . "

He pulled up files on screen, and Kara inhaled sharply when she saw the photo and name. "Jindah Kol Rozz," she breathed. "Fort Rozz was named after her!"

"Yep, and on the manifest, she actually has the exact same glyph as Reign," Winn nodded.

"Do we know where she is?" Mon-El asked.

"We believe that in all the time Fort Rozz was marooned here on Earth, she never got out," J'onn answered.

Oliver frowned, tilting his head. "I think I may be missing something, because I have heard countless tales of Kara throwing Fort Rozz into a place called _space."_

"And you are," J'onn nodded.

"We found it," Winn told him. "Orbiting a little star called AZ-336XB12."

"Can we nickname that?" Malcolm asked with a completely straight face as the star appeared onscreen.

Slade snorted, but Imra blinked, leaning forward. "Did you say AZ-336XB12?"

"Problem?" J'onn raised an eyebrow.

Mon-El grimaced. "Yeah. That's a blue star."

Kara balked, eyes wide. "I won't have my powers there. There's no yellow sun."

"Blue stars also emit omicron radiation, which means it's fatal for any life-form with a Y-chromosome," Imra added.

Laurel's eyes widened, and she started laughing hysterically, especially when Slade and Malcolm made disgusted faces. J'onn wasn't much better. "It's poisonous to _men?"_ he asked incredulously.

Imra just nodded, watching in amusement as Laurel settled down, though she was still giggling. "What the hell?" Oliver looked at Mon-El.

"So we can't do anything to help," Slade growled.

"Not up there in space," Mon-El shook his head.

"Well," Kara turned to Laurel, raising an eyebrow. "Guess it's a girls' day."

"Hell yeah," Laurel beamed, fist bumping her.

"One screaming metahuman and a Kryptonian without her powers?" J'onn raised an eyebrow. "That's still dangerous."

"I'll go with them," Imra volunteered.

"Are you sure?" Kara asked. "I don't want to ask you to do that."

"You're not asking," Imra nodded. "I'm _offering."_

"Well, welcome to girls' day," Kara smiled, holding out her hand.

Imra smiled and shook it. "Kara," J'onn said quietly. "We fought some tough escapees on Earth. What's left on that fort are the worst of the worst. The three of you can't handle this on your own."

Kara chewed her lip, then turned to Oliver. "Would Thea help?"

"I can ask," Oliver shrugged.

Kara nodded, not seeing Laurel perk up and pull out her phone. "I'll check with a few people here."

"Who do you have in mind?" Malcolm frowned.

Kara smiled uneasily as Laurel texted quickly.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara waited in the sky, grimacing as she listened to the diner down below her. When a familiar figure with shocking white hair stormed out, wearing a horrid pink outfit and carrying a beer bottle, Kara landed in the alley nearby. When she walked out, she was already taking a drink. "What, are you drinking on the job, Livewire?" Kara raised an eyebrow, looking at her nametag. "Or should I say, _Roseanne?"_

Livewire scowled, looking at her. "How'd you find me?"

"I've been keeping tabs on you ever since I let you go," Kara answered truthfully.

"Yeah, well," Livewire chuckled bitterly. "As you can see, I'm making an honest living now. So, if you're looking to go a few rounds, come back after the breakfast rush."

"No, I'm not here to fight you," Kara shook her head. "I'm . . . " She sighed, then said it. "I'm here because I need your help."

Livewire did a double take. _"My_ help?" she repeated. "I _loathe_ you!"

"I know why you're working here," Kara told her. "It's because of Reign. She's been killing criminals, so you decided to go straight. Smart."

"Yeah, well, some of those _criminals_ were people I knew," Livewire scowled. "Friends of mine."

"And they didn't deserve to die," Kara nodded.

"No, they didn't," Livewire gritted her teeth.

"So help me get Reign."

Livewire put her beer bottle down, standing up. "I saw you get body-slammed by that GLOW reject before Christmas. It was all over the news. You think I'm up for a beatdown like that just because you said 'pretty please?' Honey, you haven't been reading my psych evals correctly."

"I'm not asking you to fight her," Kara shook her head. "I'm asking you to help me get intel on her." Livewire scowled and turned around to leave, and Kara spoke quicker. "Which requires us to go to a place where I won't have my powers." Livewire turned back around, frowning, and Kara sighed. "So I need someone else I know to . . . to have my back." Livewire looked at her incredulously, then burst out laughing. Kara raised an eyebrow, watching her, then dryly asked, "Are you finished?"

"Oh, my God," Livewire managed to get out through her hysterical laughter.

"Look, she's gonna come after you sooner or later, so are you gonna help me or not?" Kara asked.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"And this is where the magic happens, my friend," Winn beamed, showing Querl into the control hub. "From here, we can monitor and communicate with the Legion Cruiser any time throughout their entire mission."

"Thank God for that," Oliver muttered, still looking put out he couldn't do anything.

Querl turned on the spot, looking around. "Incredible," he stated, and Winn grinned, only for it to freeze when Querl turned to him and asked, "You actually rely on this to keep people safe? This is the technology that backs up _Supergirl_ when she goes into battle?"

Slade's eyebrows shot up, a smirk on his face. "It is," Winn nodded slowly. "Yes."

"She is so much braver than I ever knew," Querl muttered. "I've seen _espresso machines_ with more processing power."

"Well, at least there's entertainment," Malcolm sighed.

Oliver snorted. "And you and Slade aren't?"

He got matching glares from the two older men, then they heard Kara behind them. "Uh, FYI, not everyone here is onboard with you coming along."

A harsh female voice responded. "Screw 'em!"

Mon-El sighed, and Oliver turned to look at him. "Livewire?"

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded.

They turned as Kara walked up, accompanied by a woman with shocking white hair, dressed in dark blue with a matching leather jacket. "Cosplay!" Livewire looked Mon-El up and down, laughing. "I remember you! You tried to save my life."

"Yeah, I remember succeeding," Mon-El raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Leslie," Winn poked his head around the others. "You remember me? I used to fix your computer at CatCo?"

Livewire walked over, looked him up and down, then shook her head. "No." She turned, tilting her head at the three others around the console. "Who're the Stooges?"

That made Mon-El snort and Winn stifle laughter. Before Oliver could answer, a voice called from the stairwell. "Prisoner arrived!"

Oliver's lips curled in a sneer as a familiar blonde in black leather was marched down the staircase, surrounded on all sides by guards wielding machine guns. Even though the metal headband restricted her powers, Oliver kept a close eye on her. Livewire raised an eyebrow curiously, and Kara took a deep breath, walking forward to meet the other meta she had suggested come with them. "Thanks for agreeing to join us."

"Reign's going after people like me," Psi scoffed. "I don't wanna get killed by that psycho when I finally break out of this place."

"Oh, I would love to put a bullet in her if she tries," Slade narrowed his eye.

"Race you," Oliver grumbled.

Psi gave J'onn a scowl, then looked sharply at Livewire, who was looking her up and down. "You have a problem?" she snapped.

"99, but you ain't one," Livewire retorted, folding her arms.

"Oh, there's no way this isn't gonna go wrong," Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose.

Apparently J'onn thought the same, because he gave Kara a meaningful look. "Supergirl?"

"Mmmhmm," she nodded, hastily following him to the side.

J'onn watched Psi join Livewire, then turned to her. "Livewire, I get. You two have a history. But _Psi?"_

"I know, I know," Kara sighed. "But you know how powerful she is. I mean, she beat you in a psychic duel, she overpowered _me_ more than once – "

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," J'onn gave her a look.

"I am a little worried, too, to be honest," Kara admitted, chewing her lip. "But if we're gonna win this thing, we have to take risks, and this feels like a risk worth taking."

"All right," J'onn nodded, then held up a key. "This should unlock the psychic dampener."

"All right," Kara nodded, taking it.

"Did I hear it was girls' day?" a familiar cheery voice came from the opposite side of the D.E.O.

"You bet!" Kara grinned, turning around as Laurel strode in, Thea behind her, both in their suits, and she froze when she saw they weren't alone. "Oh, my – "

"You were gonna have a party without us?" Sara smirked, folding her arms. "I'm hurt."

"Oh, my God!" Kara ran forward, and laughing, Sara hugged her as Amaya and Zari joined them, both with smiles on their faces. "How?!"

"I let them know what was going on," Laurel explained with a smile. "Figured the more people you had you knew you could trust watching your back, the better this would go."

"Besides, gives Jax and Lily the perfect opportunity to visit the Professor again and give Team Flash a little love from the Legends," Sara nodded. "Seriously, can I find a way to go back and punch DeVoe?"

"Thank you for coming," Kara smiled at them.

"Of course," Amaya smiled.

"It'll be nice to get some time away from the boys," Zari smirked.

"Ditto," Laurel said quietly.

Kara laughed and led the Earth-1 ladies back, and Oliver smiled. "Goes without saying look out for each other, OK?"

"We'll get her back in one piece," Thea patted him on the shoulder.

"Good luck," Malcolm smiled.

"The ship's ready!" Imra announced, walking in.

"Hey, Imra," Sara waved.

"Captain," Imra nodded.

"Of what?" Livewire knitted her eyebrows.

Sara raised an eyebrow. "And who're you supposed to be?"

"Ah, meet Livewire, and that's Psi," Kara answered.

Thea scowled. "The Psi as in – "

"Yes, that Psi," Kara cleared her throat as Psi gave Thea a death glare. "Try not to kill her."

"No promises," Laurel grumbled.

"OK, remember, the light drive can get a little finicky," Mon-El told Imra.

"I know," she nodded.

"And if there's a breach, just – "

"Mon-El," Imra gave him a look. "I've captained the ship more times than you."

Sara and Laurel snickered, and Mon-El sighed. "Just take care of each other."

"We will," Kara nodded, sharing smiles with Imra. She walked backwards and looked past the Earth-1 heroes. Oliver gave her an encouraging smile, and she smiled back before waving at Livewire and Psi. "Let's move!"

Livewire pushed off the console as Sara moved to Kara's other side, and the nine women headed out of the D.E.O. towards the Legion cruiser.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"OK, wait," Zari gawked at the hologram in front of them. "You threw _this_ into space?"

"Yep," Kara smiled proudly.

" _Awesome!"_

"That's impressive," Amaya admitted.

"Fort Rozz," Sara tilted her head. "Sounds intimidating."

"Guess we'll find out how much," Thea nodded.

"Do we have any idea where she could be?" Imra asked.

"No," Kara shook her head. "Her records didn't say where she was held."

"Yay," Zari drawled sarcastically. "Hide and seek."

"And isn't Fort Rozz where your real mother – ?" Imra began.

"Locked up criminals?" Kara finished. "Yeah. Let's just say no one there will be welcoming my arrival."

"Lovely," Laurel sighed.

"Well, um," Imra smirked slightly. "Good thing we've got the dream team, then."

"Most of us, anyway," Sara looked over her shoulder, smirking as well.

"Nice tiara," Livewire scoffed.

"Why don't you zap it off me and I'll show you what I can do," Psi countered. "It would be such a delicious pleasure to bring you to your knees and watch you writhe in pain."

Livewire burst out laughing. "Do you always talk like that?"

"At least I don't sound like an illiterate mean girl," Psi retorted.

Livewire scowled. "OK, Regina George – "

"Hey!" Kara stormed up. "Let's tone it down here, OK? We're all here for the same reason, right?"

When Psi only glared at her, Laurel gave her a sickly sweet smile. "We'll take that as a yes."

"Just like the _Waverider,"_ Zari wrinkled her nose.

"How much longer is this gonna be?" Livewire asked. "Do we have to get plugged into some kind of space beds so we can sleep until we get there or something?"

Blue light shone into the ship, and Thea looked past Kara. "Actually," she pointed. "I think that's it."

"For real?" Sara's eyebrows raised.

Imra smiled proudly as they walked to see the prison. "It's a fast ship."

Livewire tilted her head. "So that's your Kryptonian Alcatraz?"

Kara only nodded, watching it loom closer.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"They're gonna try and streamroll you, OK?" Lena told Sam as she helped her prepare to leave. "They always do. But just remind them without L-Corp, their business is moot."

"Trust me, they'll be reminded," Sam promised.

"Thanks for doing this," Lena smiled. "I know it must be hard to leave Ruby."

"You know, I have a feeling she will be fine without me this time around," Sam smirked, finishing packing up.

"I'll see you when you get back," Lena hugged her.

Sam watched her leave, turning back to her bag, then froze when she felt something . . . off . . .

" _Rishda seah brynya . . . "_

Sam looked up towards the windows, then her eyes flashed red, and her fist landed on the desk, cracking it.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Ruby rolled the dice, and when it landed on four, Alex leaned over and picked up a card. "OK," she leaned back, showing it to William. "When East Pakistan separated from West Pakistan, it formed which country?"

"Bangladesh," Ruby answered at once, grinning. "Pie!"

"What?" William's eyes widened.

"How did you know that?" Alex sputtered.

"I'm super smart," Ruby bragged.

Alex scoffed. "Whatever. I'm super _hungry,_ so where is that tater tot masterpiece you made me?"

"Your leg!" Ruby pointed out when Alex reached for her crutches. "I can get it."

"I'll help Aunt Alex, it's OK," William jumped up.

"You just want me to have something nice to say when your dad gets back," Alex chuckled, getting on one foot and setting up her crutches. "Do you want some?"

"Yes, please," Ruby nodded, watching her. "You're, like, the toughest person I've ever met."

"Well, that is the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me," Alex chuckled.

Alex's phone chimed on a book nearby, and Ruby leaned over. "You've got a text," she said.

"From who?" Alex asked, halfway to the kitchen.

Ruby picked it up, tilting her head curiously. "From Maggie."

Alex froze, and William turned, surprised. "Maggie?" he repeated.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, standing up and showing him the phone. She headed over to Alex, handing it to her. "We can heat it up."

"Yeah," William nodded. "It's OK."

"Thanks," Alex sighed, looking down at the text she'd just gotten.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Well, according to the reading, we should be securely locked on," Imra announced. "Brainy, can you confirm?"

"Affirmative," Querl answered.

Kara nodded, looking at the others. "Shall we?"

"After you," Laurel nodded.

Kara nodded, heading for the airlock, only for Psi to step in front of her and point meaningfully at the psychic dampener. Kara gritted her teeth, then sighed and reached up, unlocking it. The lights switched off, and Psi relaxed, reaching up and taking it off her head. She looked down at it, then smirked up at Kara. "Boo."

"Ah," Thea deadpanned, making Zari snicker.

"Let's go," Kara rolled her eyes.

The ship rumbled suddenly, and all nine lost their balance. Sara and Amaya straightened up quickly, followed by Imra, but Psi and Livewire had to catch themselves on one of the consoles. "Whoa," Thea held out her arms to steady herself, helped by Laurel as Zari shook her head.

"Is everyone OK?" Kara looked around.

"She's looking a little green," Livewire pointed at Psi, who glared at her in return.

"Brainy, what was that?" Imra demanded.

"The docking of the Legion ship has slightly altered the orbital path of Fort Rozz by .003 AUs," Querl answered. "Not to worry, just a bit of turbulence."

" _Turbulence?"_ Winn repeated.

"Uh, turbulence is the result of chaotic changes – "

"I know what turbulence is!"

"Guess we didn't escape the boys after all," Zari snorted.

"We can hear you!" Malcolm called.

"Boys, this is riveting, but we have a prisoner to find," Kara walked off, and Psi left her psychic dampener on the console.

Imra waved her hand by a scanner, and the airlock door opened to show the door to Fort Rozz. Kara walked forward, but Laurel held up a hand. "Blue star," she reminded her.

Kara stopped in her tracks, sighing, then nodded. "Amaya?" she looked over.

Amaya took a deep breath, then put a hand on her totem. The spirits of an elephant and a rhino appeared above her, and she walked over, grasping the wheel on the door. She turned it with little resistance, and Sara helped her slide the doors open.

Kara led the way in, Sara grasping both her batons, Thea tightening her grip on her bow. They stopped inside the prison, looking around in the darkness, and Livewire snorted as she, Imra, Laurel, and Zari turned on flashlights. "Space is creepy as – "

"Guys," Laurel moved away.

"Oh, my God," Amaya's eyes widened.

"Holy hell," Livewire balked as Laurel crouched by a reptilian-like alien on the ground.

Sara cautiously prodded the body with one of her batons, then shook her head. "Dead."

"I've seen worse," Psi shrugged.

"He must have been poisoned by the blue star," Kara sighed.

"The lesser sex," Livewire snickered.

"I don't think the blue star is gonna be our main problem," Thea said behind them.

"Yeah," Zari flashed the light over cells with their doors wide open. "I've been in prisons enough to know that this isn't how jail cells work."

"You?" Psi raised an eyebrow.

Zari stuck her tongue out in reply. "Fort Rozz ahs been floating with limited power for so long, the cells must have opened," Kara said, walking down the row of cells.

"Our scans are picking up signatures of various life forms loose on the ship," Querl confirmed.

"Kara, ladies," Oliver spoke up. _"Please_ be careful."

Kara nodded, leading the way further, Thea reaching up and drawing an arrow as they went.

* * *

 **A/N: How could I not include Thea and the Legends ladies in this? Poor guys have to stay behind, though. XD**

 **And I hope you guys enjoyed the Flash shoutout at the beginning. It's why Killer Frost isn't in the lineup of Earth-1 ladies on the trip.**


	46. Fort Rozz - Part Two

**Something I think I need to clarify: don't worry, I haven't up and abandoned the Arrow episodes, they're coming. Part of my job is writing the episodes; the other part is figuring how to sort each episode into the timeline so they fit with each other. This will be the last Supergirl episode before we get back into Arrow.**

 **Also, you guys shouldn't need to worry. With what I've got planned for the finales, Oliver should not end up anywhere near a prison at the end of this.**

 **Alex spends more time with everyone's favorite teenagers, and the Nine Fort Rozz-ers run into trouble looking for Jindah Kol Rozz. Also, Brainy is funny when he's upset.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Reign**_

Reign walked into her fortress, approaching the hologram in the center of the room, which frowned at her. "Why were you delayed?"

"It's her," Reign sneered. "I can feel her."

"Who?"

"The human side of me. She has strength I did not expect."

"She is no excuse for failure."

"You're right," Reign acknowledged, nodding. "I must focus and find the others."

"You have another mission first," the hologram informed her. "The fortress has detected a signal. Supergirl and your other enemies have boarded Fort Rozz."

"What for?" Reign frowned.

"For more information about you, I presume. The Dark Priestess Jindah Kol Rozz has been imprisoned in Fort Rozz well before the destruction of Krypton. She knows the entire extent of our mission. She knows of your friends, the other Worldkillers. If Supergirl gets to her to get any information – "

"It'll thwart our plans," Reign concluded.

The hologram nodded. "You need to get to her before Supergirl does."

Reign nodded in agreement.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Imra Ardeen_**

Livewire frowned, shining her flashlight everywhere. "This place is like the Mall of America."

"Oh, you have that here?" Sara asked Kara, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we do," Kara nodded. "Why?"

"OK, Thea, the next time we take a break, girls' day at the Mall of America."

Thea smirked. "Got it."

"She's not wrong," Laurel shook her head. "You can wander around here for days and not find a thing."

Psi wrinkled her nose. "Do you smell that?"

Kara frowned, sniffing. "What?"

"Another dead body of an incompetent male, perhaps?" Livewire asked snidely.

Imra stopped. "I smell it."

Someone yelled, then a dark silver staff caught Thea in the side, knocking her into one of the cell doors. The dark-skinned woman wielding the staff turned and pointed it at Kara with a snarl. "You!" she growled. "You bear the sign of the House of El. How dare you show your face around here!"

Zari stepped in front of Kara, blocking the alien's view of the crest, and tapped her totem, making it flare red. She threw out both her hands, blasting the prisoner away. While she was distracted, Imra telekinetically yanked a cell door free and tossed it at her. Psi braced herself, sending a shockwave at her, but it did nothing. Livewire shot bolts of electricity at the prisoner as Laurel and Amaya backed up to find a good attack point, Sara twirling her batons into its full staff form. Psi stepped forward when the prisoner's back was turned, but she spun her own staff, smacking Psi in the side of the head. The meta dropped to the ground, wincing and reaching up to her head.

The prisoner focused on Livewire next, but before she could hit her, Sara got in front of her, blocking her staff with her own. Thea scrambled to her feet, drawing her sword and running behind her. Imra watched them duel, then turned and headed over to Psi, crouching in front of her. "Are you OK?" she asked. "It's OK."

Psi lowered her hand from her head, then reached out and grabbed Imra by the shoulder. She gasped, eyes wide, mouth agape, as Psi used her powers on her, glaring at her. "Imra!" Kara shouted.

Sara ducked under a staff swing, revealing Laurel behind her, and the meta screamed at the prisoner, blasting her away. While she was disoriented, the snarl of a lion was heard, and Amaya pounced on the prisoner, overpowering her and dropping her to her knees. As she struggled to stand, Livewire threw two lassos of electricity at her, wrapping her up and shocking her.

Kara ran over to Imra, whose hands were clutching her hair. "Imra?" she dropped down by her, taking her by the shoulders. "Imra?" She was shaking badly, but she slowly released her hair, taking deep breaths. "You're OK," Kara rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "You're OK. It's gonna be OK."

Zari watched Imra try and get her breath back, then scowled at Psi. "What the hell was that?"

"More like why did you do that to her?" Laurel narrowed her eyes.

Psi just held her head, grimacing in pain.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

"Good job," William smiled, dropping the card he held.

"Thanks," Ruby beamed, then turned to Alex. "Your turn."

Alex didn't respond. William frowned, seeing she was staring into space, then waved his hand in front of her face. "Aunt Alex?"

She blinked, then focused on William. "Oh."

"Are you OK?" he frowned, concerned.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "I'm fine."

William and Ruby exchanged looks that clearly said they didn't believe her. "Maggie?" Ruby guessed. "From the text before? She's your girlfriend, right?"

"Fiancée," Alex nodded, then winced. "Ex. Ex-fiancée." She took a deep breath. "I wasn't expecting to hear from her. It's been a while since we broke up."

"Does she wanna see you?" William frowned.

"No," Alex shook her head. "She thinks that she left her passport here, I guess, and was asking I could please _mail_ it to her."

William snorted, glaring down at Alex's phone. "Thanks, Maggie."

"Do you know where it is?" Ruby asked.

"Honestly?" Alex tilted her head back and forth, then pointed. "The only place I can think of is maybe in that top drawer."

Ruby nodded, climbing off the couch and walking over to check. She opened the drawer, peering inside, then held it up. "Here it is," she said, flipping it open to check it was hers. "Wow," she blinked. "She traveled a lot."

"Yeah," Alex nodded, taking the passport when Ruby handed it to her. "We had a lot of plans."

William moved the game aside so he could sit on the table, looking at the pages upside down, then looked up at Alex. "Are you _really_ OK?"

Alex opened her mouth to answer, shut it, then opened it again. "You know, I really thought I was moving on. But I still feel so sad." Ruby gave her a sad look, then offered her hand. Alex smiled fondly, taking her hand, and William crowded in on Alex's other side, between her crutches and her. Alex smiled, leaning her head on top of William's as he leaned against her. "It's like . . . this is my life now, and I can't do anything about it."

"I'm sorry," William murmured.

"It's not your fault, William," Alex shook her head.

Ruby squeezed Alex's hand, smiling sadly. "I know what you mean."

"Oh, yeah?" Alex raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

Ruby nodded. "There's this girl at my school, Erika Morrison, and I didn't let her copy my homework, and she got upset and started texting and posting things about me."

"What?" William shot upright, frowning.

Alex frowned, too. "Can you show me?"

Ruby chewed her lip, then nodded. "Yeah."

She reached over to the table and picked up her phone, unlocking it and pulling up her texts. _"Erika Morrison,"_ Alex scoffed, taking the phone. "What does she know?"

However, as she started scrolling through, she got a dark look on her face that made William pause. "Aunt Alex?" he asked cautiously.

"Who died and made this girl queen?" Alex seethed, then scoffed and shook her head. "Uh uh. No." She put Ruby's phone down, then reached past William. "Come on."

Ruby blinked as William jumped up. "What are we doing?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, this we _can_ do something about," Alex pointed at her phone, grinning viciously.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Sara Lance_**

Psi grabbed Kara's hand, stopping her from locking the psychic dampener back around her head. "Is that really necessary?" she glared.

"Look, either we can't trust you, or you lost control of your powers," Kara told her. "Bottom line, you're unsafe."

Psi scowled, then released her. Kara put the key in the lock, and Psi groaned as the lights turned on, activating the dampener. "So you dragged me all the way up to space for nothing."

"Maybe you shouldn't have been so loosey-goosey with your powers on poor Matilda over there," Livewire sneered.

Kara sighed, walking over to where Imra was sitting between Laurel and Amaya. "You're sure you're OK?" she asked.

"Yeah," Imra nodded, giving her a small smile.

"I know what it feels like when she gets in your head," Kara assured her. "If you need a minute or two – "

"I'm fine," Imra shook her head.

"It was an accident!" Psi snapped.

"Didn't look that way to me," Livewire huffed.

"Do you wanna try this thing on, see what it feels like to have your powers taken away?" Psi narrowed her eyes.

"Get that thing near me and I'm gonna fry you," Livewire held up her hand, electricity crackling along her fingers.

Psi leaned closer, then steel flashed, and both made noises of pain when Sara's batons hit them each on the back of the head. "No one is getting fried, and no one is getting hurt," she glared between them, turning around and walking back over to Kara. "We still have a job to do."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Zari Tomaz_**

The prisoner was thrashing about as Kara led the women to where she was held in restraints. "We're looking for Jindah Kol Rozz," Kara told her. "She has information we need."

"You're a bunch of fools," the prisoner spat.

"She's not wrong," Livewire remarked.

"You're not helping, sweetheart," Laurel glared at her.

"Xitheria," the prisoner told them.

"Never heard of her," Thea shook her head. "Who's that?"

"The last one who ever went to try and find Jindah," the prisoner answered. "Xitheria was a brutal criminal, but she had softened. She wanted Jindah to join us. We never did see her again, but we heard her screams."

"OK, OK, you tried the scare us away approach," Zari clapped sarcastically. "You gonna tell us where she is?"

The prisoner snorted. "You wanna risk your life? You be my guest. Jindah is in the Dendara Corridor, beyond the dark fog. Good luck."

Zari smirked, about to say something snarky back, when turbulence hit the ship again. All of them stumbled backwards, the prisoner seething in her restraints, and Imra ran back towards the bridge. "Imra?" Querl said. "We have a small emergency here."

"Brainy?" Imra called. "Are you there?"

His voice was staticky when he answered. "A solar flare has critically – "

Kara froze when they heard nothing else. "Did we lose him?"

"That's not good," Thea ran to join them.

"No, it's not," Imra shook her head, tapping on the console. "Communication with the D.E.O. was reliant on our orbital path."

"He said something about a solar flare," Amaya told her.

Turbulence hit again, this time even harder. "You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Psi groaned.

"Fort Rozz has been hit by a solar flare," Imra swallowed. "It's been knocked out of orbit, and it's pulling us with it."

" _Pulling us?"_ Laurel repeated.

"Pulling us where?" Kara demanded.

Imra gulped, turning and pointing out the windows, towards the blue star which was growing larger and larger. "We're falling into the star."

Zari ran around the console to help as Imra came back, an automated voice announcing _"Vessel temperature rising."_ "You don't say?" Sara scowled.

"I hate space," Livewire decided.

"We need to get out of here," Psi insisted. "Detach from this monstrosity of a prison, and let's go back to Earth."

Zari shook her head, pointing to a reading on the console. "The docking port's jammed."

"So how long before we meet our fiery maker?" Livewire raised an eyebrow.

Imra shook her head, trying to think. "One hour, maybe two?"

"So we have time," Kara took a deep breath. "We still have a job to do, so let's find Jindah. Imra, you stay here and re-establish communications with the D.E.O."

"I can stay and help," Zari volunteered, though she looked nervous when she said it. "I've been helping Jax with the _Waverider,_ and I'm good with tech."

"Are you sure, Zari?" Sara asked in concern, putting a hand on her arm.

Zari looked pale, but she took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm sure."

"OK," Sara nodded, patting her arm. "You've got this. You're a badass, remember?"

Zari smiled slightly. "Yeah, I am."

"Psi, you stay here, too," Kara ordered.

"What use am I here?" Psi protested.

"Too much could go wrong if you lose control of your powers out there, so find a way to be useful here," Kara answered, then turned to Zari and held up the key to the psychic dampener. "And if anyone attacks the ship, cut her loose."

Zari nodded, taking the key. "Copy that."

"All right," Kara turned around. "Ladies, let's go."

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"So _all_ communications are down?" Mon-El asked in disbelief.

"Do you have impulse satellites here?" Querl asked.

"No," Winn shook his head. "I mean, none that are gonna reach that ship."

"Perfect," Querl gritted his teeth, sitting down at a computer. "Just _perfect!_ I'll go down in history as the 12th-level intellect who let Supergirl burn up in a blue star."

"He's also a pessimist," Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose. _"That's_ perfect."

"Give me my space," Querl closed his eyes, interlocking his fingers. "I need to think."

"Listen," Winn leaned forward. "Listen to me, what if we just try and reroute – "

"No!" Querl shook his head, shouting loudly. "Space!"

Winn jerked backwards, giving Malcolm a weird look. The assassin just shook his head, and Mon-El put an arm around Winn's shoulders, guiding him away. "When he gets like that, it's best to just let him do his thing," he patted his shoulder.

"You're remarkably calm, kid," Slade raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not," Oliver shook his head, snorting. "I'm just more used to Kara's life or death situations being more extreme than mine usually are."

"Did anyone tell the Legends about this?" Malcolm asked.

"I'll let them know," Winn pulled out his phone. "Who knows? Maybe one of them working on the _Waverider_ could help with getting communications back."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Amaya Jiwe/Thea Queen_**

"We should be close to the Dendara Corridor according to the directions," Kara announced, rejoining the five others.

"Glad one of us was listening," Livewire griped. "So, what's the deal with that beautiful girl? I mean, does everyone in the future look like that?"

"Clarify which beautiful girl," Sara smirked. "Both of them are from the future."

"The one with a planet on her belt."

"She's my ex-boyfriend's wife," Kara answered.

Livewire's eyes widened, and she burst out laughing. "Ohhhhhh _snap!_ Wait, Cosplay's your ex-boyfriend?"

"Cosplay," Laurel tilted her head back and forth. "I may use that."

"Feel free," Livewire cackled. "That's some Real Housewives drama right there. So, do you hate her with every fiber of your being?"

"No!" Kara shook her head. "It's not her fault. It's nobody's fault."

The fort rocked again, and Thea yelped as she hit her head on one of the cell doors. "OK, I agree with the living taser. I _hate_ space."

"Hey!" Livewire glared at her, then looked at Kara. "Are we sure the Real Hosewife's gonna be able to figure out – "

"Just focus on the mission, OK?" Kara snapped.

"Fine," Livewire huffed, continuing on ahead of everyone else. Kara ran to catch up with her, leaving the Earth-1 heroes behind them slightly. "So this Reign character, we're getting information so we can kill her?"

"No," Kara shook her head. "Of course not. The Priestess will have information that I could use to get through to her."

"What?" Livewire asked incredulously. "Come on! You and your Pollyanna BS. You think you're gonna get through to _Reign?"_

"I got through to _you,"_ Kara gestured to her. "There must be something good in you that I could trust to come with me."

"And yet you've got a whole other team you brought, too," Livewire pointed out the heroes behind them, stopping in front of her. "Look, I came with you because there is a maniac on the loose, and I wanna take her down. If you think I wouldn't fry you right now – "

"So do it," Kara challenged.

Livewire blinked, not expecting that, but Kara raised an eyebrow, waiting. Livewire clenched her jaw, sighing. "All I'm saying is somebody as evil as Reign deserves to die."

"And anyone else who thinks otherwise is just a sucker?" Kara scoffed.

"Now you're catching on," Livewire nodded.

"Guys," Amaya called, making them turn. "There's the fog."

"Creepy, dark, ominous fog," Thea nodded, chewing her lip. "Why couldn't it have been something _other_ than that?"

"Because it's boring otherwise," Sara answered, clenching her staff with both hands.

Kara took a deep breath, walking forward, Livewire on one side, Sara on the other. A few steps in, and Kara shivered. "Is it colder in here?"

Amaya started to answer when she heard a hissing noise behind her. She turned around, reaching instinctively for her totem, but frowned when she didn't see anything. "Amaya?" Thea asked.

"I'm fine," she took a deep breath, turning around.

"OK," Thea nodded, turning to head on as well, only to jump when a dark face came out of the fog.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Sara turned to look behind her, then narrowed her eyes. "Where'd they go?"

"What?" Kara turned to look, too.

"Oh, great," Livewire rolled her eyes, scoffing and turning, walking on. "Dr. Dolittle and Merida ran off together."

"We'll find them," Laurel told Kara. "Go on."

Kara nodded. "Be careful."

Sara nodded, tucking her staff under her arm, and she and Laurel headed off together. Kara watched them go, then turned to follow Livewire, just as a black-cloaked figure with a dark face appeared in front of her.

* * *

 ** _Livewire_**

Livewire stopped when she didn't hear footsteps behind her, and she turned around, finding she was now alone, too. "Supergirl?" she called, trying to find her.

Something snarled, then slammed into her, knocking Livewire back into the wall behind her. Electricity sparked as she collapsed, and Livewire grunted as she hit the ground. When she looked up, more of those weird figures were running towards her.

Livewire narrowed her eyes, then heard cracking behind her. She scrambled to grab onto something to hang on, but the wall collapsed behind her, sending her and those creatures out. She thrashed in space before closing her eyes, turning herself into electricity, heading back to the fort.

She materialized back in the fort, panting heavily, and as the electricity died down, she called again. _"Supergirl!"_

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

" _Kara Zor-El . . . "_

Kara blinked her heavy eyes open, frowning in confusion. Where was that coming from?

" _Kara Zor-El . . . "_

Kara blinked rapidly, shooting upright, surprised she was on the floor. She looked around, trying to find a familiar face. "Livewire?" she called. "Leslie?" She turned around as she stood up. "Sara?" she tried. "Laurel?"

" _Kara Zor-El . . . "_

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

The sound of a breach opening made Querl jump in his seat, and Oliver sighed in relief, turning around. "Oh, thank God."

"What happened?" Ray demanded as he ran out, followed immediately by Jax and Lily.

"A solar flare hit Fort Rozz, knocking it off course, and now it's heading for a blue star to crash and burn – quite literally – and we've lost communication with the Legion cruiser to try and help them," Slade answered.

"With everyone still onboard?" Nate blanched, he and Mick rounding out the group.

"Uh huh," Oliver nodded, grimacing.

"Can I?" Ray pointed to a free computer.

"Please," Winn nodded.

"OK," Ray sat down as Jax and Lily pulled up chairs behind him. "Well, we've done some pretty crazy stuff with the _Waverider,_ so hopefully we'll come up with something."

"Is that blue thing really poisonous to men?" Mick frowned, looking at the diagram of the star still on the screen.

"Unfortunately," Mon-El confirmed. "Why?"

Mick shrugged. "Just thinking of a few people we could throw its way."

Jax snorted. "Man, don't tempt Sara with that."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Ruby Arias_**

Alex knocked on the door in front of her, keeping a calm face out front, while inside, she was still fuming. When a blonde girl opened the door, she put her hands on her hips, looking at her. "Are you Erika Morrison?"

"Yeah," she answered in a careless tone.

"Special Agent Danvers, FBI," Alex held up her D.E.O. cover badge. "Have you been sending harassing messages to a young woman named Ruby Arias?"

"No, I haven't," she denied.

Alex smirked, holding up her phone, showing otherwise. "We intercepted this earlier today. Did you know the FBI monitors cyberbullying? I have twenty-three separate incidents of harassment catalogued here."

"But I didn't mean it," Erika stammered.

"You violated three criminal statutes," Alex continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Do you know what that means?" Erika shook her head numbly. "That means you could go to juvie."

"I don't want to go to juvie!" Erika blurted.

"Well, you should've thought about that before you broke the law," Alex countered.

"I'll never do it again," Erika shook her head violently. "I promise!"

Alex shook her head, clicking her tongue. "I don't know . . . I think I should probably still talk to your parents about this."

"No, please don't tell my mom!" Erika blocked her, shaking her head. "She'll kill me!"

Alex arched an eyebrow coldly. "OK. You will apologize to Miss Arias, and if I _ever_ hear another incident of bullying from you ever again, you will have the federal government to deal with."

If she hadn't been a highly trained federal agent, she wouldn't have heard the muffled giggles coming from the side of the house. "You won't," Erika shook her head, not hearing them. "I swear."

"Have a nice day," Alex smiled coldly, then waved as Erika shut the door. "Go ahead, close the door."

As soon as it was closed, Alex turned and raised an eyebrow as William and Ruby bounded out from where they'd been hiding. "That was _awesome!"_ Ruby grinned widely.

"Right?" Alex grinned back. "Give me the crutches."

"OK," William handed them over.

"OK, so there's a girl who lives three houses down, she shoved me in kindergarten," Ruby began.

"Don't push it," Alex shook her head, William and Ruby following her down the driveway.

William hung back slightly, and Ruby grinned at him. "Did you get it?"

William grinned back, holding up his recording of Alex chewing Erika out, even if Erika wasn't in the shot. "I got it."

Ruby squealed, jumping up and down, and William nodded eagerly, both of them running to catch up with Alex.

* * *

 **A/N: I never knew I could have this much fun writing William and Ruby. Expect more interactions later in the book, especially later when she finds out about her mom!**


	47. Fort Rozz - Part Three

**Reign goes after the ladies, the guys plus Lily try to get back in contact with their friends and teammates, and Sam has a problem.**

* * *

 _ **Winn Schott**_

"Nineteen minutes until event horizon," Mon-El turned to where everyone was working. "We gotta figure this out."

"Maybe we can bend the signal, like around the star somehow?" Winn scratched the back of his head.

"With what, willpower?" Querl scoffed. "No. We need to boost a strong enough signal to go through the star."

"Yes, but – "

Querl jumped up, looking excited. "You have nuclear power, correct?"

"Yes, we do," J'onn nodded.

"We could use a cold-fusion optical transceiver to harness the – " Querl began.

"Whoa!" Ray's head shot up as he looked away from his computer, eyes wide. "You guys have cold fusion on this Earth?!"

"No, we don't," Winn shook his head. "Or not _yet,_ apparently."

Slade raised an eyebrow, looking at Oliver, who shook his head and held up his hands. "No idea what they're talking about."

Ray whistled, grinning giddily. "I want to see the future on this Earth where they have that."

"Uh, OK, maybe if we ever get the _Waverider_ over here," Nate nodded. "Or maybe when we don't have to worry about our captain and teammates crashing into a star!"

"Right," Ray cleared his throat.

"We have to think inside the box and use the technology we have," J'onn nodded as Lily moved to another computer to help.

"Oh," Querl raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, OK, the technology we have. Eureka! I've got it!" he called sarcastically, making Mon-El sigh and shake his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "An empty bottle! We'll write the instructions on paper and we'll launch it into space. It will only take 12,234 years to arrive."

"Brainy," Mon-El groaned.

But Winn's eyes lit up with inspiration. "Message in a bottle," he whispered, running to the computer Querl abandoned.

"You got something?" Oliver walked over.

"Voyager," Winn nodded.

"Wait, what?" Querl blinked, walking over to look behind him. "What is that?"

"Voyager 1 and 2, they're space probes from the '70s," Oliver answered, making everyone blink and look at him. "How did _I_ know that and you didn't?" he frowned at Querl.

"Yeah, I agree with Oliver, how?" Malcolm frowned at Querl.

"The point is, they carry a record of peace from the people of Earth," Nate said. "Ergo, a message in a bottle."

"Wait a minute," Lily's eyes bugged open as Winn pulled up schematics of the Voyagers. "Bounce the signal just right, it can get to the ship!"

"That one!" Ray pointed.

"Voyager 2," Winn nodded. "That's it!"

"And the signal will get there?" Jax asked.

"Yeah," Winn grinned.

"Do it," J'onn ordered. "Do it fast. Good work, Agent Schott," he clapped Winn on the shoulder. "Thank you for helping, Dr. Palmer, Dr. Stein."

The two Legends nodded, and Oliver smiled at Winn. "Nice job."

"Winn, thank you," Mon-El nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, and you got it," Winn beamed, answering both of them.

* * *

 ** _Psi/Imra Ardeen_**

" _Vessel temperature rising."_

"Oh, what I wouldn't do to have Gideon," Zari seethed, passing Imra another tool for her to use, both crouched to work on the consoles.

"Maybe you should work faster," Psi scowled down at them.

"Maybe you should make yourself useful and hand me that spanner wrench," Imra raised an eyebrow, pointing to a tool away from her and Zari.

Psi raised an eyebrow, but a dark hiss caught her attention. She looked up and away, towards the windows, then narrowed her eyes, walking that way. "Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye . . . "

"It's no good," Imra sighed in frustration, sitting back. "I can't get a strong enough signal to reach planet Earth."

"Four and twenty naughty boys baked into a pie."

Zari frowned, looking up at her. "Hey, going on about nursery rhymes isn't helping."

Psi just kept walking, her skin reflecting the blue light. "The maid was in the garden, hanging up the clothes . . . when lowly came a blackbird and pecked off her nose."

Imra froze, then scrambled to her feet, running up after Psi. When she reached her side, she could see the sleek ship landing inside Fort Rozz. "It's Reign," she swallowed. "She's here."

"Say what?" Zari demanded, dropping the tool she was holding.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Kara Zor-El." Kara walked down the corridor, and the black-cloaked figure at the end turned to face her. "Daughter of Alura."

Kara swallowed. "Jindah Kol Rozz?"

"You know I am," she snapped. "And yet you ask. Uncertainty will be your doom, not green stone."

"I came to ask – " Kara began.

"I know why you came," Rozz interrupted. "The Phantom Zone dampened my powers, not the Sight. Misery of your mother's design, but you'll be with her soon."

"Can you tell me about Reign?"

She scoffed. "She will destroy you."

"I've heard otherwise," Kara deadpanned.

"You know nothing of the nature of destruction. You are a child living in light, but there is darkness in all things, in every soul you know. Who will it take?"

"No one, if I have anything to say about it," Kara answered determinedly.

Rozz smirked, walking up to her. "You fly too close to the sun. I have languished in pain for time beyond reason because of you, the Children of Light. But your pretty skin will soon be brittle scales in hellfire when the others awake and unite beneath the standard of Reign."

" _Others?"_ Kara balked. "What do you mean, _others?"_

"Worldkillers," Rozz grinned. "The power, the pestilence, the purity."

Footsteps approached from behind, and Kara turned, hoping to see one of her friends, but froze when she saw who it really was. "Priestess," Reign locked eyes on Rozz.

Rozz gasped in shock, stepping past Kara. "My child! You've come! At last, our time is upon us. Deliver me from this prison, and we will bring anguish upon our enemies!"

She turned to smirk victoriously at Kara, but a glowing circle appeared in her chest, and she gasped, collapsing on the ground. As Kara ran to help her, Reign's eyes stopped glowing, and after Kara checked Rozz and found her dead, she looked up at the Worldkiller, eyes wide. "How do you have your powers here?"

"My powers aren't dependent on something as trivial as a sun," she answered, walking forward. "You're different without your powers. Like a child, helpless and afraid."

"I'm not afraid of you," Kara narrowed her eyes, standing up. "Even though we're enemies, there's still something that binds us."

"Save your speech, Supergirl," Reign scoffed.

"No, you have to hear me," Kara shook her head. "There is something in you that sees what you're doing is wrong, that sees the pain you're causing and regrets it. You don't have to be my enemy. You want justice in the world? So do I, but we're not gonna find it by attacking each other."

Reign walked forward, sneering. "And that's where you're wrong."

Kara swallowed, watching her eyes glow red, then a blast of electricity hit Reign, knocking her away from her. "Watch out!" Livewire spat, storming into view.

"Coming to Supergirl's rescue?" Reign narrowed her eyes.

"We're coming to take you down," Livewire countered, summoning more electricity, and Kara looked around as Thea and Amaya came into view, running their way.

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen_**

"We need to find Supergirl," Imra ran back to where Zari was still working.

"What are you talking about?" Psi scowled, following her. "We need to find a way out of here!"

"Oh, shut up!" Zari shouted at the ceiling when the automated voice declared _"Vessel temperature rising. Five degrees to critical overheating."_

"I refuse to get incinerated by a star!" Psi barked.

"We have tried everything!" Imra narrowed her eyes. "I can't – "

"Imra, we've reestablished communication with you from the D.E.O.," Querl's voice suddenly announced, and Imra blinked in shock, turning to where Zari was still holding wires, though she looked just as shocked. "Do you copy?"

"I didn't do it," Zari dropped the wires, holding up her hands.

"Brainy, I copy!" Imra cheered.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Yes!" Winn whooped, high fiving Ray in delight as Lily cheered, hugging Jax.

"Oh, thank God," Oliver leaned against the console in relief, Mon-El grinning from his other side.

"I told you we would figure out a solution," Querl grinned at everyone.

"Of course you did, Mr. Pessimist," Malcolm scoffed.

Querl shot him a glare before turning back to work, ignoring Slade's snickers. "I can interface with Fort Rozz from here, redirect some of our power to its throttles," Querl said.

"Have you found the Priestess?" Oliver asked.

"They're looking for her now," Imra reported. "But, Oliver . . . Reign's here."

Oliver's face drained of color. _"What?!"_ Slade snarled as Malcolm shot upright, eyes wide.

"OK, no, no," Winn shook his head desperately as the Legends exchanged panicked looks. "You need – "

"Find Supergirl!" Oliver barked.

"That," Winn pointed at him.

"No, she can't," Querl shook his head. "She needs to control the throttles and manually hit these coordinates until the ships are steadied and Fort Rozz is back in its original orbit."

"Does she need me for that?" Zari's voice asked.

"Imra knows the cruiser better than you, so, no, not really," Querl shook his head.

"Then go find her, Zari," Oliver ordered.

"But will Zari be enough against Reign if she finds _her?"_ Nate asked in concern.

* * *

 ** _Zari Tomaz_**

Zari chewed her lip, pacing anxiously, then Psi spoke behind her. "I can go with her." She and Imra spun around, eyes wide, and Psi nodded. "Take this thing off me."

Zari bit her lip, thinking, then heard Oliver's voice again. "Whatever you need to do, Zari, _do it."_

Zari took a deep breath, pulling out the key to the psychic dampener. "Copy that."

She reached up and unlocked the dampener, and Psi exhaled in relief, reaching up and taking it off. She smirked at Imra, who looked warily at her. "See? Don't be afraid, _Matilda."_

She put the dampener down, and Zari walked after her, both heading for the airlock to reboard Fort Rozz.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Reign turned to face Livewire, firing her heat vision. Livewire turned into electricity, racing around above her in circles. Reign fired her heat vision repeatedly, but never made an accurate shot. Livewire reformed, tilting her head. "That all you got?"

"You're a nuisance," Reign spat, firing again.

Livewire countered with electricity this time, holding off Reign's heat vision. However, the crackling light in the center where both met meant she didn't see Reign getting closer until her hand was around her neck. "Get your hands off her!" Kara shouted, running over.

Reign swatted her away like a fly, and Amaya hastily summoned the spirit of an elephant again, running forward. Reign reached out with her other hand, grabbing Amaya by her neck, lifting her up. She smirked, then threw her into the opposing wall, which dented when Amaya hit it.

Taking her eyes away meant she didn't see Livewire summon electricity in her other hand and grab Reign's arm with it. "And you need to stop attacking my friends," she managed to say, sending electricity through the Worldkiller's arm.

The resulting explosion of electricity sent everyone close by flying, including Thea. Thea hit her head on the console by Kara, and she slumped to the ground, groaning in pain. Livewire landed on her knees, wincing in pain. Reign was the first to stand, sneering and turning to Livewire, her eyes glowing red.

"No, no, stop!" Kara shouted, running behind her, making Reign turn. "Stop! I'm the one you want, right? I'm the one who's trying to stop you. They came here because of me."

"Then they can watch you die first," Reign declared, her eyes glowing red again.

"No!" Amaya cried.

Livewire struggled to her feet, ready to jump, when a blur of white went past her, and something silver went around Reign's neck. Reign howled, staggering off balance, reaching up to grab the bo staff around her neck. Sara clung to her back, wincing in concentration, holding her staff as tightly as she could, trying to choke Reign with it. "Not today, you bitch," she snarled.

Reign grabbed her arm and threw her off, sending Sara over to Livewire. But while her back was turned, it left her completely open to Laurel, who screamed in her direction. Reign screamed in pain, reaching up to cover her ears as Livewire bent over Sara, checking on her.

"Blackbird!" Twin blasts of air knocked Reign to the ground, and everyone turned to see Zari lower her hands, Psi stepping past her, free of the psychic dampener. "What's going on underneath that dark, dark shell of yours?" Psi sneered, closing her eyes and releasing a psychic blast.

It hit Reign in the chest, and Reign staggered slightly. She took a few deep breaths, then winced and sank to her knees, screaming in pain and clutching her head. Livewire's eyes widened in shock as Reign started to hyperventilate, eyes wide in terror. Psi just smirked smugly, lifting her chin high, proud she had affected her so.

Then Reign managed to ask, in a very high voice, "Where am I?" She looked around, seeming shocked, making Laurel and Zari blink in surprise. "Where am I?" she repeated. "What's happening?" She turned to see behind her, and she gasped. "Supergirl!"

"Reign?" she walked forward.

Reign blinked, then her expression hardened. She took a deep breath, and Laurel opened her mouth to scream again, but Reign took off before she could do anything more. They watched her go, then Livewire scoffed. "I guess we're all suckers, too."

Kara let out a hysterical laugh, covering her mouth in relief as Laurel hurried to help Thea up, Zari giving Amaya a hand. Somehow, miraculously, all nine of them had gotten through alive.

That was a win in her book.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Imra ran down the steps at the D.E.O., a wide smile on her face, and Mon-El walked to meet her, grinning widely. "Well done," he praised, hugging her when she reached him.

"You worried?" Imra asked.

"What, me?" Mon-El's eyes widened. "No. No, no, no, I knew you'd be fine the whole time."

"Oh, yeah, he sure did," Winn smirked, clapping him on the back.

Kara smiled fondly, watching the reunion, when she felt Oliver take her hand and whisper, "He was a wreck."

Kara giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder, letting Oliver put his arm around her. "And you weren't?"

"I'm not used to being on the sidelines."

"That means he absolutely was," Malcolm grinned, walking up. "Welcome home, almas."

"Thanks," Kara hugged him, then Slade when he joined them. "It's good to be home."

"Aye aye, captain!" Jax grinned as three others came down the steps behind Imra.

"Shut up," Sara grinned, giving her second-in-command a hug when she reached the bottom.

"Thank God," Nate smiled, hugging Amaya tightly.

"You guys OK?" Ray asked, hugging Zari.

"We should have blown that prison up," Zari grumbled.

"I second that!" Livewire shouted from where she was with Laurel and Thea.

Kara giggled, turning back to Mon-El. "She really helped." Imra smiled at the praise, then Kara marched up to Sara. "And _you_ were suicidal!"

"No, I wasn't!" she protested.

"You tried to _choke_ Reign with your _bo staff!"_

"What?!" Nate did a double take.

"She was gonna kill you!" Sara defended herself. "I had to do something!"

"Nice work, Captain," Mick grinned.

Kara shook her head fondly, then turned and walked over to where Psi was waiting, guarded by D.E.O. men, the dampener back around her neck. "You saved us," she said. "Thank you."

"Don't get emotional," Psi rolled her eyes. "I just didn't want to die out there." She looked past her to where the Legends were still talking, then told Kara, "You have some really good friends."

Kara nodded in agreement, and as Psi turned to go, she turned to one of the guards. "Can we get her a better room, please?" she asked. "Maybe one with a window?"

Psi stared at her in shock, then smiled thankfully. "I still don't like her," Malcolm frowned.

Kara chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. "I don't blame you."

"Hey, I'm gonna go liberate Alex from William," Oliver told Kara, squeezing her slightly.

"Then Earth-1, right?" Kara asked.

"Yes," Oliver nodded, rolling his eyes. "I need Star City's normalcy after this."

"We all do, kid," Slade snorted.

Kara giggled, kissing Oliver's cheek and squeezing his hand. "See you."

Winn watched Oliver leave as he walked up, then turned as Psi disappeared around the corner. "She really came through, huh?" he asked.

Kara nodded, looking past him to Livewire. "They both did," she confirmed, walking over. "Thank you," she told her sincerely. "If you hadn't come in time and held Reign off – "

"Don't make it a chick flick, Supergirl," Livewire scoffed.

Kara sighed. "Thank you," she repeated. "And please, don't make me have to come after you again."

She held out her hand, raising an eyebrow, and after a moment, Livewire smiled slightly and shook her hand. "You're welcome," she nodded. "And trust me, I won't do anything to make you recruit me for another suicidal space mission any time soon."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"OK," Alex sighed, finishing writing Maggie's address on the package with her passport.

"I can take it to the post office, if you want?" Ruby offered.

"Or Dad and I can," William added.

"Oh, that's OK," Alex shook her head. "I can manage tomorrow."

Both teens nodded, then Ruby smiled shyly. "It was really fun hanging out with you guys today."

"Any time," William grinned, making her smile back.

"I'm glad you guys were here," Alex smiled. "I don't know how I would have handled this without you here. I mean, normally I'd lean on my sister, but – "

"She's out of town," William nodded rapidly. "Any time, Aunt Alex."

"Yeah, we can sub for her any time," Ruby agreed.

"Thank you," Alex grinned.

There was a quick knock at the door, and William looked at Ruby. "Your parent or mine?"

Ruby tilted her head back and forth. "Both."

"Guys?" Oliver's voice called.

"We're back!" Sam's came a second later.

William gawked at Ruby in shock, and she laughed triumphantly. "Good call!" Alex laughed as well. "Come on in!"

"I heard laughing," Oliver grinned as he walked in, holding the door open for Sam. "What did we miss?"

"Ruby's a total genius," William answered.

"Oh, is she?" Oliver raised an eyebrow as Ruby beamed.

"Hey," Sam smiled at Alex.

"Hey," Alex nodded. "She's alive."

"Hi, baby," Sam smiled as Ruby ran to hug her. "I missed you."

"Missed you, too," Ruby hugged her tightly.

Sam kissed the top of her head, then asked, "How did it go?"

"A total disaster," Alex deadpanned. "I mean, what nightmares of kids you've raised."

"Hey!" William protested.

"Oh, I know," Sam nodded, playing along as Oliver laughed. "She's rough, right?"

"Hey, we're meeting Kara before we go to Central," Oliver patted William on the shoulder. "We gotta go."

"And I will meet you in the elevator," Sam nudged Ruby.

"OK," Ruby nodded, then grinned at William and lunged for Alex. "Whoa!" Alex rocked in her seat, and William pounced a moment later. "Hey, hey, I'm wounded!" she laughed, even as she hugged both of them. "Bye, guys."

"Bye, Alex," Ruby grinned.

"Thanks," William smiled at her.

"Any time," Alex smiled. "Say hi to everyone in Central, OK?" William nodded, and Alex pointed at Ruby. "No Shining."

Ruby smiled, then hugged William, too. "See you."

"See you," William grinned.

Ruby headed out the door, and Oliver went to follow her, then turned. "Hey, how was your trip?" Sam turned to look at him, a confused look on her face, and Oliver frowned. "Your work trip?" he prodded.

Sam swallowed, turning to Alex, who blinked. "Wow. I mean, it must've been really bad if you've already blocked it out."

"It's OK," Oliver shook his head. "Come on, William."

Sam licked her lips, then asked, "I said I had a work trip?"

Oliver paused, looking back at Sam, then down at William. "Go catch up to Ruby, OK? I'll be right there."

"OK," William nodded, giving Sam a worried look before leaving.

Oliver closed the door behind him, then walked up to Sam. "Yes, you did," he nodded. "It's why Ruby was here."

Sam frowned, thinking, then nodded. "No, I did. I did, I know I did. I know I said that, but . . . I didn't go anywhere."

"What?" Oliver blinked, watching Sam dig through her bag.

She pulled out her phone, scrolling through her notifications, and blanched. "Oh, my God. Lena called . . . how did I miss this?"

Alex leaned forward, seeing how rattled Sam looked. "Are you OK?"

"They had a car for me, I never got in the car," Sam swallowed, and Oliver quickly grabbed her arm when she started to sway on her feet. "I never got on a plane! How?!"

"OK, take it easy," Oliver helped her sit down, Alex moving to the chair next to her. "It's OK, Sam."

"Oh, my God," she whispered, eyes wide. "Ruby said it the other day."

"What did Ruby say?" Alex asked.

"That I was gone. I told her that I was going somewhere, but I didn't. I don't know where I went. I thought maybe I was stressed, or, you know, maybe she was remembering wrong, but it keeps happening to me. I keep losing time!"

"Sam, just take a deep breath," Alex began.

"No, I don't know where I've been!" Sam cried, eyes tearing up.

"Sam," Oliver rubbed her back. "Take a deep breath."

Sam nodded, taking a shaky one. "I think something's wrong with me."

Oliver and Alex exchanged worried looks, and Alex moved closer to Sam as Oliver went to get her a glass of water.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"I hear you had a hard go of it up there."

Kara turned to look behind her as Mon-El walked up to join her on the balcony. "Yeah," Kara nodded. "Yeah, as far as ghost ships go, it wasn't the scariest I've ever been on, but it certainly wasn't a fun house."

Mon-El nodded, then sighed. "I know my being back here didn't make things easy for you at first – "

"Mon-El," Kara sighed, closing her eyes.

"It's true," Mon-El shook his head. "You thought I was gone, and now I'm not. We've both found someone else, which helps. You've got Oliver and Slade and Malcolm and . . . well, several others who terrify me, to be honest. Sara, trying to strangle Reign with a bo staff? That's something."

Kara giggled. "Yeah, that's typical Sara."

"You've got them to help when you're struggling," Mon-El leaned on the railing. "But I want to help, too. We're not together anymore, but I still wanna make things better for you."

"I know you do," Kara nodded.

"Well, then, try me," Mon-El shrugged. "Talk to me. I promise I'm a heck of a lot wiser than whoever that guy was that landed here a year ago." Kara laughed, nodding in agreement, and Mon-El held out his hands. "Just try it. Try me. I'm a much better listener."

Kara pursed her lips, then sighed. "I feel badly that I couldn't get through to Reign," she confessed. "I saw humanity in her. I got a glimpse of it, and I should have been able to reach it. And I'm wondering that if I didn't have everyone from Earth-1 . . . I wonder if I wouldn't have made it back. If Leslie wouldn't have made it back."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Mon-El nodded. "Leading people into battle and wondering if you'll bring them home. It's hard."

"No kidding," Kara whispered, looking down the stairs, focusing on Lily conversing eagerly with Ray and Winn, on Jax, who was still joking around with Sara, and on Malcolm, who was speaking with Thea. Malcolm, who had almost died to save Professor Stein. Lily, who could have lost her father. Jax, who would have lost his partner in crime and the man who was like his surrogate father. How drastically would their lives had changed if anything had happened differently? If Stein had died? If _Malcolm_ had died?

"But," Mon-El told her, drawing her attention back to him. "For what it's worth, you might not have gotten through to Reign. But, I mean, Livewire? She was as bad as they come, and you got through to her. You gave her something to fight for. You changed her heart for the better. That's, I mean . . . that's _amazing._ And you did that without the yellow sun. That was all you." Kara stared at him for a few seconds, then snorted. Mon-El frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Wow," Kara giggled. "Your advice actually makes sense now! I think I'd actually follow it!"

Mon-El smirked as Kara burst out laughing. "There _is_ a logical progression," he told her dryly.

"That sounds like – !"

"Comes to a point at the end," Mon-El grinned, joining in on her laughter. "And, you know, speaking of glass-half-full stuff, that Kryptonian Priestess gave you some information about the Worldkillers. That's not for nothing."

"Yeah," Kara nodded. "Yeah, she did. She called them Purity and Pestilence." She took a deep breath. "So now all we have to do is find them before Reign does."

"And you'll have our help if you need it," Mon-El nodded.

Kara smiled. "Thank you," she told him.

"Any time," Mon-El smiled back. "Just reassure your terrifying brothers I wasn't trying to get you to come back to me."

"Ehhhh," Kara tilted her head back and forth teasingly.

"Wait, what?" Mon-El blinked. Kara laughed and ran back down the stairs, Mon-El shouting after her. "Kara!"

"He looks like he's seen a ghost," Sara remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Kara just giggled. "What did he do?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Kara grinned. "Just gave me an ear I needed."

Slade tilted his head. "He's still got both of them."

Kara burst out laughing even more at that. "Oh, what did I miss?" Oliver raised an eyebrow as he walked in, William with him.

"Not funny, Kara," Mon-El grumbled as he joined them.

Kara snickered in response. "Yes, it was."

"So, back to cleaning up the timeline," Sara rubbed her hands together.

"And Star City's _normalcy,"_ Slade smirked.

"Funny how Star City's problems is now what we're calling _normal,"_ Malcolm snorted.

"You wanna try fighting Vikings who worship a blue doll called 'Cuddle Me Beebo?'" Sara raised an eyebrow.

Malcolm shuddered. "I stand corrected."

Kara smiled as the Legends laughed at Malcolm's expense, then tilted her head, seeing Oliver looked slightly distracted. "Everything OK?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Oliver looked at her, then nodded. "Yeah, it's fine."

Kara nodded, then turned back to the others. "Actually, one place before all of that." William nodded in agreement, and Kara turned to face Mon-El, Winn, and J'onn when they looked at her in confusion. "If you guys want to come, too."

Winn immediately nodded in understanding. "Yeah," Mon-El nodded, understanding as well. "I'm coming."

When alarms went off in S.T.A.R. Labs signaling a breach opening, Iris groaned, rubbing her hand over her face. "Seriously?" Cisco groaned, standing up and storming towards the breach room, Caitlin warily following as Joe put a hand on his gun, Iris and Harry taking theirs. "One day! _One day!"_

Iris braced herself when they entered the breach room, ready to fire.

Except when a blonde woman in glasses stepped out, she froze, her gun lowering. Her blue eyes immediately found Iris's watering ones, and she sighed, walking forward. "I am _so_ sorry, Iris," she whispered.

Iris dropped her gun and raced forward, hugging Kara tightly, and Kara hugged her back as the Legends and Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, Laurel, Thea, J'onn, Winn, and Mon-El poured through the breach after her. Kara ignored them, holding Iris as she cried, Sara and Thea coming to hug Iris as well.

* * *

 **A/N: This is post-Flash episode 4x10 "The Trial of the Flash," so Barry's just been sentenced to Iron Heights, hence no Barry. This also will not be the last time we see Team Flash before the finale episodes, just so you guys know.**

 **And when I come back from a Daxam Four update, it'll be back to Star City! "Divided" is the next episode to do!**


	48. Arrow - Divided - Part One

**And finally, it's back to - as Oliver puts it - _normalcy._ Except this normalcy involves a needle-like hacker in a city-sized haystack.**

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharpe_**

Cayden watched the last man exit his target's office, then strode forward. Behind him, Diaz and Evelyn exchanged glances before following.

When they entered the office, the man reclining at his desk scowled at them. "Who the hell are you?"

"Someone," Cayden answered, tilting his head from side to side. "Important."

" _Real_ important," Diaz smirked, leaning against the wall.

"You don't look it," the man scoffed. "How'd you get past my men?"

"They thought they saw a bigger threat," Evelyn answered sweetly.

The man raised an eyebrow, looking her over before dismissing her and looking back at Cayden when he spoke. "Jerry Bertinelli of the eponymous crime family and the last of his kind. The rest of your family is either dead or incarcerated."

"You writing a book?" Bertinelli snorted.

"I have heard that sometimes ships appear on your docking manifest but never actually arrive," Cayden continued.

"Sometimes, ships arrive and never end up on the docking manifest," Diaz added.

"That's very profound," Bertinelli smirked. "If the price is right, maybe – _maybe_ – we can facilitate a few things."

"No, I'm afraid you misunderstand," Cayden shook his head. 'We want to buy you out."

"I got a feeling you're not hearing me," Bertinelli snarled, standing up. "Port's not for sale. Take a walk."

Diaz suddenly stood up, reaching under his coat. Bertinelli responded, drawing a gun quickly, but in the process, turned his back on Evelyn. The girl launched a dark grey dart at his neck, and Bertinelli yelped, dropping his gun and clapping a hand on top of his neck, sinking the dart in deeper. He groaned in pain, and Evelyn sauntered forward, placing her hands flat on the desk and leaning in close. "I guess you thought you saw a bigger threat, too," she smiled, watching his eyes cloud over as the sedative sunk in.

"You have forty-eight hours to consider our proposal," Cayden informed him. He turned to leave, then paused and looked back. "Don't you have a daughter attending Columbia University?"

"I've always wanted to visit New York," Evelyn beamed.

Cayden headed out the door first, and Diaz held out his hand, gesturing Evelyn out first. Evelyn nodded back, and Diaz spared Bertinelli one last look before bringing up the rear.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak_**

"Well, if nothing else, we've set the new record for most arrows made in a day."

Oliver couldn't help but snort in amusement as he double checked the arrow he'd just made. "Pretty sure that's a single person record to make, Malcolm."

"Well, one of us has to have beaten that," Malcolm smirked, carefully checking the tip of one of his arrows. He winced when he pricked his finger, setting it down again. "Which one of us, though, that's the question."

"I'm not counting," Felicity called drowsily from where she was sitting down and leaning against one of the columns in the base.

The elevator doors dinged open, making all three look over. Laurel was the first out, and she took one look at Felicity and giggled. "Long night?"

"You have _no_ idea," Felicity nodded.

"Who won the arrow making contest?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Debating," Malcolm called back.

"Never was a competition," Oliver threw him a look.

Slade snorted. "It'll be one where the wizard's concerned."

"First off, _magician,"_ Malcolm narrowed his eyes. "Second, says the other one who keeps score during our battles!"

"If everyone's done," Dig cut in, entering and holding up a cardboard tray of coffee. "Looks like at least one of you needs this."

"Oh, John Diggle," Felicity groaned in relief, slipping her glasses back on. "Savior of souls and bringer of java."

"Mmmhmm," Dig smirked as Laurel and Slade took their drinks, holding a hand out to help her up.

"Oh, thank you," Felicity nodded, taking his hand.

"I have been called," Dig nodded back, walking down to give the other two drinks to the archers. "I guess I have to find ways to be useful. You're all working overtime trying to find Cayden James, and I'm still on the disabled list."

"Well, not for long," Felicity shook her head. "Curtis is on his way over, and we will fix you. We have the technology."

"Ha," Dig snorted, taking a sip of his drink. "I'm not the six million dollar man."

"Not yet, you're not," Felicity shook her head. "And more like 2.24 million dollar man because Curtis and I are stretching pennies with Helix Dynamics as it is." She looked down when her phone beeped and vibrated, then picked it up and checked who contacted her. "Oh, speak of the devil, that little psychic. Oh," she blinked. "He's early. He'll be here soon."

"Who's early?" Oliver called as he put his arrows away.

"Curtis," Dig answered.

"You look like you could use a break, kid," Slade frowned, looking him up and down. "Should you be getting home?"

"Yeah, Raisa must be making quadruple overtime by now," Felicity agreed.

"Raisa's doing fine, and Kara's with William right now," Oliver shook his head. "I mean, Williams loves both of them, so – "

"And William doesn't know you're here," Laurel raised an eyebrow.

"I know," Oliver winced. "And I don't like it, but we need to find Cayden James. Are we making any progress on that front?"

"Despite my 21st consecutive all-nighter?" Felicity sighed. "No. He's either the first bad guy to ghost us, or he's just biding time."

"I'd go for the second," Malcolm shook his head. "He's smart enough for both, but he seems to be the guy to – "

"Savor the anticipation," Slade drawled.

" _What_ did you just say?"

"His words, not mine."

"Boys," Laurel glared at them.

"What about Evelyn?" Oliver asked.

"Another strikeout," Felicity shook her head. "I can't track her cry, and Cayden must have inserted some sort of Trojan into the software. It's confusing our facial recognition algorithms. I cannot find her."

Oliver sighed. "All right. We will continue with the low tech option, and I will go out there again tonight."

"Or the other low tech option," Malcolm folded his arms. _"I_ will go out there tonight, and take one of the others with me so you finally get more than just a nap in."

"Kid, you are playing Russian roulette every time you go out there," Slade reminded him. "The FBI investigation still isn't going away."

"And need we remind you about the anti-vigilante law?" Laurel tilted her head.

"I'm not worried," Oliver shook his head. "You should not be either. The six of us, we will solve this problem together."

Malcolm sighed. "Are we gonna go there?"

Slade just turned his head and looked at Laurel expectantly. "I'll call Kara," she nodded, pulling out her phone.

Oliver froze on his way to the elevator, then gave them a nasty look. "That's cold."

"Warmer than the weather in Star City will be tonight!" Laurel called over her shoulder, scrolling through her contacts.

"Stay home, Oliver," Malcolm told him. "It's not just you in the field. We can do this for one night."

Oliver glared, but there was no heat in it. Finally, he sighed and nodded. "Thank you," he told them gratefully.

"Any time, kid," Slade nodded as Laurel smirked, putting her phone away.

Oliver turned to get in the elevator when the doors suddenly slid open, and Oliver stopped short when he saw who was inside. "Like your haircut," the occupant stammered, smiling nervously. "It's nice."

"I didn't get a haircut," Oliver deadpanned, making Laurel snort before covering her mouth with her hand. "Curtis, it's fine. I'm really appreciative that you're helping John."

Curtis blinked in surprised as he exited, turning to watch Oliver get in. "No hard feelings?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow as he pushed the button he wanted. "No."

Curtis did a double take, watching the doors close, then turned to the others. He gulped when he was met by three steely looks, two others more sympathetic. "Anyone ever tell you three you're as scary as hell?" he asked meekly.

"If they haven't, we're not doing our job correctly," Laurel said sweetly.

"I'll suit up," Malcolm smirked as he turned around.

"Agreed," Slade gave Curtis one last look, following behind Malcolm.

Laurel gave Curtis a smirk before she went the other way, towards where comms devices were stored. Curtis visibly relaxed when all three were out of view. "That wasn't super awkward."

Felicity exhaled slowly, turning around to her computer. "Let's get to work."

* * *

 ** _Quentin Lance_**

Quentin was looking through a file when he heard a knock on the door. "Yep!" he called.

"Hi," Thea smiled, poking her head in.

Quentin chuckled, setting the file down and standing up. "Look who it is. You know, you're still my assistant, you don't have to knock."

"Oh, please," Thea scoffed, giving him a quick hug. "I want to."

Quentin smiled, hugging her back. "I don't need anything right now, so . . . to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Uh, well," Thea sat down as Quentin leaned against his desk. "I heard you and Ollie are now down one assistant?"

"Yeah," Quentin snorted. "Developed some trust issues with him."

"Yeah, Ollie told me you _fired_ him."

"Yeah, about that," Quentin frowned, looking at her. "He also mentioned that you wanted to . . . what, err on the side of forgiveness?"

"Yeah," Thea nodded. "I mean, look. You know, everyone makes mistakes, and I – I totally get why you did what you did, but I just feel like it might come across bad for optics. It . . . it might look like you're retaliating against a whistleblower."

"Yeah, I hear what you're saying," Quentin nodded, standing up and heading back to his seat. "But, Thea . . . Oliver shouldn't have to work shoulder to shoulder with a guy who's testifying against him."

"Doesn't mean you're not still down an assistant," Thea pointed out.

"Yeah," Quentin grimaced. "Well, actually, I hired a replacement this morning."

"Oh," Thea blinked.

"What I could _really_ use," Quentin leaned forward, "is a Chief of Staff." He smirked as Thea blinked. "Up for a promotion?"

Thea grinned widely.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel watched with an eagle eye as Curtis worked on Dig's arm, the man wincing as the former team member worked. "Almost there," Curtis promised, as if he could tell she was watching him in case he made a mistake. "Just slipping past the radial carpal."

"Yeah," Felicity nodded, checking the X-ray of Dig's arm.

"Boom!" Curtis finished, stepping back and clapping his hands once. "Chip implanted."

"That's it?" Dig asked in surprise. "That seemed simple."

"Yeah, for you," Felicity snorted. "I mean, making the chip, that was the hard – "

Laurel cringed when Felicity's words reverberated in the air, and everyone looked around, confused. "What was that?" Laurel asked.

"Some kind of electromagnetic frequency interference?" Curtis suggested.

"From the chip?" Dig asked worriedly.

"No, I doubt it," Felicity shook her head. "But – "

"It's probably nothing," Curtis shook his head. "All right, moment of truth . . . can you make a fist without the tremor?" Laurel stood up from her seat and walked over to see, and Dig looked down at his hand, closing his fingers to make a fist. He still had a tremor, and Laurel sighed, shaking her head. Curtis just took a deep breath. "Round two, el busto."

"You need to just stop pouring money into this," Dig shook his head. "Into _me."_

"You let _us_ worry about the money, OK?" Felicity told him sternly. "We're gonna do this."

Curtis removed the chip, placing it in a test tube. "I can tinker with the design some more when I get home."

"Or you could do it here," Felicity offered.

"Heh," Curtis smiled nervously, looking at Laurel as she sat back and crossed her legs. "Hard pass. After this morning's awkwardness, I am good. See you guys!"

"See you," Felicity waved as he left, then looked at Laurel. "I think you scared him off."

"Just me?" Laurel snorted.

"Please tell me you can get Halo on that thing," Dig pointed to the big screen showing the X-ray of his arm. "If I have to go one more week without shooting a bad guy, I'm gonna bust."

"Funny," Felicity smiled. "I always pictured you like more a Call of Duty – "

The electronic reverberation was back, and Laurel turned her head sharply, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Dig blinked, looking at Felicity as she blanched and reached for her phone. "What?" he asked in concern as she quickly texted.

"Your phone," Laurel hissed, pulling hers out as it chimed.

Dig reached for his, too, and they both watched Felicity's two messages pop up: _Signal interference,_ followed by _I think we've been bugged._

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"Anastas, who collared this guy?" Dinah asked in disbelief as she walked up to an officer pulling in a guy in handcuffs. "We've had a warrant on him for weeks!"

"Nobody," Anastas shook his head. "He just up and turned himself in five minutes ago."

"Turned himself in," Dinah repeated incredulously.

"It's crazy," Anastas nodded, leading him off. "Fifth one this week. Like all of a sudden, these bad guys grew a conscience."

Dinah stopped when she saw a familiar face move past the window, and she narrowed her eyes, heading out into the hallway. "Did you like my presents?" her visitor smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Dinah sighed, walking past him.

"Seeing you," Vincent answered, walking at her side.

"You know, anybody in this office could arrest you," Dinah warned. "Hell, _I_ could arrest you."

"For what?" Vincent quizzed. "I'm a Central City police officer. The only rap on me is that I am presumed dead." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Then again, I was an undercover, so that death is probably bogus," he mused.

"The Vigilante put the fear of God in these guys," Dinah hissed.

"At least the Vigilante isn't killing them," Vincent countered.

Despite herself, Dinah smirked. "Most guys just send flowers."

"How about a stroll by the pier instead?" Vincent offered. "Tomorrow, after your shift ends?"

Dinah considered, then smiled. "Sure."

"OK," Vincent smiled back, walking past her towards the door.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"There," Kara pointed past Oliver.

He nodded and drove his motorcycle over to where Dig and Felicity were waiting, Kara clinging to his waist. He parked a few feet away from them, shutting his bike down and climbing off, holding his hand out to help Kara off. They took their helmets off before walking over as Dig and Felicity got out of their car. Before either of them could speak, however, Felicity held a finger to her mouth, telling them to be quiet. She held up a handheld device and ran it over Oliver first, then scanned Kara. Oliver raised an eyebrow at Dig questioningly, but he just shook his head as Kara patiently waited. After Felicity was done, she sighed in relief and turned it off. "Clear."

"What's going on?" Oliver got right to the point.

"We've been compromised," Dig answered bluntly.

"What?" Kara balked as Oliver did a double take.

"Curtis brought down some equipment into the bunker for John's implant," Felicity explained. "We got massive signal interference. We got lucky."

"All those months ago, when Talia and Evelyn infiltrated the bunker," Dig began.

"They stole one of Curtis's T-spheres," Oliver nodded. "James had it on him back at Starling Stadium."

Dig nodded as well. "We were so focused on what they could have taken, we never thought about what they could have left behind."

Oliver's eyes widened. "Like a bug?"

"Exactly," Dig confirmed grimly.

"That means he's been watching the bunker for _months!"_ Kara squeaked, eyes wide.

"I got it on loop," Felicity promised. "Audio and visual of the bunker. He doesn't know that we know."

"Slade?" Oliver pressed. "Malcolm, Laurel?"

"She suited up and went to find them," Felicity nodded. "They'll know."

"I spoke with Lyla," Dig told them. "She said we can use A.R.G.U.S. for the time being."

"That's smart," Oliver nodded gratefully.

"No, smart is Cayden James being one step ahead of us from the very jump, Oliver," Dig shook his head.

"I hate to belabor the depressingly obvious, but secret identities?" Felicity looked between all of them. "No longer secret."

"Me and my team," Kara closed her eyes. "Where we come from."

"Slade being in the city, and two well-known deceased are actually alive," Oliver seethed.

"Rao, this is giving me a headache," Kara pinched the bridge of her nose.

Felicity looked down at her phone when it beeped. "The block between 74th and Jansen just lost their security signal uplink," she frowned. "That doesn't just happen on its own."

"Cayden James," Dig guessed.

Oliver tensed, but Kara put her hand on his chest. "Let me," she said quietly. "I'll find the others, we'll handle it."

"I'll let them know," Felicity nodded.

Oliver sighed, but nodded. "Be careful."

Kara nodded and gave him a quick kiss, then headed for the nearest alley, taking off her glasses and unbuttoning her coat.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Malcolm Merlyn_**

When Kara flew down to find the building the lost signal was traced to, she found three figures standing on the opposite building. "Do we have anything?" she asked, hovering down to join them.

"Not much," Malcolm shook his head. "But someone's definitely in there."

"One?" Kara arched an eyebrow.

"One," Malcolm confirmed.

"James isn't a fighter," Slade told Kara. "He'd have someone else with him for muscle."

"So he sent someone else for him?" Kara frowned.

"Or he's decided to be stupid," Laurel offered her opinion.

"I doubt that, Siren," Malcolm snorted.

"All right," Kara took a deep breath. "Let's get this handled. Oliver isn't here, but I'd rather get back so I make sure he gets some sleep."

"About time he got some," Slade grumbled, but nodded as Kara grabbed him by his bandolier.

She took off in one direction, and Malcolm shot off a grappling arrow, then extended an arm to Laurel. "Hold on."

Laurel wrapped an arm around his neck as Malcolm put his around her waist, then they jumped off the building, swinging towards the other side of the building.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara frowned as she and Slade cautiously made their way through the building. "It really _is_ just one person," she reported.

"Is it James?" Laurel asked.

"Evelyn, Talia?" Malcolm added.

Kara frowned, using her X-ray vision. "No. None of them."

"So who wants our attention this desperately?" Slade wondered.

Kara raised her hand, and Slade tensed, reaching down and drawing one of his guns. Kara slowly walked into the main office area, then stopped when Slade entered behind her. "I can see you!" she called.

There was a moment of silence, then a man in a suit stepped out, hands raised. Kara heard the click of a safety release behind her, but before she could do anything, the man started talking. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, can you stand down? I just needed to get your attention."

"Obviously," Slade drawled, but he didn't lower his weapon.

"It worked," Kara narrowed her eyes.

"I was kind of expecting your friend," the man continued. "But all of you are hard to find. You ever consider a website? Maybe a spotlight in the sky? You know, a big silhouette of an arrow or that S on your chest?"

"You wanted our attention, and you got it," Kara interrupted. "What for?"

The man stepped into the light, hands still up, and Slade finally lowered his gun when he saw he was unarmed. "You, uh . . . you know who I am?" the man asked.

"Jerry Bertinelli." The man jumped, startled, and spun around, watching Malcolm walk into the room, the archer putting away the arrow he had nocked, Laurel slinking in behind him, her hair and new mask hiding her face. "Member of the Bertinelli Syndicate," Malcolm explained for Kara.

"I _am_ the Bertinelli Syndicate," Bertinelli corrected, nodding and turning back to Kara. "At least, what's left of it. And I can't go down without a fight."

"I know the Bertinelli history," Kara scowled. "Why do you want us here?"

"Just hear me out," Bertinelli held up his hands placatingly. Kara folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for his response. "Look, I never actually wanted to get in this life, you know? But we do certain things for family, am I right? Now the ports, these docks, it's all we got left, and last night, these people came over and threatened to take it from me. You know, some dweeb in glasses, a thug, a college girl. I mean, you know them?"

Kara saw Malcolm and Luarel exchange glances. That accounted for Cayden James and Evelyn Sharpe. What about the thug? "Maybe," she finally answered.

"Yeah, no, I figured you might," Bertinelli snorted. "They're looking to control the docks."

"So talk to your cousin," Malcolm scoffed. "Sounds like business she'd love."

"She's been underground, so I'm asking you," Bertinelli told Kara. "And the green archer."

"Are you seriously asking us to help you win a _turf war?"_ Laurel asked in disbelief.

"What are you thinking?" Slade asked.

"I'm thinking you're the enemy of my enemy, which makes us allies," Bertinelli answered.

Kara narrowed her eyes. On the one hand, she knew the Bertinelli history. He could be playing them, for all they knew. On the other hand, this was the first lead they had on James for a long time. "What do you have?" she finally asked.

* * *

 **A/N: For some reason, it's much more fun writing Slade Wilson and Malcolm Merlyn back in Star City. Must be the home territory thing. Also yes, I gave Black Siren a mask. What point is there in her going out if criminals are all going to recognize the face of Laurel Lance?**

 **Next part should be out over the weekend. Here's hoping I avoid burnout!**


	49. Divided - Part Two

**A bit of a look into the former members of Team Arrow's lives, and it's the current Team Arrow versus Cayden James . . . and company.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara walked through the halls of A.R.G.U.S. until she reached the office area where Felicity and Dig were waiting. She knocked and walked in, then stopped when she saw Felicity looked dead on her feet. "I could call Winn and ask him to help?" she suggested sheepishly, holding up a memory block.

Felicity blinked exhaustion from her eyes and straightened. "Better than Oliver would have done."

"Yeah, and the others," Kara agreed, handing her the drive. "That was given to us by Jerry Bertinelli. According to Malcolm, the port is the only thing the Bertinelli has left. Cayden James and Evelyn Sharpe are trying to take it from them."

"So we're getting in bed with the Bertinellis now?" Dig asked incredulously.

"I remember the last time we got in bed with one of the Bertinellis," Felicity began, only to blanch when Kara arched an eyebrow at her, daring her to say anything more. She quickly cleared her throat and turned back around, hastily working to plug in the block. "Not a good thing to say to the boss's superpowered fiancée . . . "

"Two nights ago, they paid Bertinelli a visit," Kara continued as if Felicity hadn't spoken. "This is the security footage. They made a threat against his daughter."

"Well, what's on here might help us locate them," Felicity nodded.

"That's the plan," Kara nodded.

Felicity pulled up footage on her computer, raising an eyebrow when she saw the car on screen. "Well, what about a license plate?"

She clicked on it, and Kara and Dig leaned forward, watching the plate clear. "Old school," Dig remarked. "I like it."

"Little bit of old school combined with some new school, and I'm about to find us this Cayden James needle in the Star City haystack," Felicity promised.

"Thank you," Kara smiled, standing up. "And now I'm going to make sure Oliver actually _does_ sleep tonight."

"We are forever in your debt," Dig chuckled.

"Just looking out for him!" Kara grinned, heading out the door. "Happy hunting!"

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"Then I was thinking after school, we could hit up the zoo," Rene told his daughter excitedly the next morning. "They have this new reptile room with a Komodo dragon. Thing's so big, it could eat a _cow._ That's dope, right?"

"I guess so," Zoe nodded, a distracted smile on her face.

"What's up, sweets?" Rene bent down in concern. "I thought you were all about this animal stuff."

"I am, but . . . " Zoe fidgeted slightly. "Why aren't you going into work today?"

"I's . . . " Rene fumbled with what to say. "Going through a little transitional period."

"Will I have to leave again?" Zoe asked worriedly.

"Hey," Rene came around to come face to face with her. "No one will ever take you away from me _ever_ again." Zoe smiled happily at Rene, who turned when there was a knock at the door. He walked over and opened it, nodding when he saw Curtis on the other side. "What's up, dawg?"

"What's up, dawg?" Curtis nodded back, entering and holding up a paper bag. "I brought crogurts."

" _Crogurts?"_ Rene repeated.

"I didn't name them," Curtis shook his head. "I just eat them. Hey, Zoe!"

"Hi, Curtis," Zoe smiled.

"Hey, go get your bag," Rene told her. "We're about to leave."

Zoe hopped off her stool and went to find her backpack, and Curtis smiled, watching her. "Must be great having her back, huh?"

"Best feeling in the world," Rene confirmed.

Curtis frowned, however, looking at his expression. "You don't _look_ like you're having the best feeling in the world, though."

"I can't shake how everything went down with Oliver," Rene confessed. "In order to do right for me, I . . . I had to betray him."

"You had to put your daughter first," Curtis assured him. "She's family. Is that why you called me over?"

"Actually, I was thinking," Rene answered. "All the evidence Agent Watson says she has against me has to be digitized, right?"

"Yeah," Curtis nodded.

"So what if that evidence suddenly vanished?" Rene suggested. "Then I'll be able to . . . what do you call it? Um . . . recant."

"You put your family first, Rene," Curtis told him. "That's nothing to be ashamed about." Rene slumped, but Curtis continued, thinking out loud. "I mean, now, accessing the files might be a little easier now that the case has been moved back to the Star City D.A., but – "

"So that's a yes?" Rene asked hopefully.

"No, that's a 'let me think about it,'" Curtis corrected. When Rene gave him his best pleading look, however, he caved. "Fine, yeah, I'll do it. We all know I'll do it."

"Aw!" Rene whooped, high fiving Curtis as he laughed. "That's what I'm talking about, Hoss!"

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"Oh!" Dinah laughed as she walked with Vincent by the water that night. "That was – that _was_ the worst stakeout of my life! Do you remember? OK, it was, like, what, minus one? It was _freezing._ I was freezing my ass off, and the car's heater broke down."

"I warned you about that," Vincent grinned.

"Yeah, you did, and I didn't listen," Dinah conceded.

"I think there's a life lesson in there somewhere," Vincent smirked.

"Oh, ha ha," Dinah laughed sarcastically. "I think I drank a gallon of coffee that night to stay warm. I had to pee so bad. I've never had to pee so bad in my life! And I had to go back behind the car so, you know. I mean, I wasn't gonna ask the scumbag if I could use his bathroom. Oh, God, and the second I go back there, he decides to make a run for it, that son of a bitch. I go chasing after him, fall face-first into the snow bank, and knock – knock myself out on the curb!"

Vincent joined in on her laughter, which faded as they stopped and realized how close they were to each other. "This is complicated," he said. "I know."

"I'm used to complicated," Dinah told him. "Vine, this is a whole new level."

"It doesn't have to be," Vincent shook his head.

"I stopped being the Black Canary weeks ago," Dinah told him. "I really want to uncomplicate my life right now."

"Just so long you don't forget to live it," Vincent reminded her. Dinah nodded in agreement, looking up at him as he moved closer to her. Their lips were just inches from touching when Vincent's phone chirped loudly. Dinah closed her eyes, internally cursing their luck. Vincent seemed to do the same thing as he sighed, pulling out his phone. "I'm sorry," he told her regretfully. When he looked at the message, however, he took a deep breath. "Text from an informant. My next target's on the move." Dinah gave him a warning look, which he grinned at. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him."

"Well, just make sure you bring him in when I'm off duty, OK?" Dinah smirked. "Because all this intake is giving me carpal tunnel."

Vincent smiled and nodded, squeezing her hands before he left, Dinah watching him go with a wistful look on her face.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver finished looking over the last of his paperwork for the night, opening a drawer nearby. He frowned, not finding what he was looking for, and turned to check the drawers behind him –

"Pen?"

He straightened up at the familiar voice and turned around. He was greeted by Thea smirking at him and holding out a ballpoint pen for him to use. "I can always count on you," he said fondly, taking the pen to sign off on the paperwork. "So, Quentin told me the good news." He put the pen down and looked at her as she sat on his desk. "You're back with me."

"Yes, I am," Thea answered, a proud smile on her face.

"And you're happy about that?" Oliver asked, just to make sure.

Thea nodded. "I'm just sorry that I can't be of more help to you and the team . . . or the new one, I guess."

"That's fine," Oliver assured her.

"I just know you need the manpower right now, and you have tons in three of the scariest people in existence, but I'm . . . I'm just not there. Saving the world from Nazis from another Earth, or going on an intel mission in space is something else, but here in Star City – "

"Thea," Oliver cut her off, reaching over and taking her hand. "You will _always_ be my Speedy whether you're using a bow and arrow or not."

Thea smiled warmly, then both turned when the door opened quickly. "Oliver," Kara hurried in, eyes wide. "Felicity found him."

"Where?" Oliver sat up straight.

"We found a car on the footage, and Felicity found it parked outside a warehouse in Adams Heights," Kara answered. "It looks like he's alone, but I'm heading over just to make sure."

"He doesn't know that we know?" Oliver clarified.

"No," Kara shook her head. "The others are already suiting up."

"Can you talk me in?" Kara nodded in response. "OK," Oliver stood up. "We have the chance to take him by surprise. We can't pass it up."

"That's what the fielders agreed on," Kara nodded as he walked over to join her.

"Ollie?" Thea twisted to see them leave. "Kara?"

"Yeah?" they turned to look at her.

Thea gave them a wide smile. "Go get him."

Oliver smirked and nodded, opening the door and letting Kara out first.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver and Slade were the first into the warehouse, weapons blurs of motion. The guards on that side were no match for them. It only took Slade a few seconds to ram one into the wall, hard enough to knock him out, and Oliver shot the other with a tranquilizer arrow; both were down around the same time. "Overwatch, Deathstroke and I are in the east sector," Oliver reported as Slade double checked both to make sure they were down.

There was a thud on the other side of comms, then Laurel spoke. "West sector secure."

"Where to?" Malcolm asked.

"All of you are coming up on the main floor," Felicity answered. "Same four heat sigs have been there for a while now."

"Good odds that's our target," Dig added.

"Supergirl?" Oliver asked.

"I can see him," Kara confirmed. "Talia and Evelyn are there, too."

"Copy that," Oliver nodded, moving on, Slade his silent shadow.

* * *

 ** _Cayden James/Oliver Queen/Laurel Lance_**

Cayden didn't look up from his work when he spoke. "I'm sensing some impatience, Ms. Sharpe. Would you care to elucidate?"

"I'm not impatient," Evelyn grumbled from where she was pacing restlessly, her teacher leaning against the doorway. "I'm _annoyed._ We have the numbers. Why not just take the pier from the Bertinellis?"

"Oh, no," Cayden's second in command said sarcastically from where he was leaning against equipment nearby. "Not impatient at all."

"Mr. Sheck," Talia's voice rang out sharply, making him glare over at her. "She raises a good question, but do not test her."

Evelyn smirked smugly, but Sheck grumbled and turned to Cayden. "No need to stir the pot, any of you," he said. "Ms. Sharpe, I think you'll find that brute force, while it's easy, it's exceedingly messy. I prefer precision. Design over chaos."

A green arrow smacked into Sheck, making him cry out in pain and collapse. Talia was moving instantly, drawing an arrow for her own bow, when two black arrows landed in her shoulders. She staggered, gasping in pain and reaching up, only to sway as the tranquilizers took effect. Evelyn swung around as Oliver and Malcolm jumped to the ground, and she opened her mouth to scream. Oliver's bow was up in an instant, and he shot two arrows at the same time. Evelyn was catapulted backward as a chain wrapped around her neck, and she was pinned by the arrows to the wall behind her.

As Evelyn choked, Cayden turned back to the two archers, reaching behind him and pressing a key on his laptop. The three T-spheres on the table whirred to life, spinning into the air and flying at them. Both ducked, and before the spheres could spin around again, a loud sonic scream threw them off course. One sphere was shot by two bullets, and the lost connection made the other two fizzle out, too.

Oliver turned to face Cayden as Slade and Laurel jumped down from their perch and walked to join him. "You taught yourself some new tricks," Cayden remarked.

"No more games," Oliver growled.

"Overwatch, we have the target," Malcolm reported.

"He's not your problem!" Kara broke in before Felicity could reply. "You're about to get – _company!"_

"Supergirl?" Slade looked up when he heard a pained cry from her.

"Supergirl!" Oliver insisted, not hearing her reply. "Overwatch? Do either of you copy?"

"I'm afraid Ms. Danvers and Ms. Smoak can't hear you," Cayden smirked. "You see I also have some tricks, Mr. Queen . . . and like you, I have friends."

"Hello, kapuishon." Slade spun around and drew his sword as Anatoli walked in from one direction, armed members of Bratva accompanying him. "How were your holidays?"

"Funny you should mention that!" Diaz's voice came from the other side, and Malcolm turned, gritting his teeth and reaching for his sword as Diaz yanked the arrows out of the wall, freeing Evelyn. As she landed on her feet, massaging her feet and choking, Diaz reached down to check Talia's pulse. When he stood back up, he smirked and pointed the arrow in his hand at the four vigilantes, Evelyn glaring daggers at them, members of Diaz's organization flooding into the warehouse. "Looks like we're getting a late Christmas present!"

Oliver looked up in relief when he heard a crash in the ceiling, and Kara dropped down to join them. She took in all of their enemies, and as she did that, Oliver and Laurel completed their turns. Laurel was the first to look up, and she inhaled sharply. "Thought you only targeted criminals!"

"I thought you'd know vigilantes _are_ criminals, Ms. Lance," the disguised voice of Vincent Sobel answered, and Oliver looked up sharply to see him in full Vigilante gear, gun at the ready.

"You'll find that I don't play games, Mr. Queen," Cayden smirked triumphantly, bringing Oliver's attention back to him. "But I _do_ win."

"That's enough," Evelyn snarled, fuming angrily. "I am so sick of everyone not killing him when we get the chance!"

She ran forward, but Kara shot forward, knocking Evelyn back to the ground. She did a quick circle around the rest of her team, knocking away those closest to them. As everyone tried to aim for her, Slade started firing at the Bratva members, Malcolm and Oliver shifting so they were back to back, taking shots at Diaz's gang members. Laurel slowly circled, narrowing her eyes to try and find a target. When there was a gap in the circle and she had a clear view of Vincent, she smirked, took a deep breath, and opened her mouth.

Except nothing came out, and eyes wide, she reached for her throat. Behind her, backing up behind cover, Cayden held up a glowing green device. "Lost your voice, Ms. Lance?"

Laurel gawked at him, then Vincent held up his gun and fired. The shot tore through her shoulder, and Laurel jerked, yelping in pain. "Siren!" Malcolm turned to check on her.

Slade spun and fired off a shot at Vincent, which bounced off his body armor. Kara rammed into the platform Vincent stood on, and it crashed on its side, sending Vincent sprawling and criminals scattering. "More inbound!" she warned.

Oliver gritted his teeth, then turned to Malcolm. "Get her out of here!" Malcolm nodded in response, and Oliver turned to Slade and Kara. "Cover us!"

Kara took off at once, firing her heat vision and scattering criminals backwards. As Slade shot at those who recovered quickest, Oliver bent down and helped Laurel to her feet. "Easy," he told her.

Malcolm fired off a grappling arrow quickly, and with Oliver's help, Laurel got her uninjured arm over his shoulders. Malcolm shifted his grip to hold her better, and Laurel hissed when her injured arm was jostled. Still, she clung on tightly as Malcolm swung away, Laurel ducking her head as fire turned to them.

Their distraction allowed Oliver to fire off a grappling arrow of his own. Only Vincent recovered in time to fire after him, and Kara swooped down, grabbing Slade and flying off as Oliver escaped.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"So Cayden James not only has Talia and Evelyn, but he's backed by _two_ different criminal organizations?" Dig asked in disbelief.

"And a deranged killer that we haven't been able to put down for two years," Felicity closed her eyes.

"Oliver, if Cayden James has his own posse, man, maybe we need to think about evening the playing field," Dig said.

"We have Kara, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel," Oliver shook his head. "We have Kara's team if we need them. We are not folding Curtis, Rene, and Dinah back in. We don't need them, and I don't trust they won't compromise us."

"Cayden James told you that he wants to watch this city burn," Dig reminded him. "This is no time for ego, man."

"This is _not_ ego," Oliver retorted. "John, you more than anyone know you don't go into the field with people you can't rely on!"

"OK, well, then, how about not going into the field?" Felicity suggested before they could argue further. "They need to know what's going on. Dinah deserves to know the truth about her ex."

"I agree," Oliver nodded. "So we share intel, but that's it."

Felicity nodded in agreement, followed reluctantly by Dig.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"Oh, I am going to kill that son of a bitch the next time we see him," Laurel seethed, wincing in pain as Slade worked on her shoulder.

"Get through that bulletproof armor of his, and I'd gladly watch," Malcolm said as he browsed through the fridge, coming out with a few water bottles.

"I don't need to get through the armor," Laurel narrowed her eyes. "Get me to his ear, I'll scream so hard he won't have time to heal."

Slade paused in his stitching, looking at her in surprise. "There are times when I see you as the Laurel Lance from this Earth . . . this is definitely not one of those times."

Laurel scoffed lightly. "I have my moments, but I'm still not exactly her."

"I can attest to that," Malcolm said dryly.

"There," Slade told Laurel, cutting the stitching and picking up a few bandages.

"Thank you," Laurel gave him a quick smile.

Slade nodded in response as he wrapped the gauze around the bullet wound. Malcolm held out a water bottle for Laurel to take, pre-opened, and he frowned when he saw her distant look. "You with us?"

"Yeah, I'm with you," Laurel nodded, taking the water bottle. "Thanks."

"No problem," Malcolm nodded, sitting down across from her. "But you're thinking."

"Is that good or bad?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Laurel gave him a quick glare before sighing. "I'm just thinking . . . Dinah isn't going to like what she hears when she learns her ex is working with Cayden James."

"I highly doubt it," Malcolm snorted. "Why? What's on your mind?"

"That led me to thinking about Rene," Laurel continued. "Hey," she glared at Slade when he snorted his opinion of him. "That made me think about the last traitor Oliver had on his team."

"Evelyn?" Malcolm asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Laurel nodded. "Did I tell you that last month, when I was held hostage . . . she let me go."

"She did?" Slade blinked, finishing bandaging her shoulder.

"She did," Laurel nodded.

"Heads up," Malcolm tossed Slade the other water bottle.

He caught it one handed and nodded, looking at Laurel for her to continue. "And it just makes me wonder," Laurel leaned forward. "She's only nineteen. She shouldn't be in this, much less on Cayden James's side of this. She's a kid."

"She chose this life after everything that happened to her," Slade shook his head. "We can't do much about the past."

"Maybe not," Laurel sighed. "But look . . . Rene knew what he was doing when he betrayed Oliver. Evelyn . . . I think she was just looking for someone to blame and go after. She said after learning Oliver was the Hood, that was when she joined up with Chase. She found someone to blame and joined with who could help her fight against that person. There were parts of us everyone could reach to set us straight again . . . why not Evelyn?"

"You think you might be able to get Evelyn on Oliver's side again?" Malcolm asked in surprise.

"I think she needs a different side than that of Talia al Ghul's," Laurel countered. "And certainly not Cayden James's."

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

Felicity opened her door when she heard a knock. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Curtis nodded back, walking in, followed by Rene and Dinah.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with us," Dig said.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure I see the point," Dinah scowled. "We're out of the game."

"I don't exactly see Cayden James respecting those type of boundaries," Felicity said.

"Cayden had Talia and Evelyn plant a camera at the bunker," Dig announced. "We're _all_ compromised."

"How long have you all known about this?" Curtis frowned.

"24 hours," Dig admitted.

"You've known we were exposed like this for a whole day?" Dinah demanded, straightening. "You're just telling us _now?"_

"Look, we thought our intel was rock solid," Dig told them. "And then we found out that Talia and Evelyn weren't the only ones that he's in league with."

"He's working with the Bratva and Ricardo Diaz," Felicity nodded.

"Just what the city needs," Rene rolled his eyes.

"They're not the only members of his group," Dig said.

At the three's confused looks, Felicity sighed. "Dinah . . . Vincent's working with them, too."

Dinah blanched as both Curtis and Rene looked at her. "No," she shook her head violently, walking forward. "No, that's – that's – that's insane, that's insane. Vince hunts criminals, he doesn't throw down with them."

"Oliver and the others saw him with James and the rest," Dig told her.

"Well, excuse me if I don't just take Oliver's word for it," Dinah scoffed.

"Or the word of two of Oliver's former enemies and one metahuman who tried to kill us all at one point," Curtis added.

"Kara was there, too," Felicity raised an eyebrow. "You gonna take hers?"

"Or maybe you _should_ take Laurel's, considering she got one of Vincent's bullets in her shoulder," Dig shot back at Dinah.

Dinah just shook her head, still in disbelief. "Keeping us under surveillance?" Rene mused. "It sounds like Oliver and Cayden James have a lot in common."

"Rene, that was done for the good of the team," Dig began.

"Oh?" Rene's eyebrows shot up.

"Is that how you sleep at night, John?" Curtis agreed.

"We are facing an actual breach in security," Felicity snapped as Dig turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You guys gave up on Oliver. You don't get to stay mad at daddy because he read your diary and you get to just skip out on curfew. That's not the way it works!"

"I'm getting sick and tired of you talking to me like I did what I did on a whim," Rene narrowed his eyes. "I did it for my daughter."

"And your choice put the whole team in jeopardy, Rene!" Dig snapped. "We think that showed us where you stand."

Dinah abruptly turned and headed for the door, and Felicity frowned. "Dinah!" she called.

"Where you going, Dinah?" Dig asked as well.

"Out," Dinah answered, yanking the door open. "I'm not gonna sit here and watch you two point fingers at everybody but yourselves."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

A car driving out of Star City was stopped by two figures standing in the middle of the street – one in green, the other in blue and red. Two men stepped out first, one with a gun in his hand. "Move," he barked as another man got out the back. "Or get moved, Hoodie, Cheerleader."

Kara's lips quirked up at the familiar insult, but Bertinelli intervened. "Hey, stand down. They're, uh . . . they're friends of mine. Well, they're acquaintances. Business associate?"

"That was me," Kara smirked.

Bertinelli conceded the point. "What do you need?"

"You going somewhere?" Oliver eyed the car.

"I got a text sent to me tonight from inside my daughter's dorm room," Bertinelli answered. "Now, Cayden James, he can – he can have the port."

"You're running scared," Oliver deduced.

"I'm gonna run anywhere for my baby girl, all right?" Bertinelli scowled.

"As long as James and his crew are out there, she will never be safe," Oliver told him. "Neither will you."

Bertinelli frowned. "But?" he prompted.

"But we can stop him with your help," Kara answered, walking forward. "By doing that, we can make sure he doesn't hurt you or your daughter."

Bertinelli considered, then looked back at Oliver when he continued. "If you listen to us, you do what we say, we can end Cayden James."

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

Vincent turned, smiling when he saw Dinah striding up to him determinedly. "I'm so glad you wanted to meet again."

Dinah threw a swift right hook, punching him in the jaw. When he looked back up, eyes wide in shock, Dinah looked a few seconds away from bursting into tears. "Cayden James," she accused, voice wavering.

Vincent stared at her for a few seconds, then sighed. "You don't understand."

"You lying son of a bitch!" Dinah sobbed, betrayal burning in her eyes. "You were just getting close to me for him!"

"Dinah, hey," Vincent leaned forward, taking her hands. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"That's a great idea, Vince," Dinah nodded, and he looked down when she snapped handcuffs on one of his wrists, the other attached to hers. "The precinct has a really nice room for you, _really_ nice interrogation room."

"I can't let you do this," Vincent shook his head.

"I should have taken you in the second you came back into my life," Dinah spat.

Vincent sighed, then flipped Dinah end over end. She landed on the bricks, knocked out cold, and Vincent pulled the handcuff around his wrist free. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her, looking down at his hand, at the blood pouring down his fingers, bones cracking as they started to snap back into place.

He looked once more down at Dinah lying on the ground, then hurried off, abandoning her as he left.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, Dinah, you're not wrong.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the fight at the warehouse! With all the extra hands Oliver has, there was going to be some kind of fight. Maybe not finished all the way, but a fight nonetheless. We'll see how everyone fares next time.**


	50. Divided - Part Three

**Guest: This fanfiction revolves around how everything in the past books affects Arrow Season 6 and Supergirl Season 3, which is exactly why the main plots is still playing out. There will be differences, particularly when it'll come to "For Good" and what will happen with Evelyn and Talia. Kara could barely defeat Reign by herself, and she's a Kryptonian while several of her other allies are human. And Oliver has many more people to help him, true, but there is always underestimation and the opportunity to surprise everyone. I stick to a lot of the plot, that's true, but with the exception of Kariver, Lena knowing Supergirl's identity, the addition of Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel to Team Arrow, substituting Evelyn and Talia in for Black Siren in the villains' posse, and crossing teams over when help is needed, there's not much in the plot that's affected.**

 **Apologies for my long absence, guys. My parents and I were on vacation in Colorado, and there was no way I would get a full chapter out in that time.**

 **It's Team Arrow vs villains 2.0, things go . . . a bit better than last time, the three former teammates come to a decision, and it's a really bad take on a man walks into a bar.**

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

"Charges are in place," Dig announced, bending down to pick up his bag.

"So are mine," Oliver nodded, walking away from one of the beams.

"And mine," Slade jumped down from the next level.

Dig pursed his lips, then asked, "Oliver, you sure about this, man?"

Oliver blinked, looking back at him. "You don't sound like _you_ are."

"If we do this, Cayden James will bring his whole group here," Dig pointed out.

"And?" Oliver prompted.

"And Cayden will bring _everyone,_ Oliver. I'm no place close to a hundred percent – "

"Which is why the wizard, Siren, and I will be here backing him up," Slade interrupted. "Not to mention Kara."

"Except if Cayden pulls out a dampener again, Laurel loses her biggest punch," Dig pointed out. "Look, the rest of the team – "

"There is no rest of the team," Oliver shook his head. "We don't _need_ them. Slade could take all three of them at the same time, no problem, and that's not including what Malcolm is capable of – and you've seen them fight before, John. With Laurel and Kara? We pack a punch that Rene, Curtis, and Dinah could never hit. We've been over this before."

"I know, but we've also been over other things, like you and the League of Assassins, me with my secret," Dig shook his head. "Hell, you and Slade, you and Malcolm, after everything they've done to you. Oliver, the best partnerships are built on forgiveness, man."

"I earned mine by sticking to Oliver's side through Prometheus," Slade folded his arms. "I chose him and Kara over my own son. Malcolm has proven he has changed ever since Kara saved his life on Lian Yu. We have both had every chance to turn on Oliver again and again. We never have."

"Slade has a point, but you know what else, John?" Oliver narrowed his eyes. "I got arrested in front of my son, got dragged away in handcuffs because of something that Rene did. I don't know how to forgive it. I tried. John, more importantly, what's Cayden James been up to? He has known our identities for _months,_ knows about my fiancée and Laurel, where they come from, and something I never would have concerned me like it does now – he knows about Slade and Malcolm. He has the ability to release to the public that two of the most infamous mass murderers in Star City's history are alive and back in the city. And yet, he hasn't outed us. Why?" Dig frowned thoughtfully, and Oliver nodded. "This started with you, with me, and with Felicity. Now we have the most powerful hero in our universes and three of the most skilled vigilantes that have existed on our side. Whatever comes our way, we can handle it. I believe that."

With nothing else left to say, Oliver headed out. Slade and Dig exchanged glances before Slade followed after Oliver, Dig sighing and rubbing his forehead before doing the same.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

Rene returned to the living room, blinking when he saw Curtis take a bite from his snack. "Are you actually eating the old crogurt?" he asked in disbelief.

"Shut up," Curtis shot back, not looking up from his work. "Your old is my delicious. How's Zoe?"

"I don't know," Rene sighed. "I just . . . need her to feel like everything's going back to normal. I hope it is. It'd help if you could delete whatever the D.A.'s got."

Curtis paused, then looked up at Rene incredulously. "We just found out that Cayden James had the bunker bugged for a couple of months, so maybe we should just take a little break on saying incriminating things like that out loud!"

"All right, all right, I'm sorry," Rene winced, putting his hands behind his head and pacing. "I'm just anxious is all."

"I know," Curtis sighed. "But unfortunately, they have a backup of all these files, and even worse, the records are saying that they have hard copies."

"Damn," Rene seethed.

"Yeah, I know," Curtis nodded in agreement. "But I'm inside the system. I'm just trying to find – whoa!"

"Whoa what?" Rene asked when Curtis perked up.

"I think I just found something," Curtis answered with a grin, typing on his computer. "Yeah, there's a record on how Watson found out you were Wild Dog. There's an audio recording."

Rene's eyes lit up. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Well, that depends on if you're thinking that Cayden James leaked an audio file of you from the bunker to the FBI," Curtis grinned. "Is that what you're thinking? That's what you're thinking, right?"

"Yeah," Rene nodded.

"Good. We're on the same page."

Rene's door suddenly flung open, and Rene turned, frowning when Dinah stormed in. "Don't you knock?"

"Don't you lock your doors?" she countered, dropping down into a seat.

"You look like you were just in a fight," Curtis frowned, seeing her rumpled clothes, then stood up quickly when he saw the bloody side of her face. "You _were_ just in a fight!"

"With who?" Rene asked in concern.

"Vince," Dinah answered angrily. "I confronted him. He did this and ran."

"I'm so sorry, Dinah," Curtis swallowed.

"It was my fault for believing in him in the first damn place and for confronting him, exposing the fact that we know about him and Cayden James," Dinah seethed. "That's my fault, too. Sorry."

"Curtis and I were just talking about James and the bunker being compromised," Rene told her.

"Yeah, and how that might have led to _Rene_ being compromised," Curtis added.

"You think Cayden provided Samandra Watson with her case?" Dinah's eyes widened.

"That's the theory," Curtis nodded.

"A good one, though," Rene pointed out.

"Yeah, but if Cayden had audio and video on all of us, especially Oliver, why would he just tee up, Rene?" Dinah frowned.

"It figures he'd go after the most handsome and charming," Rene quipped.

Curtis sighed, rolling his eyes. "Well, maybe when Oliver finally takes down Cayden James, we'll figure out al the details of his master plan."

"Why assume we're gonna wait for Oliver?" Dinah asked. "What are we gonna do here, we're gonna sit around and wait to see how this all plays out?"

" _Hope_ it plays out, you mean?" Rene corrected.

"Are you guys serious about this?" Curtis looked between them. "About taking on Cayden James and his super posse?"

"I let Vince walk once," Dinah narrowed her eyes. "I'm not gonna make that mistake again."

"And I owe that son of a bitch some serious payback," Rene agreed.

Curtis looked around, slowly starting to grin. "If I'm reading the rom correctly, we're gonna form our own team, right?"

"Right," Rene confirmed.

"Right," Dinah agreed, standing up.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"What's going on?" Oliver asked as he, Dig, and Slade entered the bunker.

"Signal chatter from the Bertinellis' laptop," Felicity answered. "They're bringing in the Red Lions."

"Ah," Dig grimaced. "The Red Lions. Chechnyan death squad."

"Bertinelli's not gonna let the port go without a fight," Oliver remarked.

"Well, I'm thinking the enemy of Cayden James is my favorite death squad," Felicity said.

"They're not called a death squad for no reason," Slade scowled. "They liberated a town in Kizlyar last year. The result was they turned it into a wasteland."

"We can't let James' group go up against these guys," Oliver sighed. "Where are Bertinelli and the Red Lions holed up?"

"Storage facility on Fifth and Brockton," Felicity answered.

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharpe_**

" _Storage facility on Fifth and Brockton."_

Evelyn frowned, watching the footage from the bunker replay from where she sat on the table. She heard her mentor click her tongue from behind her, then walk forward. "We can take the port without Bertinelli's say, but there are a lot of players in this city," Talia remarked.

Evelyn turned to look at Cayden, who was leaning back in his chair. "Maybe you should set a precedent for when you're in charge."

"I'm already in charge, Ms. Sharpe," Cayden answered.

"Even more reason to use his corpse as a message," Talia sneered.

Cayden tilted his head thoughtfully. "I concur," he finally said. "Mr. Bertinelli has his army . . . he should meet ours."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers/Slade Wilson/Evelyn Sharpe_**

"Think Bertinelli's gonna show?" Felicity wondered.

"He better," Dig grumbled.

From his position in the rafters, Oliver's lips quirked up in a slight smirk. "He will."

"Got them," Laurel hissed from across the warehouse.

Oliver looked to the side, he and Malcolm exchanging glances, then Slade moved to get a better view of Bertinelli entering, his men behind him. "Well, let's get this over with," Bertinelli sighed.

"If keyhole satellite imagery is anything to go off of, it looks like Cayden James took the bait," Felicity added.

Bertinelli and his men walked to the center of the warehouse, and he looked around, only to jump when an explosion went off from the other side of the warehouse. "Go!" he shouted, pointing for his people to go, even as gunfire rang out. "Go!"

"Funny thing!" Diaz snarled, storming in with his men. "You guys don't look like a Chechnyan death squad!"

"We have Ricardo Diaz in the house, but no Cayden James," Felicity reported.

"We'll take it," Oliver decided.

"After you," Malcolm smirked.

Oliver dropped down from the rafters, Malcolm with him. The archers fired in unison, downing two of Diaz's men at the same time. Slade and Laurel propelled down as well, working from the other side. She kicked out one thug's legs from underneath him, Slade firing over her, double tapping the thug aiming at him. Laurel rolled on the ground, hooking her leg around another's ankles and yanked, toppling him. A quick somersault forward, and she screamed, knocking a wave of thugs back, right into Oliver's and Malcolm's bows, knocking them out hard.

Oliver approached Diaz, reaching for another arrow, when a loud scream hit him in the back, knocking him away. Malcolm quickly spun around, firing another arrow, and Evelyn quickly ducked behind cover. "You were saying?" he shouted.

"Oh, no," Felicity gulped. "We have a very large problem!"

"Guys, get out of there!" Dig shouted.

Kara plunged through the ceiling and dove, plowing through the thugs getting back up. At the same time, some of Curtis's spare T-spheres flew down, electric shocks coming out of them and making sure Diaz's men stayed down. "So how does this compare to Halo?" Felicity quipped.

"So much better," Dig answered in satisfaction.

Evelyn jumped up from her hiding place, only to yelp when Oliver shot another tripwire arrow at her, knocking her down head over heels. Malcolm spun when he heard the light sound of boots hitting concrete, and he narrowly avoided Talia's sword swing. He drew his and quickly deflected her next swing, Talia drawing him away from his teammates. Oliver drew another arrow to find the rest of the men, and he whipped around when he heard boots behind him. "Stand down, Oliver," Anatoli warned, aiming in his face, guarded by three Bratva members. "You are vastly outnumbered."

There was a snarl behind him, and Oliver turned to see Vincent get tackled by Slade, the two vigilantes crashing to the floor together. "Slade!"

Kara smashed into the three Bratva members, Anatoli turning to see her toss one through the hole in the ceiling. Laurel pounced on another, leaving Anatoli to Oliver. As Oliver rushed his former friend, Slade rolled to his feet at the same time as Vincent. The two stared each other down, Vincent from behind his visor, Slade behind his mask. Slade drew his sword at the same time Vincent whipped out a combat knife, and the two men were at it again, blades clashing, sparks flying.

Kara landed in the middle of the floor, looking around, trying to decide who to help. On the one hand, Vincent could heal from his metahuman powers. On the other, any upper hand Malcolm could get against Talia would be helpful. Then again, the chance to get the better of Anatoli again would be worth it –

Then from speakers in the building came a piercing sound, one that cut right into Kara's head. She wailed in pain, sinking to the ground, reaching up and clutching her ears. "Supergirl!" Laurel spun around, eyes wide.

Kara gasped, eyes watering as she tried to block the noise out. She struggled to her knees, heaving and bending her head, closing her eyes. "I can't find where that's coming from!" Felicity panicked. "Supergirl?"

Kara felt a boot kick her in the back, and she collapsed on the ground, wearily looking up. "Guess your super senses have a downside, eh, girlie?" Diaz smirked.

The smirk was quickly gone when a green arrow sank into his calf, making him collapse with a yell. Kara rolled over to see Oliver standing over Anatoli's unconscious form, and he ran over to her. "Are you all right?" he asked in concern.

Kara cautiously took one hand away from her ear, swallowing when she saw blood smeared on her skin. Oliver growled when he saw it, carefully taking her in his arms and looking around. Malcolm had started to lose ground due to the noise from the speakers, and Talia was taking every advantage she could get. Kara took a few deep breaths, then shot her heat vision at the assassin. Talia went flying through the air, crashing down by Evelyn, who was slowly getting to her feet.

On the other side of the warehouse, Slade and Vincent were still fighting. While Slade's many years of experience showed in how he dodged Vincent's attacks and found openings he never gave, Vincent's metahuman powers kept him up and moving. Both had several marks on their suits where they had hit the other, but neither was giving the other the chance to get the upper hand.

Until another sonic scream sounded, and Vincent was propelled yards away from Slade, landing hard on his back. "Boom, bastard," Laurel sneered, walking over, fully intending to make good on her promise.

An ebony arrow sailed through the air and punctured her injured shoulder, and Laurel staggered, mouth opening to scream. Then she stumbled again, eyes blinking in shock, and she toppled over as she tried to reach for the arrow in her arm. Slade quickly caught her as she fell, carefully shifting her. "Siren?" he asked, only for her to moan softly as her eyes slid closed. "Tranquilizer!" he shouted.

Oliver turned around, only to see Evelyn stagger back up, her bow drawn. "I'm disappointed, Mr. Bertinelli," Cayden remarked, and Oliver looked up to see him approach the man, whose hands were in the air, his men dead behind him. "I truly am, but not unreasonable. Must unnecessary bloodshed continue when you can make the correct choice?"

Kara tried to rise to her feet; Cayden didn't even look her way before holding up a small remote and pressing a button. The piercing sound came again, making everyone cringe. Kara jerked back as if physically punched, screaming and reaching for her ears again. Oliver gritted his teeth as Cayden's men started to regroup, then turned to see Malcolm slowly reach for his bow, reaching behind him for a grappling arrow. As Bertinelli turned to Oliver, reaching under his coat, Oliver tapped his gauntlet, watching a light blink green before flaring red.

The charges they set up earlier went off, stunning everyone for just long enough. In that time, Oliver and Malcolm fired their arrows, Oliver holding Kara as they grappled off. When Vincent turned to find Slade and Laurel, he saw Slade climb into the rafters, Laurel over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Evelyn aimed her bow around, trying to find any sign of them, but they were gone.

Cayden slowly turned to Bertinelli as Evelyn helped Talia up, the Bratva men checking on Anatoli. "Mr. Bertinelli," he began.

"Fine, relax, all right?" Bertinelli spat. "Just take the port. Just take the freaking port."

"Oh, thank you," Cayden smiled. "Although you elected to betray me this evening, you ultimately made the right choice." Evelyn and Talia walked up just as Diaz limped up behind Bertinelli, aimed his rifle at the back of his head, and fired twice. Cayden watched in satisfaction as Bertinelli collapsed dead, then smirked. "Which is why I won't have your daughter killed." He looked up and raised an eyebrow at Talia. "I expect you can find the most effective use for this corpse to . . . how did you put it? Send a message."

Talia smirked.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Ah!"

Oliver winced as his fiancée hissed in pain. "Sorry, angel," he whispered, gently wiping the rest of the blood from her neck, peering into her ears to check and make sure the bleeding stopped. "Sorry."

"It's OK," Kara rubbed the back of her neck, watching Slade rebandage Laurel's shoulder, the metahuman grinding her teeth to avoid making a noise. "It's not the first time someone made my ears bleed."

Oliver kissed the top of her head as he finished and stood, looking over at Malcolm as he returned from one of the side rooms, moving stiffly. "How are the rest of you holding up?" he asked.

"Nothing broken," Malcolm answered, rolling his shoulders. "Think there might be a slight loss of dignity."

"No change there," Slade muttered, making Laurel smirk.

"Hey," Malcolm scowled. "We all were knocked off our game in some way when James pulled that speaker stunt."

"Laurel?" Oliver asked.

"I plan to sleep in tomorrow," Laurel grumbled. "Other than that, I'm just peachy."

"So on the plus side, we get the bunker back," Malcolm folded his arms, leaning against the railing. "I like to think we did a number on Diaz, Vigilante, Anatoli, and Talia, too."

"On the negative side, Cayden James now has the port," Oliver growled. "And everybody got away."

Felicity had been silent up until that point. "Have you seen that movie 'Bull Durham?'" she asked suddenly.

"Hmm," Dig raised an eyebrow, absently rubbing his hand.

"My mom made me watch that movie all the time," Felicity explained. "I mean, it _is_ the best baseball movie ever, but she used to say that Susan Sarandon was her fictional life coach. Anyway, there's a line in this movie where she says 'sometimes you win, sometimes you lose – '"

"'Sometimes it rains,'" Oliver finished with her.

Felicity nodded. "You can't control the weather. You couldn't control Bertinelli betraying you."

"You know what else I can't control?" Oliver scowled. "Their numbers advantage."

It was Kara of all people who snorted at that. "If you'd been going solo against them, you would have a point."

"We had them, Oliver," Malcolm agreed. "We had them until James used that sound system against Kara. It was just like we were winning against the Nazis until their Metallo showed up and took Kara out."

"There's only so many tricks the devil will have until he runs out," Slade nodded. "We'll keep fighting until that happens."

"Even if he does have an army, we'll just keep picking them off," Laurel smirked. "The five of us are like a five-man army anyway."

Oliver pursed his lips, then turned to Kara. "Will your team be able to spare time to help?"

"Just the team?" Kara smiled. "Why just the team when we could have a legion?"

Felicity grinned widely, and Dig blinked. "Think they'll help?"

"They'll think of it as a get more on our good sides motivation," Oliver said dryly, making Malcolm cackle as Laurel grinned smugly. "But yes, I think they will." He grimaced a bit. "There's just one thing we need to do first."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

Awkward silence was broken by Curtis, who grinned nervously. "I just want to say that I, for one, think it's great that we're all back in the same room together."

"Trust and forgiveness," Oliver began, pacing behind an invisible line between himself, Dig, Felicity, Kara, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel on one side with Curtis, Rene, and Dinah on the other. "For the past few weeks, I have been really struggling to square that circle. Rene," he turned. "As a father, I understand why you did what you did. I also recognize that you might be taking me away from my son and my fiancée." Rene winced, nodding his understanding. "I reacted to that, and I got angry. We decided to put the three of you under surveillance. I take responsibility for that. It was without question a breach of trust. So was lying to the team about Vince, and I'm not trying to point fingers, Dinah. I am simply trying to illustrate that there is blame on all sides here, but we don't have time for grudges or recriminations. We don't, not with what this city is up against." He held up a hand when he saw Dig about to open his mouth. "And it's up against a lot. Cayden James. Anatoli. Evelyn and Talia. Vigilante." Dinah tensed at the name. "Diaz. This city isn't just mine, it's all of ours in some way, whether it's where we've made our home or is home to the people we love. That being said, do I think things will go back to the way they were before? No, I don't." Slade smirked when he saw the surprised look Dig gave Oliver. "I will keep fighting. Kara, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel will keep fighting with me, they've made that remarkably clear. My question is, will the three of you do the same? With or without us?"

There was stunned silence in the room. While Kara was smiling up at Oliver, Slade and Malcolm exchanged proud smirks. The trust issues caused by the fallout of Rene's betrayal went both ways, which Dig seemed to be missing. It wasn't like Oliver could forgive his former teammates and expect them to come back into the fold. And even if he did, if they didn't forgive him and trust him in return, there was no way they would work. It was like Slade had said earlier – he and Malcolm had earned Oliver's trust after so much hard work, and even then, they didn't consider their ledgers wiped clean. There hadn't been any real work to rebuild the trust between the divided team members. They could guess what the answer was.

Sure enough, Rene confirmed it. "Without," he answered Oliver. "Not after what you did."

"This city needs us, and we know that," Dinah stood up, taking her place with Curtis and Rene. "And we're not shirking that responsibility. We decided to go our own way."

Felicity balked. "Wait a minute – "

"Leave it, Felicity," Kara spoke up, voice slightly loud. When the three others looked at her in confusion, she pointed to her ears. "Sorry, Cayden used a sound system to knock my hearing out of whack." She stood up from her chair, Oliver's arm automatically going around her waist. "Things happened on both sides . . . some of us did more than others. I acknowledge I was part of that. But when the man I love was put in this situation by someone he believed he could trust, and in return was arrested in front of his son and is now in jeopardy of being taken away from him . . . I fight back. And I know two of you over there remember the last time there was a traitor on the team." Rene and Curtis nodded reluctantly, remembering Evelyn. "That being said, I wish you good luck in whatever plans you have," Kara nodded back.

The three gave her long looks, then Rene nodded. "Let's go, guys."

Dinah followed him to the door, but Curtis walked forward. "I may have solved the glitch in my chip," he said, holding out a black box to Dig. "I hope it helps," he added as Dig took it, stunned. "I, um . . . really do."

He walked back to the others, and Rene held open the door, letting the others leave first before following them. Oliver took a deep breath, then put a hand on Laurel's uninjured shoulder. "Go home," he said quietly. "Get some rest. Let that shoulder heal, OK?"

Laurel nodded, standing up, readjusting the sling holding her other arm. "You all will be OK?" she asked.

"We'll walk it off," Oliver nodded.

Laurel nodded. "See you tomorrow, kid," Slade nodded, he and Malcolm following Laurel to the door.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"When you said you had something to show us, didn't you think lights would be useful?" Rene scoffed as Curtis led him and Dinah out of the elevator and into a pitch black room.

"One second, guys," Curtis grinned. "It is all about the reveal." He tapped a blinking green circle on his phone screen, and Rene and Dinah watched the lights in the building turn on, as well as several large screens. "What does it look like?"

"Some . . . place," Rene answered, following Curtis down the stairs.

"No," Curtis grinned. "It's . . . it's our new lair. Helix used to operate out of here, but it's not like they're using it anymore, so . . . "

"Curtis, it's _genius,"_ Dinah grinned, turning around and looking at the room.

"Seriously," Rene nodded, examining the sleek screens. "Nice work."

"I'm glad you guys like it," Curtis smiled proudly, walking over to a tray nearby and picking up a few glasses filled with alcohol. "Now, I don't suggest we make this a regular thing, seeing as how I'm a lightweight and all, but this event warrants a celebration."

"Well, I am just glad that I found partners who I can trust," Dinah smiled, taking her glass.

"That's what I'm talking about," Rene tilted his glass to her in agreement.

Curtis nodded, and the three clinked their glasses together. "Salud," he toasted, all three taking a drink.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Malcolm Merlyn_**

As soon as Malcolm closed the door, Laurel flopped back on the couch, groaning. "Oh, you could have cut that tension with the world's dullest knife."

"It's over with for now," Slade shook his head. "But this won't be the last we hear of it."

"I'll eat my arrowheads if it is," Malcolm snorted.

Laurel laughed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she did. "I'd actually pay to see that."

"Agreed," Slade smirked.

Malcolm just rolled his eyes, taking a crystal bottle of alcohol from the fridge and a few tumblers. "So, on a similar topic," he said as he poured drinks. "Still think you can get through to Evelyn? Even though she shot you with a tranquilizer?"

Laurel licked her lips, readjusting her position on the couch. "Look at the three of us," she gestured around. "Former Ra's al Ghul and mastermind behind Tempest, responsible for the sinking of the _Gambit_ and the deaths of 503 in the Undertaking, including your son. Oliver's worst enemy after taking the mirakuru, murdered his mother, tried to tear his entire life apart. Former second in command to the speedster who murdered Barry's father, tricked the team into thinking I was their Laurel, worked with Chase. Somehow, despite our rather dark history with him, Oliver trusts us to watch his back. Compared to us, Evelyn has a chance. She's young, but hasn't had anyone to give her another way."

"And you think you can do that?" Slade asked.

Laurel shrugged her uninjured shoulder as Malcolm walked over with the tumblers. "Carpe diem."

Malcolm smirked as Slade took two tumblers, handing his spare to Laurel. "Well, with our records, I think we know a better path when we see it."

"We'll hope it's not too late for Evelyn," Slade nodded at Laurel.

Laurel nodded, then snickered. "Who'd have ever thought it'd be the three of us making the majority of Team Arrow's fielders?"

Malcolm laughed as he sat. "Never," Slade admitted.

"To think we got here because of trust issues," Malcolm shook his head in disbelief. "For once, not our fault, too."

"We have our ledgers to wipe clean," Laurel sat forward, looking between the two men. "Oliver trusts us, and I know I trust him. We need to make sure we trust each other, too."

Malcolm and Slade exchanged glances, then nodded. "I do," Slade said.

"Ditto," Malcolm nodded.

Laurel smiled and held up her tumbler. "To the battles to come."

Malcolm and Slade raised theirs as well. "To making sure we win them," Slade added.

"The better path," Malcolm nodded.

The three of them clinked their tumblers together and drank at the same time.

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

Vincent didn't acknowledge the man walking into the room where he was working on his weapons. He didn't acknowledge him when he spoke, either. "I'm concerned . . . . and the feeling doesn't suit me well."

Vincent didn't even look up. "You got the port like you wanted."

"Sorry if I was unclear," Cayden walked forward. "My concern relates to you. Your continued association with Ms. Drake wouldn't worry me if this surveillance didn't suggest that she knows about _our_ association."

Vincent scowled when he saw the footage on his tablet. "Don't worry," he told him. "I can handle Dinah. There's not a button she has that I don't know how to push."

He clicked a new magazine into his handgun and stood up, turning to leave, letting his words sink in.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"I feel like this is the beginning of that very bad joke. How did it go?"

"A man walks into a bar?"

"Yes, that was it. Except . . . this is a more serious version of bad."

"And it's not a joke, so if you could focus?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

Querl blinked, then cleared his throat and turned back to help Felicity with Dig's arm. Mon-El chuckled and turned to Oliver. "So it's a master hacker, a traitor of your team, your former trainer and assassin, a Bratva pakhan, a criminal-killing meta who's had romantic connections to another former teammate, and a drug lord form a criminal cabal?"

"That's not so funny," Querl mumbled.

"Brainy!" Imra hissed.

"That's the gist of it," Oliver ignored the Coluan.

"Well, that won't do," Mon-El shook his head, holding out his hand to Oliver. "You need us, we'll be here."

Oliver smiled a bit, shaking his hand. "Thank you."

"All right, new chip is in," Felicity announced, Querl backing away from Dig's arm. "Just . . . one . . . second." She, too, stepped back, putting her wire down and peeling off her latex gloves.

Dig pulled his arm back, examining his hand. "Doesn't feel any different," he remarked.

"Maybe it'll take a minute?" Kara tilted her head.

Dig, however, curled his finger into a fist. Oliver watched carefully, then started to smirk when he noticed something key, backing away and towards the weapons table. Dig's jaw dropped as he made a fist without a single tremor, and Kara started to grin. "Or not!"

Oliver reached for a handgun on the table, looking at Imra with a raised eyebrow. "It worked?" he asked, holding up the gun.

Imra got the hint and held out her hand. Oliver released his hold on the gun, letting Imra telekinetically throw it to Dig. Felicity quickly ducked, Querl backing away, and Dig snatched the gun with his formerly injured hand, yanking the safety back and aiming.

All done with a completely steady hand.

Kara laughed giddily as Oliver walked up, a smile on his face. "Looks like that five-man army is now six."

"Yes!" Felicity cheered as Oliver clapped his friend on the back.

"Congratulations, John," Imra smiled happily.

"Thank you," Kara added to Mon-El, smiling gratefully.

"It's like Imra said," Mon-El told her. "We help people. It's what we do." He smirked, looking at a tablet on the table, displaying Cayden's cabal. "So, when do we start?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hopefully the battle was believable. I fully believe Kara could have kicked everyone's asses unless she was taken out. She has super senses, which Cayden used against her. Such a tactic also threw off everyone else.**

 **That being said, Oliver _does_ have so many other allies to turn to instead of NTA. Dig just seemed way too optimistic that everything could return to normal with just a snap of the fingers. _I_ knew that wouldn't work, so Oliver didn't sugar coat anything here.**

 **And lol, Brainy. I love you, and thank you for being a series regular next season.**

 **I'm hoping to work on The Daxam Four next, and after that when I come back to this book, it'll be "We Fall!"**


	51. Arrow - We Fall - Part One

**Hey, everyone! Just a heads up here at the beginning - tomorrow is my first official day back at university! I updated these stories a lot last year, but my education will still come first before all of these books, OK? Please understand that - I have a life outside of fanfiction. I'd like to keep it.**

 **Very fluffy beginning until Cayden James comes along and ruins it, and a member of New Team Arrow meets . . . someone who no one really knows which side they're on.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen**_

Kara's head shot up from where she was in the bedroom pinning her hair back when she heard the clatter of an aluminum can hitting the floor. "Bull's-eye!" William cheered a second later.

"Indeed it was, young man," Oliver complimented, though Kara had to giggle at the exasperated tone he had. "Try again, please."

"OK," William nodded, and Kara leaned back to see out the door, and she watched William take aim at another can. Sure enough, his next shot hit the can again. "Yes!" he whooped. "Ha!"

Oliver sighed and took his own shot at one of the cans, except his went way high. Kara let out a high-pitched giggle, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth. William didn't bother hiding his laughter. "These things are," Oliver began to complain, looking down at the neon green toy bows he and William had before shaking his head. "You win. _Again."_

"Well, you must be out of practice since you quit being the Green Arrow," William joked.

"That must be it, yeah," Oliver smiled tensely.

"Hey, William!" Kara hurried out of the bedroom, smiling at him. "Ready for your field trip?"

"Yeah," William nodded.

"It's the Coastal Biology Center, right?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," William nodded, digging through his backpack as Kara leaned on the back of the couch. "There's a prep sheet for the trip, and I tried one of the extra credits. Hold on . . . " He pulled the sheet out, taking a quick look at it. "Will you take a look at it?"

"Yeah, of course," Oliver nodded.

"I meant Kara," William smiled sheepishly.

Kara giggled again as Oliver rolled his eyes fondly. "Sure you did. Yep."

"I'm sorry," William apologized as Kara took the paper, looking over the problem William pointed out. "It's a math problem about hyperbolic geometry in marine organisms like coral."

"I _do_ know what coral is, but that's OK," Oliver smirked.

"Whoa," Kara's eyes widened. "You're getting asked this _now?"_

"Yeah," William said nervously. "Why?"

"Because high-dimensional math problems like these are usually in 12th grade AP," Kara answered, surprised, looking up with a wide grin on her face. "William, this is _perfect!"_

William grinned triumphantly. "Well, congratulations," Oliver smiled at William, walking over. "Take your Flash backpack and don't miss your bus, all right?"  
"OK," William smiled, putting his paper back in his backpack.

"That's fine," Oliver gave him a playful push towards the door. "Get out of here. Go learn something." When William was out the door, Oliver turned back around, only to see Kara looking around and biting down very hard on her lip. "I know what coral is," he insisted.

Kara burst out into hysterics, and Oliver growled playfully, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her to him. She yelped, but laughed as Oliver wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging her back to him. "All right, all right, I believe you," she giggled.

"Good," Oliver grinned, giving her a quick squeeze before letting her turn around. "Good morning."

"Morning," she smiled, reaching up and kissing him. "So you and William were having some fun."

"I hate those things," he grumbled, giving the toy boys a nasty glare.

Kara giggled again, leaning her head on his arm. "You're good with him, though."

"So are you," he smiled. "Really good."

"My aunt Astra told me something before she was sent to Fort Rozz," Kara smiled, picking at the back of the couch. "I'll modify it slightly. I couldn't love a child more unless Rao grants me one of my own." She blinked rapidly, then started babbling. "Not that I'm implying anything right now, that just reminded my of my aunt – "

"Kara," Oliver laughed at her flustered face, though he had to admit, the thought of having a child with Kara had made his heart skip a beat, too. "I think we have a lot to figure out before we think about another kid."

"Right," Kara nodded, chuckling nervously. "Whole different universes thing among those things."

Any further awkwardness was spared when Kara's phone rang. She picked it up, checking the Caller ID, then frowned. "Brainy," she mumbled, answering. "Hello?"

"Breaking news," the Coluan didn't let her say anything else, but she quickly put the phone on speaker. "A Councilman Grovner is dead."

"What?" Oliver's eyes widened.

"So are six people in the hospital and five more electrocuted by an elevator," Querl continued.

"In an elevator?" Oliver blinked.

" _By_ an elevator," Querl corrected.

"What?" Oliver repeated.

"That doesn't make any sense," Kara frowned.

Oliver snatched his phone from the table when it rang, answering it. "Yeah, Quentin?"

"Hold that, Brainy," Kara took her phone off speaker.

"We got a problem," Quentin said as Oliver put his on speaker. "An elevator – "

"Electrocuted five people," Oliver cut in.

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"I just know," Oliver said dryly. "Look, grab Thea, and I will meet you at the SCPD, OK?"

"Oliver," Quentin interrupted. "One of the casualties . . . it's Frank Pike."

"Oh," Oliver sighed, closing his eyes. "I will see you soon." He hung up, looking at Kara, who had horror in her eyes. "Can you go to the bunker?" he asked her. "Can you, Brainy, and Felicity find out what's going on, please?"

Kara nodded, reaching up and giving him a kiss. "Be careful," she whispered.

"I will," Oliver nodded, grabbing his suit jacket and heading for the door.

Kara watched him go as she chewed her lip nervously, then put her phone back to her ear. "Brainy, I'm on my way," she said. "Tell the others they may need to be on standby."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Impressive," Querl blinked, watching Dig work out. "The nerve damage must have really hindered you."

"Yeah, it did," Dig nodded, turning around, still hesitating slightly at the blue alien in front of him. "But the chip's really working. I never felt better, or stronger." Querl nodded absently, and Dig frowned. "Something wrong?"

Querl opened his mouth to respond, but Felicity hurrying out of the elevator and carrying a blinking red tablet interrupted him. "The city is under some sort of electronic attack!"

"So yes," Querl nodded at Felicity.

"Cayden James?" Dig asked worriedly.

"You got to figure," Felicity nodded. "I mean, cars, cranes, life support systems, even elevators are killing people all over town."

"Yeah," Dig frowned. "Hacking electronics I always thought was a bit of a bank shot when you have a thermobaric bomb and amplifier."

"And control of the port," Felicity added, pulling out her phone when it rang.

"Right," Dig agreed.

"It's Oliver," Felicity put her phone on speaker, Querl coming over to listen.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Hey, I'm on with Brainy and John."

"What do we know?" Oliver got straight to the point, walking down the hall.

"'Hack-cidents' are happening all over the city," Felicity answered. "Size of this attack, you got to think it's Cayden James, but to what end?"

Oliver grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Wonderful."

"That was sarcasm, yes?" Querl asked.

"Yes, Brainy, that was sarcasm," Felicity answered for Oliver, who rolled his eyes.

"Let's think about looping in Dinah, Curtis, and Rene," Dig added. "We may have gone our separate ways, but we have the same goals."

"Do it," Oliver nodded. "We need all the help we can get."

He hung up, about to go around the corner, when his phone lit up with two text messages sent almost simultaneously. One was from Kara, saying she was on her way to the bunker and if he needed her to get William, she would. The other was from Laurel, saying she, Malcolm, and Slade were already heading to the bunker as well. Oliver sent off quick texts to both so they knew he got their messages, then looked up as he rounded the corner. "Mr. Mayor," Quentin greeted immediately.

"Quentin," Oliver immediately walked over. "I'm sorry about Frank. He was a good cop, and he was a better man."

"Yeah, yeah," Quentin nodded, sniffing and straightening. "He sure was, but he wouldn't want us standing around here grieving, right?" Oliver shook his head in confirmation, waiting for his deputy to explain the situation. "Listen, 911 is on overload, and now we got no one here to run the show."

"Yes, we do," Oliver gave him a pointed look.

Quentin blinked, then sighed. "Just when I thought I was out."

"Can you catch me up on the status here?"

"Yeah," Quentin nodded, turning around and beckoning for Oliver to find him. "Well, the status keeps changing, but I can tell you what we know so far."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt/Dinah Drake_**

"Ahh," Curtis sighed in satisfaction, looking up at one of the screens. "Not bad for one week's worth of work."

"I would rather have a team I can trust than any kind of technology," Dinah declared.

"Word!" Rene agreed from where he was by the coffee bar.

Curtis's phone trilled, and Dinah peered over as Curtis hurried over to check. "It's Felicity," he blinked.

"She isn't bugging us again, is she?" Rene scowled.

"No," Curtis shook his head, then paused, and then said, "I'll do a sweep." He turned around, answering. "Hey."

"Hey," Felicity answered. "Cayden is attacking the city with a series of coordinated hacks."

Curtis quickly put down his phone, pulling up images on his computer. Dinah watched in concern, her eyes widening when she saw the newsreel Curtis pulled up. "He just crashed a plane," Curtis breathed.

"Yeah, I know," Felicity said. "I mean, he can hack anything that is connected to the Internet, which is practically everything these days, so I was thinking that our teams – our two separate teams – could share information."

Curtis looked around at his friends, and when both nodded, Curtis turned back. "Yeah. Uh, that's a good idea. We'll share any and all information that can help."  
"OK, thanks, Curtis," Felicity said in relief. "I'll, uh, send you what I've got so far."

Curtis hung up, looking at the others. "I hope that was all right, guys. I mean, I know we looked at each other, but we didn't actually verbalize."

"Oh, we agreed, Curtis," Dinah promised, standing up and walking over to her phone when it chirped. When she looked at her message, however, she balked. "Frank Pike is dead."

"What?" her two teammates asked in unison.

"He was killed by one of Cayden James's hacks," Dinah elaborated.

Curtis was still staring at Dinah in shock when one of Curtis's spheres hummed, and Rene backed up when blue light beamed out of the T. "Is Felicity doing this?" he asked.

Curtis blinked and turned to look, only to blanch. "Wait, that – that can't be."

"You know what?" Dinah leaned down. "The last time I saw it doing this, it was tracking Vigilante's visor."

"I know, but he modified his electronics to block our signal," Curtis nodded, checking his screen. "But . . . this is real. It's locking on to him."

"Because your balls never malfunction?" Rene raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Curtis glared at him in exasperation. "Not this time, all right, but I mean, could he have messed up? Did he forget we could track him?"

"No way," Dinah shook her head. "He's too devious. I think the son of a bitch is trying to draw us out, trap us."

"I say _we_ trap _him,"_ Rene stated, putting his mug down. "You all in?"

Curtis just grinned. "1, 2, 3, suit up!"

He clicked a key on his keyboard, and all three walked over as a panel slid to the side, revealing their suits. "Yeah, I don't think we should say 'suit up' all together," Rene remarked.

"It'd be really cool if we did, though."

"I don't think it would be really cool."

"I mean, let's just be different than OTA, or whatever they are," Curtis shrugged. "Let's be, like, NTA and say it together."

"Oh, God," Dinah rolled her eyes, walking forward to put on her suit as Rene and Curtis kept bickering.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Thea hurried into the SCPD office where Oliver and Quentin were. "There was an airplane crash on State Street. It's awful. This is Cayden James, isn't it?"

"Most likely," Oliver nodded. "Look, Quentin can bring you up to speed. I've asked him to run things here with your help."

"Absolutely," Thea nodded, looking at Quentin expectantly.

"Yeah, listen, we've taken SCPD systems offline," Quentin told her. "We're setting up communication trees so officers can talk in person."

"OK, cool," Thea nodded her understanding. "It's just like the old days."

"I'm not that old!" Quentin scoffed.

"Look, I think it's a great idea," Thea assured him. "We should take everything in the city's government on analog, and that way, we're out of James's reach."

Oliver nodded in agreement. "In the meantime, we need to do everything that we can to minimize panic."

"Why don't we set up libraries, uh, gyms, and civic centers with SCPD protection?" Thea suggested.

"Yeah," Quentin agreed.

"We can take them completely off-grid, people can come, feel safe," Thea nodded decisively.

"Safe zones are a good idea," Oliver nodded. "Now, I have to get back to city hall with the death of Councilman Grovner."

"No, go, don't worry," Thea immediately shooed him off.

"Go, go, go, go, go," Quentin did the same. "We got it."

"OK," Oliver nodded, heading out the door to leave.

"Good luck!" Quentin called as Thea walked closer to start planning.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"I got nothing in the alleyway," Dinah said.

"Same for the parking garage," Rene added.

Curtis finished looking around, then sighed before he answered. "Zilch here. Back to base?"

Pause. "What was that?" Dinah asked, and Curtis frowned when he heard static in her voice. "The comms are breaking up."

"Yeah, I'm getting some interference on my side, too," Curtis scowled. "Can you guys hear me?"

"No, they can't," a familiar voice behind him said.

Curtis spun around as Vincent walked up, out of uniform, holding a small device in his hand. "You're jamming us," he accused.

"I'll be brief," Vincent stopped a few feet away. "I'm on your side. Cayden James is my target, too. I'm undercover with his organization."

Curtis snorted his opinion of that. "You think this T on my face stands for gullible?" He winced, then shook his head. "You know what I mean."

"I tried telling Dinah last week, but she didn't give me the chance," Vincent continued. "Right now, James is killing dozens of people. By tonight, it will be hundreds. I need your help."

"Why should I trust you?" Curtis challenged.

"Go to the subway tunnels where the red line and the gold line cross an hour from now," Vincent said. "You might be able to save some lives."

"Or I could lead my teammates into a trap," Curtis retorted.

Vincent sighed. "I could have trapped you here," he told Curtis. "But I didn't."

Before he left, he tossed the small remote he had to Curtis, who caught in surprise.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Harold Grovner was a dedicated civil servant, who always wanted what was best for this city, and we will not forget that," Oliver said as he looked at the four standing in front of him. "But with everything that is happening, we don't have the time to mourn at the moment. So, please, let's get back to work."

They nodded and headed out the door, and Oliver sighed, about to sit down when a blonde head poked around the door. "I bring caffeine," she said quietly.

Oliver sighed again, this time in relief, as he walked around the desk. "You really are an angel, aren't you?"

"Oh, stop," Kara giggled, shuffling to hold the door open.

"I got it," James appeared behind her.

"Thanks," Kara smiled, hurrying inside.

"Hey, man," James nodded to Oliver, coming in behind Kara.

"Hey," Oliver nodded, taking the coffee Kara held out for him and giving her a kiss as he put his arm around her waist.

"We heard what happened and came as fast as we could," James said, a coffee of his own in his hand as he joined them. "Mon-El, Imra, and Winn are already at the bunker. Lena's coming over with J'onn and Alex after they figure out the D.E.O."

"Thank you," Oliver told him gratefully. "We need all the help we can get."

"Any time, man," James nodded.

Oliver opened his mouth to say something else when there was a polite knock on the door, and he looked over as his assistant opened the door. "Becky?" he asked in confusion. "I asked for the councilmen."

"Your 10 a.m. is here," she told him.

All three blinked. "I thought you were clear the entire morning before this," Kara whispered.

"I am," Oliver cleared his throat. "I don't have a 10 a.m. on my schedule, and even if I did, I – "

There was a loud rap on the door, and when Kara's breath hitched, Oliver looked up sharply. "I think you'll find this one's rather important," Cayden smirked as he walked in, James narrowing his eyes. "Ben Gale. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mayor." Oliver reluctantly pulled away from Kara, shaking the offered hand. "Thanks for making the time."

James cleared his throat. "Kara?"

"Go," Oliver said quietly.

"Oliver," Kara began.

Oliver just gave her a meaningful look, and she took a deep breath before nodding. James let Kara out ahead of him, and Oliver nodded at Becky. "Thank you, Becky."

She nodded and closed the door behind them. The moment the door was shut, Cayden spoke. "I'll let you make the usual threats in a minute, but before we get to that, you should know that my colleagues are expecting to hear from me in 6, and if they don't, well . . . you would be remiss in forgetting the thermobaric explosive that remains in my possession."

Oliver gritted his teeth, his only comfort knowing Kara and James had to be only feet away, Kara listening in on what was being said. "What do you want?"

"I've already told you," Cayden hissed, eyes narrowed to slits. "Vengeance for my son. I cared for him, protected him, loved him just as you do this city. But now . . . " He looked out over the city. "Your city's entire infrastructure is under my control. Buildings, institutions, even _people,_ all under my dominion."

"These are innocent people," Oliver scowled.

"And you can save them," Cayden assured him, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and laying it out on Oliver's desk. "By wiring $10 million into that offshore account no later than 11:30 tonight, and _every_ night until further notice."

Oliver blinked once, then twice as Cayden walked past him, then spun around, almost snarling. "That will _bankrupt_ us!"

"Well, I certainly hope so," Cayden said bluntly, turning to look at him from the doors. "Please don't imagine that I've gone to these lengths for money. No, this is for you so that you'll _suffer."_

"I didn't kill your son," Oliver tried to tell him.

"Yes, you did," Cayden growled. "One year ago this very day, right here in Star City, you missed your intended target, but your arrow found its way into my boy."

Oliver frowned, confused. "Well, if you're seeking vengeance, if you want revenge . . . why haven't you just outed me as the Green Arrow?"

"If my understanding is correct, that's already been done," Cayden retorted.

"Star City will not negotiate with a terrorist!"

"Oh, spare me the political claptrap, Mr. Queen," Cayden scoffed. "By tonight, that will sound hollow, even to you." He turned and opened the door, pausing when he saw Kara and James right outside, Kara's eyes ever so faintly glowing, James's free hand in a fist tight enough that his knuckles were white. Cayden just looked between both of them, looked around to see if anyone else was in hearing range, then quirked an eyebrow. "Do you truly want to risk that thermobaric bomb . . . Supergirl? Guardian?"

Neither so much as twitched, but Kara looked past Cayden to Oliver. He seethed, but silently shook his head. Kara gave Cayden a nasty look before the glow in her eyes faded, and with an eye roll saying she wasn't at all happy, she stepped to the side. Cayden smirked triumphantly and all but strutted past her, James watching him go with a disgusted look.

* * *

 **A/N: I plan on working on the next part, but Mondays and Wednesdays are full of classes basically from the beginning of the day to the end, so we'll see what gets done and what doesn't. Just keep your eyes open, and we'll see!**


	52. We Fall - Part Two

**Reinforcements arrive from Earth-38, a certain secret gets out, and there's trouble amongst NTA.**

* * *

 _ **John Diggle/Mon-El/Oliver Queen**_

Dig whistled lowly, watching Mon-El and Imra train together, both of them in D.E.O. issued jumpsuits for the time being. "You two are not pulling your punches, are you?"

"What's the point in that?" Mon-El grunted, ducking a swing from Imra.

Felicity groaned suddenly, making Dig turn around. "You OK?"

Felicity looked up from where her face was in her hands. "I have tried every trick to counter-hack what Cayden is doing, and I am completely boxed out."

"And we've figured out why," Winn gestured between himself and Querl.

"Yes," Querl nodded. "It's her fault."

Dig blinked. "Excuse me?"

Winn glowered at Querl, who blinked as well. "Was that insensitive again?"

"Brainy," Imra hissed.

Winn smacked him away, turning back to Dig. "We weren't here for this, but when you guys stopped an Internet vault from blowing up?"

"Uh huh," Dig nodded.

"It appears that that was all just a ruse," Winn sighed. "Cayden just wanted you guys to think that people were in trouble so that Felicity would break through his firewall."

"Except instead of blocking him, she actually helped him plant a virus, and because of that, Cayden James now has complete control of the entire city," Querl nodded.

Felicity nodded numbly, her face still in her hands. "A hack-cident is killing one person every eighteen minutes, and I have no idea how to stop it," she mumbled.

Winn patted her back, then looked up when he heard Oliver's voice. "We do," the vigilante said, walking up to them, with Kara, James, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel behind him. "Thanks to Cayden James, who was kind enough to pay me a visit at City Hall."

"What'd he want?" Dig narrowed his eyes.

"He wants $10 million a day," Oliver answered.

Slade snorted. "Doesn't sound like the type of man to extort money from you, kid."

"He said he wasn't in it for the money," Kara shook her head.

"Kara's right," Oliver nodded. "That is not the actionable part. He told me the details of his son's death. He was killed one year ago today. Cayden thinks that he was collateral damage from a fight that I had in Star City."

Mon-El frowned, seeing confusion on Dig's and Felicity's faces. "I'm guessing that's not possible?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "Oliver, you were in Hub City recruiting Dinah."

"Yep," Oliver confirmed.

"If Cayden James is motivated by revenge, maybe we can get him to stand down," Dig suggested.

"Well, I like that idea because I have no way of stopping him _my_ way, and I have no location for you to find him _your_ way," Felicity sighed.

"Brainy, can you help her on that front?" Mon-El asked.

Querl nodded in confirmation, pulling up a chair of his own. "This is not technology from the 31st century, but I know a few tricks that may help."

"We need incontrovertible proof," Oliver reminded them.

"Hey," Winn clapped a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "We're on it."

Oliver sighed and nodded, giving his friend a small smile as he joined on Felicity's other side, leaving one other computer station open for Lena when she arrived.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Curtis Holt_**

Dinah snarled angrily, storming back into headquarters. "I can't believe we didn't catch Vincent!"

"He had a twenty-minute lead on us," Rene huffed, following her in.

Dinah turned around when Curtis walked right past them to the computer. "Where have you been?"

"Long story," Curtis shook his head, sitting down. "I need to check on something."

He dialed on his phone, and Felicity picked up quickly. "Hey!"

"Hey," Curtis answered. "If we're still sharing intel, I need you to check on something for me."

"Yeah, shoot."

"The subway system. Specifically, where the red and gold line meet. I'm trying to stave off a disaster."

There was silence for a few seconds, then Felicity came back on. "Yeah, the automatic track signals just went offline. How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," Curtis smiled nervously.

"You want backup?"

Curtis rolled his eyes. "Felicity, I appreciate the intel, but we're not working together anymore. My team can handle it."

He hung up the phone without waiting for a reply, and Dinah tilted her head. "Handle what?" she asked.

"Cayden James is gonna attack the subway in less than an hour," he answered, standing up. "I'd say 'suit up,' but we already are. Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Mon-El/Imra Ardeen_**

"Note, keep an eye on the subway," Winn mumbled, making a note for himself.

"Hey, guys, take a look at this," Felicity called, pulling up images on the computers. "This is the city's transportation system, and these are all the accidents that have happened so far."

"A lot around the edges," James noted.

"That's the train lines and the freeways," Malcolm realized.

"He's laying siege to the city," Slade narrowed his eye. "That's why he wanted the port. He wants to block off all the exit routes and stop all reinforcements from the outside."

"Are there any roads he hasn't hit yet?" Mon-El asked.

Felicity frowned, clicking to check. "Yeah, there's one exit left out of the city, and it's the tunnel."

Kara blanched, and Oliver inhaled sharply. "William," they said at the same time, both rushing off.

The others watched them go, then Mon-El looked at Imra. "Keep an eye on the trains," he told her. "I'm going with them."

Imra nodded in agreement, turning back, taking a closer look at where the train lines met as Mon-El headed after the others, followed by Dig. "Can you guide me there, Brainy?" she asked.

"Affirmative," he nodded.

Imra nodded as well, heading off to get her own suit ready.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

William peered over the top of bus seats, frowning when he saw the amount of traffic in the tunnel. He sighed, looking back down at the book he was reading, one Ruby had recommended at his dad's engagement party.

"I saw your dad's new fiancée on TV," one of the boys in the seat behind him sneered. "She's pretty hot." William clenched his jaw, hearing him and the boy on his other side snicker. "She read you bedtime stories?"

"Well, at least she can read," William snarked back, recognizing the voice. "Unlike _your_ mom."

Donnie sneered and reached out to smack his book away. William yanked it away just in time, giving him a dirty look and returning to his page. "This field trip," Donnie snarled. "It's gonna be _fun."_

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/John Diggle_**

"You sure you're good?" Oliver asked Dig as they walked through the bunker.

"Yep," he confirmed. "Never better."

Oliver nodded, rounding the corner and gesturing to the glass case in front of them. "Had Cisco put this together." Dig approached the case slowly, looking it up and down, and Oliver smirked. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Dig nodded, starting to smile as he looked at his upgraded Spartan suit, complete with red accents. "Yeah."

Oliver turned, watching Kara and Mon-El run back towards them, both clad in their suits. "We need to move."

They nodded, fixing comms devices in their ears, and Dig nodded as well. "Let's go save your son."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt/Dinah Drake_**

"Careful around these metal lines," Curtis warned as they entered the subway tunnels. "Sometimes they can be electrified."

"I know that, T," Dinah rolled her eyes. "I'm not six."

" _I_ didn't know that," Rene eyed the tracks warily.

Dinah looked around, then pointed to the lines. "Hey, these tracks are set to cross. The trains are gonna collide."

Curtis looked past both of them. "That could be the switch, that lever. Pull it."

Dinah nodded, gripping the lever as tight as she could, grunting with the effort. "It's stuck!"

"These switch boxes are locked, though," Curtis pointed out.

"All right, stand back," Rene ordered. Dinah did, and Rene aimed his gun at both locks, shooting them off. "There we go."

"OK," Curtis hopped over the tracks, examining one of the boxes. "Well, Plan B . . . actually, there _is_ no Plan B because Cayden James has completely overwritten everything we could do here. Maybe Plan C will be – "

"Guys," Dinah swallowed, seeing lights come down one of the tunnels.

"We could literally just start pulling things out till we get the right circuit."

" _Guys!"_ Dinah yelled, eyes widening as both trains appeared.

"Pull it all out!" Curtis shouted, Rene scrambling to help. "Pull it all out!"

Dinah gulped, watching both trains come closer. "It's not working! Hurry!"

"Hey, what's Plan D?" Rene asked, turning around.

"There is no Plan D!" Curtis yelled.

" _What?!"_

Dinah set her jaw, about to step forward when someone suddenly landed in front of her, landing in a perfect crouch. She was able to see a woman's form, dressed in a bodysuit of dark purple and black, before she threw out one hand towards the train on her track, a shimmering ball of blue energy surrounding her. Dinah shielded her eyes as the train lights hit her, then grimaced when she heard the squeal of brakes and metal on metal, able to see sparks spray everywhere. The train on their other side flew right past, and the train on their tracks stopped just in front of the swirling forcefield.

Dinah lowered her arm in disbelief, watching the forcefield wink out of existence. The woman in front of her lowered her arm, looking up at the train before turning around and examining the three vigilantes. Getting the feeling that she was under a microscope, Dinah lifted her chin, refusing to back down. The woman arched one eyebrow, then bent her knees and shot back into the sky, flying off without another word. "What the hell?" Rene breathed.

"Was that _Saturn_ on her belt?" Curtis stammered.

Dinah narrowed her eyes. If that woman was an alien, then she knew exactly where she had to have come from.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

"All right, I'm gonna go see what's going on," the bus driver stood up. "You kids stay put."

William watched him exit the bus, trying to see where he went until he was out of sight, then looked back down at his book. "I'm bored, Clayton!" Donnie announced. "Read us a story!"

William closed his eyes, trying not to lose his temper, when a loud bang and a rush of light made him fling his book up to block his eyes. When he looked back out the window, flames were rushing from one of the pipes in front of the bus. He swallowed, then stood up, taking control. "We have to get out of here!" he looked around. "Everyone, stay calm and follow me!"

He headed out of his seat and towards the front, relieved when all the kids followed him. However, just as he reached the front, the flame line extended past the nose of the bus. William swallowed, then turned around. 'We have to get out the back!"

All the kids parted to let him go through first, and William swallowed when he saw the explosions going off throughout the tunnel. "We can still make it out," he said, looking down at the door. It took two kicks, but he managed to get the door open. "OK, come on," he backed up. "Move it, move it! You two, help them out!" he ordered the first two boys out. "Hurry, hurry!" He looked out after the last of the kids in line jumped out, but he paused, not seeing one person. "Donnie," he seethed, turning around and running back inside. "We need to get out of here!" he shook his shoulders hard. "Come on, come on!"

"I can't," he shook his head rapidly. "I can't!"

"We need to go!" William yelled. "Go!" Donnie finally scrambled out of his seat, heading for the back, and William pushed him out first, jumping down after him. "I need you to go. _Go!"_

Donnie started to run, but before he could go very far, an explosion happened right above them, and William hastily backed up, covering his eyes, narrowly avoiding the traffic sign that crashed inches in front of him, blocking his way past the bus. Rubble crumbled down after it and in front of the bus, and William swallowed, hearing Donnie yell his name and frantically pound on the sign.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen/Alex Danvers/Mon-El_**

"I'm heading for the tunnel now!" Imra's voice called.

"Checkmate's just arrived," Winn chimed in.

"Martian Manhunter and Black Wolf are on their way!" Lena called.

Kara and Mon-El rammed their feet into the pavement, and carrying Oliver and Dig respectively, they landed in the tunnel on top of a crashed tour bus. Kara looked back and forth frantically, grounded only by Oliver's hand on her shoulder. "Concentrate," he told her.

Kara took a deep breath, using her x-ray vision. She found William's bus easily, with students rushing to safety, then found one student hover by rubble blocking the bus off. She swallowed, not seeing William until she used her x-ray vision further, and she swayed on her feet. "Oh, Rao. He's stuck!"

"Where?" Oliver demanded.

"There!" Kara pointed, Mon-El hovering in the air to see. "The bus is over there!"

"We'll get him," Mon-El looked over at Oliver, who nodded in confirmation. "Get the fires out!"

Dig looked up, seeing Imra drop down through the hole they made. "We'll take care of everyone else!"

Kara looked back towards the bus, and Oliver cupped her cheek, turning her back to him, brushing away the few tears that were falling, several more filling her eyes. "We'll get him," he promised.

Kara swallowed hard, then nodded, jumping off the bus and flying through the tunnel, using her freeze breath to put out the worst of the fires. Oliver and Mon-El used the crashed cars to make their way through the tunnel, Imra and Dig jumping down to run and find civilians.

One woman was looking around frantically when there was a warping noise, and two figures bathed in red light dropped down through the tunnel. J'onn flew off to find more civilians, and Alex quickly grabbed the woman, pulling her behind a car, just in time to avoid an explosion. Alex peered over the top of the car, seeing where J'onn was heading, then carefully turned the woman in that direction. "Go for the door," she pointed. "Go for the door! Move!"

"Come on, come on!" Dig took up the call from the other side of the tunnel. "Get to the door! Move, move!"

Kara continued to make her way through the tunnel, blowing out fires as quickly as she could, Imra and J'onn rescuing civilians that were trapped. Mon-El ducked underneath Imra as she flew past with some of the students, and he jumped down behind the lone student that remained, tugging helplessly at the exit sign in front of the bus. "Hey," he put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Where's William Clayton?"

"He's stuck behind the sign," the student stammered.

"Go," Mon-El pointed, waving at Imra as she landed on a nearby truck, Oliver jumping off a car to join the Daxamite. "Go!"

Imra let the student go in front of her, running after him as J'onn rammed into the exit door of the tunnel. Dig and Alex guided everyone through, J'onn flying through to make sure everyone got out safely. Oliver turned back to the sign, grabbing the end of it. "Watch my back!"

Mon-El nodded, hovering into the air and double checking to make sure no one else was in the tunnel as Oliver grimaced, pushing the sign aside. The moment he saw William peek out from behind a pipe, he sighed in relief. "Come on!" he ordered.

William was up in an instant and bolted past him. Oliver ran after him, seeing Mon-El herd a few stragglers towards the nearest exit. More explosions were causing more fires, and Oliver lost sight of his fiancée as she soared back and forth, Imra throwing up a forcefield to try and contain some of the blast.

Something rumbled under their feet, and Oliver grabbed William, yanking him into an office nearby. Two figures crashed into them behind them, then blue surrounded their vision just as a huge explosion engulfed the tunnel behind them. Oliver winced, expecting glass to shower them, but the arms around him tightened protectively. He hesitantly looked up to see one of Imra's forcefields surrounding them, as well as Kara and Mon-El, his fiancée directly in front of the exit, Mon-El protecting William from the other side. He turned to check on his son, who was looking up at all three of them with wide eyes. "William," he reached down. "William. You OK?"

Imra ran inside, throwing up another forcefield in front of the exit, wincing as another explosion went off. Kara swallowed hard, turning to face William as he shakily sat up. "William?" she whispered. "Are you all right?"

William just looked between all of them before focusing on Oliver. "Dad?" he whispered.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Oh, thank God," Winn sighed in relief as everyone sans Kara piled out of the elevator.

"Any civilian casualties?" Laurel asked.

"We got everyone out safely," Dig shook his head.

"Kara's back helping with the clean-up," Alex added.

"Unfortunately, that tunnel was the last way out of the city," Felicity sighed.

William looked around the bunker, then up at everyone working. "You said you weren't the Green Arrow anymore," he finally told Oliver.

"John did take over for me, but he got injured," Oliver explained, wincing and knowing he had a lot of explaining to do.

William just gave him a look. "He's not injured anymore," he nodded to Dig.

"No, he's not," he agreed.

"I think I knew," William bit his lip, looking up at Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel, all three clad in their suits. "When I heard at school there were new vigilantes working with the Green Arrow. It sounded like them. They weren't out there before."

Oliver sighed. "We've lost the other members of our team, William, and while I wish Kara's team could be here 24/7, they can't be, and they're the ones I trust."

"I know," William nodded, and Oliver paused in what he was about to say. He hadn't expected that from his son. "They've proven it. Everyone around me is in the hero business now." He shook his head, looking at the mannequins on the wall. "It's just . . . Kara lied to me, too."

And if that didn't hurt, Oliver didn't know what did. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to figure out what to say, seeing J'onn, Alex, and Winn exchange worried looks. He found relief in looking at the time, taking a deep breath. "I need to go meet your aunt Thea," he told William. "Could you please hang here?"

William silently nodded, still looking at the mannequins. Oliver gave his friends a helpless look, heading back to change out of his suit, and Imra quickly covered Querl's mouth before he could say anything that could hurt the situation more.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"A woman with Saturn on her belt," Dinah repeated as she entered headquarters, scowling. "What's the media going to call her, _Saturn Girl?"_

"Actually, that's not bad," Rene tilted his head back and forth.

Dinah threw him a nasty look, but Curtis cleared his throat. "Speaking of names, I really have to say that I think we should change ours. Like, what do you think about the Outsiders?"

Dinah paused, then snorted. "Um, I think it was a really awesome book." Rene snickered at Curtis's offended look, and Dinah dropped down onto one of the couches. "You know, guys, talking to Felicity actually was a good idea. I mean, if she hadn't given us that intel, those people would be dead."

Curtis winced. "About that . . . I got that information from Vincent Sobel."

Rene all but gawked at him, and Dinah straightened, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sorry, _what?"_

"I didn't trust him at first either, OK? But I called Felicity to confirm if his intel checked out, and it did, clearly."

"And that's why you were late getting back here earlier," Dinah scowled. "You were talking to him?"

"So you didn't bother telling us?" Rene scoffed. "How very Oliver Queen of you."

"I had to get all the information first before I looped you guys in!" Curtis defended himself. "Then once I did have all the information, we had to stop a subway collision. Except that got stopped by Saturn Girl, but now here I am, telling you guys."

"Telling us what?" Dinah demanded. "Why would Vincent help us?"

"He says he's a double agent working to take down Cayden James from the inside," Curtis answered.

Dinah rolled her eyes in disbelief, but Rene mulled it over. "I mean, that _does_ track," he admitted. "I mean, the guy used to be undercover."

"Which makes him a professional liar," Dinah countered. "He has had so many opportunities to tell me he is a double agent. Why hasn't he? He just somehow forgot to mention it?"

"He says he tried to," Curtis shrugged.

Dinah stared at him in disbelief. "That is _absolute crap."_

"Maybe, but if he turns out to be legit, he could offer a tactical advantage that we can't turn down," Rene pointed out.

"Well, _I_ can," Dinah retorted. "Because _I_ will never work with him again, _ever."_

"Well, obviously Curtis and I disagree, so," Rene began.

"So _nothing,"_ Dinah hissed, standing up and glaring between them both. "We all have to agree, don't we? Or are we just screwing consensus now?"

She stormed past them both, pushing them out of her way, and the two men exchanged exasperated looks.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

"OK, so maybe you can get some of your officers and have them stand over there?" Thea pointed out a location to the officer she was speaking to.

"You bet," he nodded.

"That'd be great. Thank you."

"Hey," Quentin came up behind her, two steaming cups in his hands. "Thought that would put a little extra pep in your step."

Thea sighed in relief, taking one of the drinks. "You are my savior."

"What, me or the coffee?" Quentin snorted.

"Why can't it just be both?"

"Hey," Oliver walked up to them, hand in hand with Kara. "How are things going here?"

"Hi," Thea gave them a weak smile.

"Well, it's not good," Quentin shook his head. "No, we got no customers at all."

"There's so much happening right now that people are too scared to even come to the safe zones," Thea nodded.

"And worse still, I got cops standing around here doing nothing when they could be out there helping people," Quentin added. "I would like to redeploy them."

"No," Oliver shook his head. "If – if we get people here, then we don't need to worry about protecting them out there. We have no idea where Cayden James is going to attack next. The best thing that we can do for the city is to get people to the safe zones."

Kara perked up suddenly. "So tell the people that," she said, looking up at her fiancé. "I have an idea."

* * *

 **A/N: I kind of wanted to make Imra sniff and just toss her head like she didn't give a care in the world for NTA, but that might have made her look too bitchy to them.**

 **I also believe that, since most of William's "family" is in the superhero business, he wouldn't be as crushed by Oliver's revelation like he was in the actual show. I think what would have hurt him more is that Kara was in on the lie as well.**


	53. We Fall - Part Three

**Oliver and Kara get some much needed advice, William learns, Mon-El and Imra have clear opinions, and promises are made.**

* * *

 _ **Slade Wilson/Malcolm Merlyn**_

"You're looking much less armored up."

Slade raised an eyebrow, not looking up from the gun he was examining. "The city's under siege, and my mask is the one that led a siege a few years ago," he explained simply. "Might be a good idea to sit this siege out."

"Touché," Malcolm nodded thoughtfully, leaning against the rail by him and checking over his own gear. "And then the year after that . . . "

Slade smirked. "I'm also not exactly subtle in my work, wizard."

" _Magician,"_ Malcolm rolled his eyes, making Slade chuckle. "Well, I guess as long as I keep out of sight."

"You're good at that."

"Thanks. I think."

"You're w – "

Malcolm looked up from his bow, tilting his head when he saw Slade frown. "What?" he lowered his voice.

Slade's frown turned into a scowl, and he ever so slightly pointed behind them. Malcolm causally leaned against the railing, tilting his head to hear better, and picked up what was being discussed between Dig and Felicity. " – putting the hood back on?" Felicity was saying.

"Yeah," Dig admitted.

"I'm sure you will," Felicity assured him, making Slade and Malcolm exchange wary glances. "You know, once this whole Cayden thing is dealt with."

"I hope so," Dig sighed.

Malcolm turned back to Slade, seeing his scowl deepen. "I think we both agree on who we prefer to be wearing the hood," the assassin remarked as casually as he could.

"Damn right," Slade growled lowly, turning to look over at where William was sitting at the table. "But we need to keep William in mind, too."

"We will," Malcolm nodded, turning to Slade. "If there's one thing in common we have with Oliver, it's that we're both fathers. We'll get Oliver back to his son."

Slade nodded in agreement, clasping the hand Malcolm extended to him. "That we will."

"Hey, boys," Laurel called from the platform, making them look up. "You'll want to see this."

"Will," Lena called, pushing away from her computer. "Your dad's on TV."

William hurried up to stand with Alex as James reached over, turning up the sound on the screen.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"A hacker, goes by the name Cayden James, has taken over the electronic infrastructure of Star City," Oliver began, looking out over the crowd of reporters in front of him. "In his hands, anything, _anything_ that is connected to the Internet, can be used as a weapon. Now, sadly, this has already led to a number of casualties, including our police captain, Frank Pike, and Councilman Harold Grovner. But Mr. James has made his demands, but make no mistake – he is a terrorist, and Star City _does_ _not_ negotiate with terrorists, period. Instead, we are gonna focus on the safety and well-being of our citizens. In that spirit, the SCPD has set up safe houses throughout the city. These locations are entirely analog, and you will be safe there. I promise you, you will be safe there." He straightened to his full height and looked directly into the lens of the nearest camera. "Mr. James, Star City has survived far worse than you. We will band together, we will be united, and we will survive this." He turned back to the press and nodded politely. "Thank you very much."

He ignored questions being asked of him and turned to jog up the stairs to where Thea and Kara were waiting. Kara gave him a small smile and a thumbs up, which Oliver smiled back at.

* * *

 ** _Cayden James_**

As the footage shut off, Cayden snorted in amusement. "So predictable," he grinned, turning away from the screen. "Almost takes the fun out of it." He turned to Vincent and his second-in-command, nodding at them. "Time to proceed to the next phase."

Vincent looked at who would be his partner for the next phase, and both nodded, heading off to collect the gear they would need.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Nice speech," James complimented as Oliver and Kara returned.

"Did it work?" Kara asked.

"Oh, you betcha," Winn nodded. "Safe zones are filling up, they're completely offline, and hack-cident free."

Kara's gaze slid past Winn to where William was still sitting away from them all. J'onn squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, then Querl cleared his throat. "Shall we move on to neutral news?"

"Neutral news?" Oliver repeated.

"Well, it hasn't actually turned up good yet, but it's not necessarily bad news yet, either," Querl nodded.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "This is about Cayden James's son?"

"Yes," Querl nodded, turning to Felicity.

"Alena thinks that Cayden believes that you killed his son because of something that arrived in a package from Corto Maltese in May," Felicity explained. "Through a pretty cool sequence of hacks on the mail systems of several different countries – not that you need to know about it, but it was, like, really intense and really cool, and we all did it, and it was really hard – "

"There was a USB drive in that package," Lena smoothly interrupted, noting Oliver's impatient look. "We've got the serial number, and Alena's working on trying to find the computer in Corto Maltese that uploaded the information onto that drive that Cayden received, which is the information that made him think that you killed his son."

"Was that all understood?" Winn winced.

"100%," Oliver assured him.

"Awesome."

The four tech people wheeled back to their stations, and Mon-El and Imra walked up to the duo. "Is everything all right?" Imra asked quietly.

Kara sighed, looking over at William. "No," she admitted just as quietly, looking down at her feet.

Imra rubbed her back comfortingly as Oliver squeezed her hand.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

The moment Dinah heard footsteps coming up the stairs, she turned her phone off and turned to leave. "Dinah!" Curtis called.

"Hey," Rene caught up to her quickly. "Hey, if you don't want to work with him, we won't. We do it by consensus, like we agreed."

Dinah looked up at Curtis, who nodded, then she sighed. "Hey, look, I – I acknowledge that Vince is a complicated variable, OK?"

"Well, let's break it down," Rene suggested, walking to her other side. "You know, pro/con style."

"All right," Dinah nodded, thinking. "Pro: he's really good, and he gets deep into his assignments. Con: on our last assignment, he got in _too_ deep. He can forget what side he's on."

"Pro: he's in with Cayden James and his crew, and his last intel worked," Rene added his part.

"If you didn't know Vincent, if you could remove this history with him, if, as a cop, he came to you with some intel, what would your gut tell you?" Curtis asked Dinah.

"Do we have new intel from him?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No."

She shrugged. "Well, then, I'm not gonna answer that yet."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Fun fact," a voice behind the blond couple said, and Kara closed her eyes as Oliver rolled his eyes to the sky. "Actually talking to a child is one of the most effective parenting techniques."

"No kidding," Oliver deadpanned.

"You don't say," Kara sighed.

Malcolm held up his hands defensively as he joined them. "I'm just saying."

"Well, I've learned several times the hard way that sometimes kids just want to be left alone," Oliver told him. "I know we have to talk to him. I'm just trying to respect that."

"OK," Malcolm nodded.

It was when the assassin kept standing there that Kara sighed, realizing someone else was on her other side. "What?"

"Perhaps Ms. Smoak or Mr. Schott can sympathize more here since their fathers were supervillains who worked with technology," Slade leaned against the rail. "But the wizard – " Kara heard Malcolm mutter _"magician"_ under his breath, bringing a small smile to her lips. " – and I both know a thing or two about keeping our lives, things that would not be liked or approved of, from our sons. And I know in Joe's case, it wasn't those parts that bugged him."

"What did?" Oliver asked.

"The lie," Slade said simply. "That camping trip we had before I took the Lian Yu mission, all Joe wanted was for me to tell him the truth. I think that's what William wants. The truth – the good, the bad, the ugly."

"He just wants to know the truth," Oliver repeated, frowning. "William knows the truth, or he – he _knew_ the truth, and he decided that he didn't want me in situations where he might lose me."

Malcolm sighed. "Oliver, you want to know the honest truth about what I think?"

"When has that _ever_ stopped you, Malcolm?" Oliver asked dryly.

Malcolm ignored him. "With everything that's happened with Diggle, with the 'team'" – Slade snorted at the obvious quotation marks Malcolm made with his voice. " – and everything happening right now with Cayden James, I think William can handle it."

"I don't know," Oliver sighed.

" _I_ know," Malcolm gave him a look. "Like father, like son, after all."

Kara swallowed, looking down. "I hate feeling like I've let him down."

"You may have, little one," Slade put a hand on her shoulder. "But take it from a father who has let his son down many times – acknowledge it to him, know you're in the wrong. The worst he can do is hold it against you."

Kara winced. "That's not helping, Slade."

"I don't think he will, though," Slade shook his head.

"Why not?"

Slade smirked. "Genetics."

Malcolm laughed loudly as Oliver rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Slade."

"Any time, kid," Slade clapped him on the back as Kara giggled.

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

Vincent opened the locker storing his equipment, then looked through the multiple visors he had. He had just picked one up when he heard Cayden's second-in-command behind him. "Aren't you ready yet?" Vincent turned to scowl at him, getting an annoyed look in response. "We're moving out."

Vincent gave him a blank look, then nodded. "I'll be right there."

The man moved off, and Vincent watched him go, double checking to make sure no one was watching. When he turned back around, he picked up his visor, tapping away at an electronic chip in the corner of it.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Curtis's T-sphere lit up blue in various patterns, making the team rush down the stairs. "What's going on?" Dinah asked.

"Vincent's using the link to my T-sphere to send a message," Curtis answered, dropping down into his chair and picking up a pad and pen. "Morse code."

"Clever," Rene complimented, watching Curtis write. "What does it say?"

"Attack . . . " Curtis frowned, writing as the sphere beeped. "Oak . . . Street . . . now." He blinked, then looked up at them. "I'm assuming that's a warning, not a directive."

"Oak Street is one of the safe zones Oliver and Quentin set up," Rene made the connection.

Curtis sighed, leaning back and looking up at Dinah. "What do you wanna do?"

Dinah didn't even hesitate. "Suit up."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Oliver Queen_**

The trio emerged on the rooftops, looking down at the patrolling officers. "Officers marching, guns out, city under siege," Rene observed. "It's like 'Escape From Detroit.'"

Curtis frowned, shaking his head. "I don't know whether to correct you or to just embrace your attempt at referencing one of my favorite John Carpenter films."

"Huh?" Rene looked up at him.

"I think the point is that people are scared," Dinah interrupted. "It's not good."

"They should be scared," Oliver walked up on her other side with Dig, Malcolm, Laurel, and Alex behind him. "That's why they need us."

Curtis frowned. "When you say 'us,' do you mean just you and it's a passive dig at our team – no pun intended – "

"Are we going to stand here and discuss what the meaning of 'us' is, or are we going to focus on the problem at hand?" Malcolm snapped, giving him a glare.

Curtis closed his mouth with a click, giving Malcolm a nasty look. "We got your message, by the way," Laurel smiled sweetly. "Thanks for that."

Dinah looked around, raising an eyebrow. "No Space Brigade?"

"Oh, you mean them?" Alex pointed across the street, and the three looked over to see Kara, Mon-El, Imra, and J'onn land, J'onn setting James down on his feet. "Nope, they're here, too. And it's the Legion, just so you know."

"What are we dealing with here?" Oliver asked, cutting across all of them, knowing Kara could hear them.

"We have it on good authority this place is Cayden James's next target," Rene answered.

"How do you know?" Oliver asked.

"We know," Dinah answered, making him raise an eyebrow. "That's all that matters."

Someone cleared their throat on the comms. "I totally don't mean to spoil the really awkward team reunion," Winn began.

"I thought that was exactly your intent," Querl interrupted.

"Dude – !"

"You have incoming," Lena sighed.

"Whoa, you have _lots_ of incoming!" Felicity shouted.

People scattered everywhere in the rain, and Oliver tensed. "We need to move out, right now!" he yelled.

Kara took off from the building she was on, followed by Mon-El and Imra. Malcolm fired off a grappling arrow, and Laurel slid down first, Alex hot on her heels. Curtis, Rene, and Dinah jumped off one side of the building, Oliver and Dig running to the other side, Malcolm grappling across as J'onn and James jumped down to protect civilians.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

Slade watched the four tech people coordinate together, fiddling with the comms device in his own ear, then saw William hesitantly stand from his chair. He raised an eyebrow, then walked over. "Are you doing all right, William?"

He fidgeted slightly, then looked up at Slade. "Is Dad gonna be OK?"

Slade smiled. "William, if there is anything I know about your father, it's that he is going to be just fine." He gestured William over, and William followed him up onto the platform as Slade took a seat by one of the spare monitors, pulling up the tech team's feeds to examine. "I understand you're not happy with Oliver and Kara right now but what they're doing right now is what they do best. Nobody does it better when they work together."

William swallowed hard. "But everybody makes mistakes. Things go wrong."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver fired three arrows simultaneously, pinning three of Cayden's thugs to the wall or the ground . . .

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"They can't plan for everything."

"No, they can't," Slade agreed, gesturing for William to sit next to him.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver jumped to the ground, firing at an approaching thug, then turned when he heard a thud behind him. The thug that would have approached him from behind went down with an ebony arrow through his thigh, and a quick look above revealed Malcolm lowering his bow and nodding at him. Oliver nodded back, running into the fray as Malcolm drew another arrow, looking for another target . . .

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"What they do – what _I_ do when I'm in the field with them – it's very dangerous, and not everyone makes it home." Slade looked down at one of the feeds, seeing Alex jam her claws into the side of a thug about to shoot at a girl no older than ten. "We never forget that," he said quietly, remembering the last woman who had worn Alex's suit.

* * *

 _ **Imra Ardeen**_

Imra conjured a forcefield around a circle of civilians blocked off on all sides, Kara swooping down and ramming into the group like a bowling ball, scattering all of them as if scoring a perfect strike . . .

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"Do you know the first time I met your father?" Slade asked William. When he shook his head, Slade chuckled. "I'll have to tell you the story. But we were alone on the island, and all I had for a partner to get off that bloody place was a spoiled, rich kid who didn't have the faintest idea about how to survive. He was annoying as hell and I wanted to cut out his throat box, but I started to care for him. I started to see him as my brother, and that meant I started to worry about him. That was over a decade ago, and while the mirakuru serum ruined much of that time, it doesn't change the fact that I _still_ worry about him."

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Mon-El held up a hand and blocked the punch coming at him, hiding a smirk at the yelp that came from the thug. He punched him in the stomach in reply, and the thug went flying backwards, right past James as he smashed his shield into a thug about to toss a grenade at a food stand . . .

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"I'll be honest, William," Slade turned to him. "We haven't always been truthful. We've lied, we've kept secrets. None of us are perfect."

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel stepped in front of a group of approaching thugs and screamed at the top of her lungs, making them topple like a string of dominos. She smirked, then heard a pained cry behind her. She quickly turned to see a thug collapse unmoving, and she looked up to see Malcolm standing on the rooftop above her, bow still pointed at the thug, another arrow drawn. Blue eyes met green, and Laurel gave him a small smile before running off . . .

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"Any one of the four behind us can tell you that this life, it's not ideal," Slade told William, and the boy looked behind them as Lena and Winn rattled off warnings, Felicity's and Querl's fingers flying over their keyboards. "But everyone out there makes their sacrifices, and the rest of their family makes theirs as well. I think it's why love like Oliver's and Kara's is perhaps the deepest I've seen." William giggled a bit, and Slade rolled his eye. "I know it sounds cheesy, but I think it is. The lives they live . . . they know they can't take things for granted."

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez/Dinah Drake_**

Rene brought a thug in front of him down, then heard a bang behind him and a pained grunt. He spun around, eyes wide, to see Cayden James's second in command collapsed on the ground behind him. A quick glance up revealed Vincent Sobel in full Vigilante attire, his rifle aimed not at Rene, but at Cayden's man. "Traitor!" he bellowed, his eyes wide, spit flying from his mouth as he scrambled for the gun he had dropped. "I'm taking you to hell with – !"

Vincent fired again, killing the man before he could finish his sentence. Dinah spun around when she heard the shot, then looked up, just in time to see Vincent disappear. She watched him go with wide eyes, then smiled faintly. Curtis had been right after all . . .

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"You, me, Oliver, Kara, and the people watching their backs, have to live with the fear and uncertainty that everything can be taken from us in an instant, because that's the price we pay for choosing the people that we care about and love," Slade told William. "Everything your father and soon-to-be stepmother do, they do for a good reason. Or, for what they think is a good reason. You can worry about them. I do, too. We all do. But you have to believe that they're going to be OK, because that's the only way that this works. OK?" William smiled faintly, then nodded. "OK," Slade patted him on the shoulder.

"Those two down," Winn's words carried over from behind them, and Slade and William turned in their chairs to see he was watching from Dig's body camera. "And now he spins, disarms, kicks, and an arrow right – "

"Ooo!" Felicity cringed, Winn yelping and backing away from his computer. "Whoa! Slade, please tell me William did not just see that!"

Slade just smirked at William, who had abruptly turned his gaze.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Imra Ardeen_**

Kara dropped the last thug in a heap, and Oliver watched in relief as everyone else regrouped, turning to see Curtis, Rene, and Dinah jog from their side of the safe zone. "Good work," he told everyone.

Rene just scoffed. "Doesn't change anything, Hoss."

Mon-El's eyebrows shot up at the clear hostility in his tone, and a quick look around showed the same hostility from Curtis and Dinah, despite their masks. Rene was the first to walk through them, followed by his teammates. Alex and J'onn watched them go with narrowed eyes, and Mon-El heard Laurel growl behind him. "Oh, what I want to do to that b – "

"Oh, look out!" Imra suddenly called innocently.

Tiles suddenly cracked and popped out of the pavement, making Rene trip and sprawl out, and Dinah nearly did the same. Curtis tripped over his teammates, sending Dinah to the ground as well. Kara, Laurel, and Malcolm burst out laughing, and Mon-El grinned proudly at his wife. Oliver bit his lip to avoid laughing as his former teammates got to their feet, giving them all nasty glares. Imra just tilted her head, giving them a small wave. Unable to stand a chance against all of them, the three turned and left. "Remind me never to piss you off," Malcolm looked over at Imra.

The Legionnaire blushed faintly, even as she fist bumped Kara when she offered it.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton/Slade Wilson_**

"Wow," William mumbled, watching the footage with wide eyes. When he'd been at the D.E.O., able to hear comm chatter, he'd been able to hear what his father and soon-to-be stepmother had been doing. Seeing it live via footage was another thing altogether. "They're . . . they're pretty – "

"Amazing?" Lena looked over at them, smiling. "Yeah."

"Well, I was gonna say badass," William shrugged.

Felicity winked at him in agreement. "Badass," she nodded.

Slade looked down at the boy sitting at his side, tilting his head and taking in his more relaxed posture. "You all right, William?"

"Better now," William nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Wilson."

"Any time," Slade nodded. "Your father is kind of stuck with me now."

"I know," William fidgeted. "I kind of figured when people described the new vigilantes."

"You said that clued you in that your father was back as the Green Arrow?" Slade tilted his head. When William nodded, Slade nodded. "Clever."

"It wasn't that far off," William shrugged. "It's just that Mr. Diggle doesn't always seem that comfortable around you, Mr. Merlyn, and Laurel. I thought that would carry over to the field as well." When Slade didn't immediately answer, William frowned up at him. "Is that right?"

Slade just looked over at Winn's footage, narrowing his eye. "I don't think you're that far off."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Well, for two teams that do not trust each other, you guys worked together pretty well," Felicity complimented as everyone returned to the bunker.

"Even though the majority of us were on the same team?" J'onn raised an eyebrow.

"Boy, am I glad I've never met them before tonight," Mon-El shook his head.

"I'm glad I didn't speak with them at the subway line," Imra agreed.

"Did we ever hear where they got their information from?" Alex wondered.

"Not at all," Malcolm shook his head.

Laurel stopped in the middle of taking off her gloves, frowning when the tech team's screens fizzled out. "What's happening?"

Querl winced. "It appears Cayden James is shutting down all communications – email, television, cell phones, Internet traffic. Everything."

"We didn't meet his 11:30 deadline," James sighed.

"Can you please talk to Alena and tell her that we are running out of time?" Oliver looked at Felicity.

"I already did," she nodded. "She's working as fast as she can."

Winn looked up at Oliver, seeing the frustration on his face. "Anything else we can do?" he asked quietly.

Oliver silently shook his head. "Nothing you can do."

He and Kara exchanged looks, and she nodded. "We need to go talk to William."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah turned when she heard footsteps approaching, and as Vincent walked towards her, she walked to meet him halfway. "You saved Rene's life tonight," she told him, a genuine smile on her face. "Thank you."

"I'm on your side, D," Vincent reminded her.

"I wasn't so sure before," Dinah admitted.

"So . . . what now?" Vincent tilted his head.

Dinah's smile grew wider.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/William Clayton/Kara Danvers_**

"When I was growing up, if something happened, my dad would call a family meeting so that we could all talk about it," Oliver told William as he and Kara sat with him that night.

"And this needs to be said by both of us," Kara took a deep breath, looking down at her hands, which hadn't stopped fidgeting since they sat down.

"I'm terribly sorry that I lied to you," Oliver told William. "There is no excuse for it, and I'm new at this whole dad thing, but that's not an excuse either. I've just . . . I've been trying to work my way through it, and I've hit more bumps in the road than I thought that I would, as you know."

"And I'm sorry, too," Kara told William, looking up from her hands. "I was trying to protect both you and Oliver, but all of us got hurt in the long run, you more than all of us. Ever since we met, William, I have never lied to you, and this is the first time I have. You may not be my biological son, but after I marry your dad, you will be my son. And this was no way to treat you. So I'm going to make you this promise, one I swear I'm going to keep." When Kara cautiously reached for his hands, William let her take them, and he looked up into her eyes, which were full of remorse. "No more secrets, and no more lies."

"No more secrets, and no more lies," Oliver agreed, putting a hand on William's knee, bringing his son's gaze to him. "And William . . . if you need me to stop being the Green Arrow, I will."

William looked between them. "Mr. Wilson showed me what you did tonight," he told them. "I got to say, it was . . . it was really cool. The city needs you, and I get that now. It needs _both_ of you. So does National City."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," William nodded. "I mean, I was worried before that I'd become an orphan, but it's different now. I have Mr. Wilson, Aunt Lena, Aunt Felicity, Uncle Winn, all of your team members, everyone from Central City and the _Waverider,_ and even everyone on Earth-38. I understand why you have to go out there."

Kara smiled widely, though she did have to reach up and wipe a few tears away. "I'll do better," she promised.

" _We'll_ do better," Oliver amended. "This was on both of us."

Kara nodded, squeezing William's hands. "We'll do better."

William smiled, giving her a quick hug, which Kara enthusiastically returned. He gave Oliver a hug, too, before standing up. "I'm gonna get to bed."

"Sleep well, OK?" Kara smiled as he left.

"Thanks," he waved.

They watched him go before Oliver sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, relieved that was finally done. Kara did the same thing, scooting over so their knees touched, reaching one arm around his shoulders and leaning her head on his arm. "What he said was touching and kind of awful," she murmured.

"I think that's the actual definition of bittersweet," Oliver remarked.

Kara winced, and Oliver took her hand. "It hurt, though. And we totally deserved it, didn't we?"

"We did," Oliver admitted. "But if I've learned one thing about parenting so far that I'm sure of . . . you can't win them all."

"No matter how much we want to," Kara sighed.

Oliver shook his head in agreement, turning and kissing her on top of her head. "And it's a hell of a lot."

Kara nodded, about to close her eyes when her phone chimed. She lifted her head from his shoulder and reached for her phone, checking the text from Querl that arrived. She braced herself and opened it up, then sighed in defeat. "It's Brainy. Alena checked in. She's gone through all the computers in Corto Maltese. She didn't find anything." Oliver sighed in defeat, closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry," Kara whispered.

Oliver took a deep breath. "I've got to get to City Hall."

"What are you gonna do?" Kara asked quietly.

He just looked at her sadly, and Kara swallowed, realizing exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally preparing himself as the elevator doors opened. He walked out towards his office, bracing himself when he saw Thea already there, waiting for him. He stopped in front of his desk, looked his sister in the eye, and ordered, "Wire the money."

To her credit, Thea didn't say anything. She simply sat down and clicked a button on the keyboard, and Oliver sighed, looking out over Star City as Thea sent the requested $10 million to Cayden James's account.

* * *

 **A/N: Oof. This was a heavy chapter.**

 **A bit of reasoning here: as you read, I had Slade be the one speaking to William. Felicity did an amazing job explaining to William in the episode why Oliver did what he did, but she has much less of a role in William's life in this story. I considered having Alex, Winn, or even Mon-El give this speech to William, but after mulling it over, I decided on Slade.**

 **And regarding William being more concerned about Kara lying to him, I think that is ultimately what concerned him the most. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he met Oliver before he found out he was his father, so he knows Oliver has lied to him before, especially for his protection. Kara and William have had a close bond since they met, and this is the first time Kara has lied to him, and this is a _big_ one, too. I tried to balance it out that both Oliver and Kara felt the weight of their actions, but Kara especially felt it.**

 **I'm not trying to make Kara a Mary Sue, which I think one guest review thought I was trying to make her into. My main point in this story is addressing how each team can change things in the other universe based on past events. It seemed to me that Season 6 of Arrow tried to paint Oliver as a villain with NTA, and even Dig, leaving the team. Oliver needs support from somewhere, and not just from Felicity. As his fiancée and a team leader, Kara is the best type of support he could get. As Season 6 of Arrow progresses, it'll be shown it's not just Kara, but also Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel, and not just because Kara is on Oliver's side, too.**

 **This story focuses on what the canon episodes would be like following the events of "One Call Away" and "Won't Let You Down," which changed _elements_ of canon quite a bit. In particular for Arrow: Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel are at the very least anti-heroes and no longer villains, Evelyn is the redeemable side that Black Siren was, and Talia is the evil side that Black Siren was. In particular for Supergirl: Lena knows who Supergirl is, and her mother is out of the picture. Up until just about this episode, not much from canon has been changed, except Cayden's team and Oliver forming his new team out of Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel.**

 **Starting next episode, which takes us back to Earth-38, is where I start planning on morphing canon for sure. Lillian Luthor is dead, which means I need a new plan . . . and I think I've got one people will enjoy. ;)**


	54. The Flash - True Colors

**So I was thinking about what I was going to do for the Supergirl episode, and I realized that for a variation of that plan to work, there was something that needed to happen in a show outside of Arrow and Supergirl before all that.**

 **So, before Earth-38, let's go over to Central City and see what's happening to our favorite scarlet speedster. And if you don't want to read that . . . well, you can skip to the end of more of a hint as to what the next episode will entail.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen**_

Kara was woken the next morning not by an alarm going off, but by Oliver's cell phone ringing. She grumbled and tried to bury her face back into the pillows, but when Oliver woke up and turned to reach for his phone, she groaned. "Who has such horrible timing?"

Oliver picked up his phone and checked the Caller ID, then blinked in surprise. "It's a Central City number."

"What?" Kara was awake in an instant, her head shooting up.

Oliver answered the phone, putting it to his ear as Kara sat up, pulling the sheets up with her. "Hello?"

"Mr. Queen," a faintly familiar voice said. "I don't know if you remember me, but we met at my Barry and Iris's wedding."

"District Attorney Horton," Oliver identified, turning and raising an eyebrow at Kara. She just shook her head in confusion, and Oliver put his phone on speaker. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, it's what you can do for Barry and Iris," Cecille answered. "I have . . . new evidence, in Barry's case against Clifford DeVoe."

"New evidence?" Oliver repeated.

"Yes," Cecille confirmed. "And I was thinking that you and Ms. Danvers would like to be here when I reveal it."

"Um," Oliver exchanged bewildered looks with Kara. "Is that allowed?"

"It is if I allow you in. I've also been trying to reach Captain Lance, but I'm having trouble connecting to her."

"Uh, leave that to us," Oliver blinked, trying to process everything as Kara scooted out of bed, grabbing her own phone. "Uh, we'll be there. What time?"

"Seven hours."

"Thank you, Ms. Horton." He hung up, still completely confused, even as he dialed Sara's number, grateful that Cisco had rigged all their phones to connect to the temporal zone. "What new evidence could she have?" Kara just shrugged, and Oliver sighed, straightening when Sara answered. "Hey, Sara, can you by any chance give us a ride somewhere?"

* * *

 ** _Sara Lance/Oliver Queen_**

"So let me get this straight," Sara frowned as she walked with Oliver and Kara up the stairs to the Central City courthouse. "Somehow new evidence has come up in the trial that we need to be here to see?"

"That's what we've heard," Oliver nodded.

Sara stared blankly at him for a few seconds, then shook her head. "This better be good."

"I don't think we'd be called here if it wasn't," Kara remarked, Oliver gesturing them inside in front of him.

Cecille was waiting for them, a wide smile on her face. "Mr. Queen," she nodded politely. "Ms. Danvers, Captain Lance."

"Ms. Horton," Oliver nodded, shaking her hand. "Your call was quite the surprise."

"I apologize," Cecille nodded, seeming eager. "But I thought because the three of you know exactly why Barry is in Iron Heights – " She gave them each a meaningful look, and all three nodded. " – you would want to be here."

They exchanged looks, then Sara shrugged. "Oh, what's one more courtroom appearance."

Oliver snorted loudly as Cecille led them in. "Thank you for that reminder, Sara."

Sara winced, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Sorry, Ollie."

Iris looked surprised to see them as they filed into the row behind her. "What are you three doing here?" she hissed.

"We were invited," Kara answered, looking at Cecille as she joined Iris. "New evidence, is all we were told. What's going on?"

Iris looked up at Cecille, then took a deep breath, turning around as the judge entered. "I'm still not entirely sure."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"New evidence, Ms. Horton," the judge growled a few minutes later. "That's what you told this court had come into your possession, only I haven't heard it or seen it, nor have the circumstances changed in any way that would convince me to move for a retrial. So, unless you have something more to add, this appeal hearing is over."

Kara winced, absently scratching the back of her neck as Cecille stood, stammering over her words. "I understand, Your Honor, I do. If we could just wait a few more minutes, I am sure that – "

"I am tired of waiting," the judge cut her off. "Either you have something new to add, or you don't. Which is it?"

Cecille looked back behind her, as if expecting something to show up, then sighed, turning back around. "We have nothing further, Your Honor."

On the other side of the room, Marlize DeVoe smirked triumphantly. "If DeVoe can't do, can I punch _her?"_ Sara narrowed her eyes.

Oliver raised an eyebrow, then quietly answered, "Not in public."

Sara smirked viciously. "Noted."

"You two _do_ know that means Barry's still in Iron Heights, right?" Kara hissed.

That shut both of them up. The judge, meanwhile, was reaching for his gavel. "Then I hereby deem Barry Allen's appeal den – "

"Wait!"

The shout from the back of the courtroom made everyone turn around, and Kara's jaw dropped as a man in a wheelchair entered the room, the doors closing behind him. Iris and Marlize both shot to their feet, both of them with similar looks of shock on their face. "Wait," Sara blinked rapidly. "But that's – "

" _DeVoe?"_ Iris whispered.

"Nope," Cecille grinned smugly. "Not DeVoe." She whispered so only the four of them could hear. "It's _Ralph."_

"I believe you are looking for me, Your Honor," Ralph Dibny, disguised as Clifford DeVoe, addressed the judge, making him sit back in shock.

Oliver couldn't help but grin as Kara and Iris exchanged looks of glee. If this could be pulled off, Barry had a chance now!

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"I don't know how any of this happened." Ralph played a clueless DeVoe perfectly.

"You were found in Barry Allen's loft," the judge told him. "You were _dead!"_

"I was stabbed," Ralph nodded, and Oliver looked over at Marlize, seeing her shake her head in stunned disbelief. While he felt a bit of sympathy for the woman, he couldn't help but smirk as well. She had played a part in sending a dear friend of his, a man who was like his little brother, to a life sentence in Iron Heights for a crime he didn't commit. Barry was more important right now. "I heard a voice saying something about framing someone, then I blacked out."

"Please work," Kara whispered behind her clasped hands, Sara crossing her fingers against her lips. "Please work, please work . . . "

"And this morning, I woke up in my own home," Ralph finished.

The judge stared at him for a second, then looked over at Marlize. "Mrs. DeVoe, does any of this make any sense to you?"

"No," she shook her head, looking at Ralph as he shifted to stare her down. "I am just as surprised by all of this as everyone."

"Your Honor, the city has had reports in the past of people who have appeared dead, only to later emerge very much alive," Cecille stepped around her table to continue speaking.

"That's impossible!" the judge protested.

Sara snorted at that, and Oliver quickly jabbed her in the side. "Impossible, Your Honor?" Cecille quirked an eyebrow. "Is it as impossible as a man who can run faster than the speed of sound? I submit that Central City is home to the impossible."

"I have as many questions as you have, Your Honor," Ralph told the judge. "And I am looking forward to working with the authorities to solve this mystery."

The judge recovered his aplomb very quickly. "Yes, I'm sure that CCPD will be very interested in this. As for Barry Allen's appeal . . . " He looked between a hopeful Iris and a confused Marlize before focusing back on Ralph. "I guess the court must deem that Clifford DeVoe is alive and well." Kara quickly covered her mouth to refrain from squealing, and Oliver and Sara exchanged wide grins. "Barry Allen is hereby cleared of all charges and ordered release from Iron Heights Penitentiary immediately," the judge declared, bringing his gavel down.

Marlize winced at the sound, but it was Sara who let out a laugh of delight, fist pumping. "Yes!"

Kara let out the squeal she had tried to hide, hugging Oliver tightly. He hugged her in reply, watching Iris and Ralph exchange small smiles as well.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen/Barry Allen/Lena Luthor_**

"Do it!" Winn chanted, quickly joined in by James and Alex. "Do it, do it, do it!"

Kara laughed and applied pressure to the champagne bottle she held, and Alex cheered when the cork flew off, releasing a spray of champagne. Nate whooped as he watched, Ray and Jax hurrying to bring over glasses to pour the champagne into. "I apologize for not being nearly as dramatic as that," Cisco huffed, pouring his own bottle into the glasses offered by Caitlin and Stein.

"I'm just surprised we all fit in here," Mon-El looked around the West house.

"Well, it's worth it," Oliver smiled at Barry, who was sitting next to Iris, Joe standing behind him.

"You're home," Iris beamed up at him.

"You're my home," Barry squeezed her hand, bending down and kissing her.

Sara playfully wolf whistled, only to duck and narrowly avoid being punched by Zari. "It's good to see you out, Barry," Kara smiled, walking over to sit on an opposite couch with Lena, Oliver and Harry on the armrests respectively.

"It's good to be out," Barry looked over them all. "Thank you for being here. All of you," he nodded to Oliver, Kara, and Sara. "You didn't have to."

"I call bullshit," Sara announced.

"Sara!" Felicity squawked, even as Alex all but cackled.

"Of course we'd be here," Kara grinned at Barry.

"I really doubt I could have stopped her if I tried," Oliver added, rolling his eyes.

"I think you just need to accept you have more people looking out for you than you realize, Mr. Allen," J'onn smiled.

"Don't we all?" Quentin agreed, clinking glasses with the Martian.

Barry smiled, touched by everyone's presence in the room, then yelped when Joe gave him a gigantic bear hug from behind, making him laugh. "Oh, he couldn't wait to do that," Cecille giggled as Thea, Clarissa, and Lily laughed.

"How you feeling, Barry?" Joe asked. "You feeling OK?"

"I'm feeling great, yeah," Barry nodded, unable to stop grinning.

"Well, you look like you could use a good meal, and don't you worry, I made a fresh batch of Grandma Esther's meatloaf."

"Oh, yeah," Barry sighed, grinning even wider.

"Just like you like it."

"Meatloaf?" Cisco wrinkled his nose. "Gross." He yelped when he got a smack on the back of the head from Winn and Felicity, then babbled to quickly make up for what he said. "I just meant meatloaf is a grossly undervalued menu item in most restaurants, I think."

"Nice save, Ramon," Harry snorted, Lena giggling behind her glass.

"You guys, now that I'm free, I don't care what I do," Barry looked around. "I'm just so happy to be back with all of you again."

"Team Flash," Cisco beamed. "And the best team up ever."

"We really need a better name than that," Ray sighed.

"Later," Joe chuckled as they all lifted their drinks. "Today, we celebrate Barry. Tomorrow, we go back to stopping the man that framed you."

"I'll drink to that," Iris agreed.

"Hear, hear," Caitlin nodded.

"And in all seriousness, that offer to punch him still stands," Sara added.

Barry chuckled, but it seemed distant. "Thanks, Sara."

Kara frowned, lowering her drink. "Barry? You OK?"

"Yeah," he nodded absently, Oliver frowning and leaning forward to hear better. "It's . . . DeVoe."

Iris immediately reached for his hand on his other side. "Barry, we're gonna stop him, I know we will."

"No, that's not it," Barry shook his head. "He . . . "

He paused, gathering his thoughts, and Oliver put his drink down. "Take your time, Barry."

Barry sighed, noticing he had everyone's attention now. "There was nothing keeping him from going inside the meta wing and absorbing the powers of every meta in Iron Heights," he said. "Peek-a-Boo, Top, Weather Wizard. I mean, he could've stolen their powers and more, but he didn't."

"Why not?" Mon-El frowned.

"He only wants the bus metas," Barry answered. "He wants their powers for something, all of them."

"And the bus metas are . . . ?" Jax prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"When Barry came out of the speed force, a blast of dark matter hit a bus in the same location," Cisco answered. "All the people onboard gained metahuman powers."

"So DeVoe only wants the metas who gained powers from being on that bus?" James frowned.

Barry nodded silently. "Why?" Mick frowned after taking another swig of beer.

"Yeah, what's so special about their powers and no other metas'?" Dig wondered.

"We don't know," Caitlin shook her head.

"But we _do_ know a bus meta," Cisco gulped.

"You do?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Before anyone could answer, the door to the house swung open. "Hey, guys!" Ralph called cheerfully, entering and shutting the door behind him, still clad in DeVoe's clothing. "Sorry I'm late, just couldn't get this left glute to shapeshift back to its normal, perky – " He trailed off, seeming to notice just how many people were crammed into the house. "Wow, this is a lot of people," he stammered. "And why is everyone looking at me like I'm a dead man?"

Kara just looked up at Oliver, who quickly took a drink. "Ralph?" she guessed.

"Mmmhmm," he nodded.

"Oh," Ralph winced. "I remember you."

"Wonderful," Oliver drawled.

Lena raised an eyebrow, then looked up at the man sitting on the armrest next to her. "Queen's not a fan," Harry explained. "And when he got the others out of prison, he almost 'forgot' Dibny."

"Oh," Lena nodded in understanding.

"Ooo," Ralph perked up, seeing Kara. "Hello – "

Oliver cleared his throat, reaching for the knife that had been used to cut the cake. "Not another word, Dibny."

Ralph balked, and Sara burst out laughing. "Go Oliver," Lena snickered.

"I'll drink to that," Harry agreed, the two of them clinking glasses and drinking at the same time.

Barry smiled at the lightheartedness his friends had quickly turned the moment into, and Iris smiled, leaning against him as refills on champagne were handled by Ray and Cisco.

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen_**

"So the fastest man versus the fastest mind," Oliver mused as Barry walked with him, Kara, and Sara back towards the _Waverider,_ where the rest of their teams were gathered to head back to Star City.

"Nice ring to it," Sara nodded.

"We'll get him," Barry said confidently. "Eventually."

"And you know if you ever need help, you've got us," Sara told him.

"So noted," Barry nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Sara."

"No problem," she smiled, holding her arms out. Barry chuckled and hugged her, Sara squeezing him back. "See? It doesn't always have to be a crisis when we all get together."

Barry laughed as he released her. "Don't ever change, Sara."

"I never will!" Sara grinned, turning and heading back to the _Waverider._

Barry shook his head fondly, then turned to Oliver and Kara. "It meant a lot for all of you to be here," he told them with a smile. "Even if it was just for a day."

"It was nice to be here when there wasn't a crisis," Kara smiled.

"And it's good to see you out of prison," Oliver told him. "You didn't deserve that. So do me a favor, Barry?"

"Go for it," Barry nodded.

"Get this son of a bitch," Oliver requested. "He's not a speedster, but you can get him. And you better, with or without our help."

Barry smiled widely. "I think I can do that."

"Good," Oliver nodded, holding out a hand.

Barry just held out both arms, and sighing, Oliver resigned himself to a hug. "Thanks, man," Barry whispered in his ear.

"Any time," Oliver whispered back, clapping him on the back.

Barry turned and had his arms full of Kara in no time. "Show Reign who's the boss of National City, OK?" he told her.

"Will do," Kara giggled, squeezing him tightly. "Good luck, Barry."

"Thanks," Barry released her. "You, too. Both of you."

They nodded, and Kara slipped her hand into Oliver's, the two of them heading back to the _Waverider._ Barry backed up so he joined his own team on the porch of the house. As soon as the ramp shut behind the Emerald Archer and the Girl of Steel, the _Waverider_ took off into the sky, invisibility shield shimmering into place. Barry sighed, watching his friends go as he wrapped an arm around Iris.

"Ray was right, though," Cisco said suddenly.

"About what?" Iris frowned.

"We really need a better name."

Barry laughed, along with Caitlin as Harry rolled his eyes. Oh, it was good to be home.

* * *

 _73% complete._

The brunette pacing back and forth behind the computer kept looking warily at the screen and checking her watch. It felt like the further along the download went, the slower the crawl was.

 _80% complete._

She took a deep breath and adjusted her cufflinks, straightening when she heard footsteps down the hall. She swiped the sealed card she had on the desk and walked over, plastering a smile on her face as the guard who had escorted her returned. "I just realized," she told him, glad her voice wasn't shaking. "I brought my sister's gift with me as well. I think I left it at security. I need to go get it."

"No need, ma'am," the guard shook his head, just like she thought he would. "It'll be best if I get it."

"Thank you." Her smile was a true one of relief this time. _At least another minute or so._ "She actually trusted me to get it here."

"I'll be right back," the guard told her, doing a perfect about face and returning the way he had come.

She waited until he was out of sight before hurrying back to check on the download.

 _89% complete._

Her phone quietly beeped, and internally cursing, she pulled it out, checking the text she got.

 _It can be extracted if it needs to be. All files we need are here._

She took a deep breath, checking the amount of time she had left on her watch, then looked out the office again. The guard still wasn't back. She checked the download again.

 _95% complete._

 _Nearly done,_ she sent back.

 _97% complete._

 _Then get back out here, quickly._

She rolled her eyes and stuffed her phone back in her pocket, just as the download bar lit up green.

 _100% complete._

She yanked the USB stick from its port, tucking it into her sleeve and adjusting her jacket before walking towards the door, just as the guard returned. "Here it is, ma'am," he said, holding out a wrapped box.

"Thank you for your help," she smiled, much more at ease now that her part was done.

The guard nodded as the woman carefully set the box down at the desk, then stood up and walked out the door. "Have a good evening, ma'am."

The woman saluted in reply, heading back the way she had come. She left the building without raising any flags at all, but she didn't relax until she made it to the black car she had arrived in. She made it to the driver's side door when it swung open for her, and she quickly ducked down into it, pulling the USB drive out and handing it off to the man in the passenger seat. "We got it all," she told him.

"Nice work," he nodded, plugging the drive into the laptop he had. "I think we just made it to the top of your father's Most Wanted list."

She snorted. "I think you know just as well as I do that the reason we're here is who's still at the top of that list, Lord."

Maxwell Lord snorted right back. "He's not going to like this, Lucy."

"No, he won't," Lucy Lane agreed as she drove the car out of the lot, hightailing it down the road away from her father's facility. "Do you have a better idea?"

Max sighed dramatically. "I just need to put up with you for a few more days. God help me."

"More than a few days, if I know the D.E.O.," Lucy shook her head.

Max finally pulled up one of the files, then whistled lowly. "Oh . . . definitely not," he shook his head, turning the laptop for her to see.

Lucy put the cruise control on, then turned to see what they were dealing with. As soon as she saw the picture of what looked like perfectly normal pieces of jewelry, she let out a loud curse, turning back around and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Oh, Dad . . . what are you doing?"

"From what I can tell?" Max exited out, skimming through the files. "Trying to kill America's golden girl."

Lucy gritted her teeth, putting her foot down on the accelerator more. "Yeah, we're not gonna let that happen. Get me the fastest route to National City, _now."_

Max was pulling up the navigation system before she started the command.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, there was a reason I put no POV on that last section. Had to make these reappearances a surprise! Welcome back Lucy Lane and Maxwell Lord to the Supergirl universe and the Arrowverse, and unless I really can't find a way to fit them in further, they'll be here to stay!**

 **So, if they're here, you can probably guess who I've found fitting enough to replace Lillian Luthor. I've also found it fit to change the episode title.**

 **The next time you'll see me update this, you'll see "Of Two Evils," my version of "For Good!"**


	55. Supergirl - Of Two Evils - Part One

**So if I had uploaded this when I actually finished part one of this, you would have all gotten this earlier today. However, as I wanted to make sure the entire episode flowed, I waited until I got all 15.5K words written out before I gave you the first part of what, I hope, is the start of a nice rewrite of "For Good," retitled "Of Two Evils," because really, between Sam Lane and Morgan Edge, who is the lesser of two evils?**

 **Lena meets Edge (again), Max and Lucy arrive in National City, and they reveal what General Lane is planning to the D.E.O. The question is, have they arrived too late to stop what's happening?**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

 _The world was burning._

 _Fires licked the air and rivers burned everything in their path, the black smoke rolling across the sky and blocking all light. From the darkness came Reign, a black woman in black and orange slightly behind her and to her right, another silhouetted Worldkiller behind them._

 _Reign's eyes lit up red –_

Kara woke up with a gasp, shooting straight up in bed, her heart racing in her chest. She swallowed hard, taking in gulps of air as she looked around fearfully.

The sheets next to her rustled, and Kara jumped when she felt a hand on her arm. "Kara?" Oliver frowned as he sat up, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Kara looked around again, her heart settling as she recognized her bedroom back on Earth-38. Nothing was burning, and it was still dark outside. Kara closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. "Breathe, angel," Oliver rubbed her back comfortingly. "What happened?"

Kara took a few deep breaths, reaching for his hand. Oliver took it with his free one, and Kara scooted closer to him. "Nightmare," she whispered. "It was the Worldkillers."

"Plural?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

Kara nodded. "I saw three of them."

"Power, Pestilence, and Purity," Oliver recalled from what Kara told him the priestess had declared.

Kara nodded again, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I couldn't make out one of them at all," she said. "The other one didn't wear a mask, but I couldn't recognize her."

"We'll get to the D.E.O. in the morning and figure it out," Oliver stroked her back. "OK?"

"OK," Kara agreed, her breath finally evened out.

"OK," Oliver nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "It's all right, angel."

Kara swallowed again, working moisture back into her mouth as she laid back down, Oliver settling next to her. She rolled over into side, and Oliver wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her closer. Kara rested her head on his chest, taking a few deeper breaths, Oliver's heartbeat strong and comforting in her ear, lulling her back to sleep.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"You OK, Oliver?" Mon-El frowned, he and the archer meeting each other as they came down opposite stairwells.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just a bad night of sleep."

Mon-El winced sympathetically. "Those suck."

"Tell me about it," Oliver agreed as they headed to where Kara, J'onn, and Winn were.

"The Worldkillers are still out there," Kara was saying.

"The city has been quiet ever since your mission to Fort Rozz," J'onn shrugged.

"Yeah, I mean, we've been trying to track Kryptonian heat signatures, but all we're coming up with is you and your cousin," Winn nodded. "Which, I will say though, is nice, because I know where he is."

"They're not reading like Kara?" Oliver frowned in confusion.

"Probably because they're not like her," Mon-El theorized. "They may have been created on Krypton, but these Worldkillers are not, strictly speaking, Kryptonian."

"Mon-El's right," J'onn nodded. "Nothing about them follows a pattern we recognize. Reign didn't need a yellow sun or a Fort Rozz to retain her powers."

"Yeah, and the way she just shrugged off that Kryptonite?" Winn added.

"Don't remind me," Oliver grimaced, Mon-El patting his shoulder sympathetically.

"Sorry, man," Winn winced as well, then perked up. "Hey, maybe they were genetically modified?"

"Now that's possible," Mon-El nodded thoughtfully. "The Legion's fought many hybrids that were created in labs designed to have maximum destruction."

"Well, Reign said she left Krypton right before it exploded," Kara frowned. "If they've been here all this time, what have they been waiting for?"

"Maybe . . . " Winn tapped a few keys, and a chill went down Kara's spine as the image from Mon-El and Imra's battle with Reign came up on the large screens. "For _her."_

"You know, when Krypton exploded, pods weren't the only thing that rained down on Earth," Mon-El paced, speaking as he thought. "So did Kryptonite." He nodded, settled with his thought. "Yeah, Brainy had to track some of that green stuff down when the Legion battled Zod."

Kara did a double take, and Winn jumped from his seat. "Um, rewind," the techie said nervously. _"Zod?_ Superman killed him."

"Resurrection is possible," Oliver said grimly, thinking back to the Lazarus Pit. "Wouldn't surprise me if Kryptonians had some way of it, too."

"And he was resurrected," Mon-El nodded.

"But that's the future," Winn bit his lip, nodding and trying to reassure himself. "We talked about that. So you're saying, basically, that the Kryptonite and the pods came at the same time?"

Mon-El nodded in confirmation. "Agent Schott, see if you can pull our records of those meteor showers and map their spray pattern," J'onn ordered. "There might be a way we can locate exactly when these Worldkillers first arrived."

"On it," Winn nodded, heading back to his station.

Kara sighed, looking up at the footage again. "Reign will be back," she said quietly. "Soon."

"What's she waiting for?" Oliver frowned.

"Or what's she doing?" J'onn thought as well.

"Well, wherever she is, she's planning her next move," Kara shrugged.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"So you were a doctor before you joined the FBI?" Sam asked to cover her nerves, dressed in a medical gown.

"Yeah," Alex walked in behind her, leading her towards the MRI. "I was gonna be a researcher, so I had a job, actually, up in Seattle for a while. And then, as it turns out, I needed a little more action than just a microscope and an Excel spreadsheet."

Sam smiled as she sat on the bed, Alex putting a foam pillow up by where her head would be. "Well, thank you very much for doing this."

"You're sure it's OK that we use the L-Corp lab?" Alex asked for clarification.

"I am," Sam nodded. "No one will be here for a while." Alex nodded, turning to get set up. "Sorry, I just don't like hospitals. Hate being sick, hate tests."

"Well," Alex turned back, holding a pillow. "MRIs don't hurt."

"OK," Sam bit her lip, moving to lay down.

"All right, put your legs," Alex told her.

Sam adjusted her legs, letting Alex put the pillow under her. "So, I looked up my symptoms," she swallowed nervously. "Memory loss, headaches . . . it could be really bad. Like, brain tumor bad, ALS."

"You know what else causes memory loss?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Caffeine withdrawal. _Yikes."_

Sam giggled. "Right."

"Which is why we're taking pictures, OK?" Alex continued, putting a blanket over her. "We're gonna find out what's going on, and when we do, we're gonna deal with it, whatever it is. OK?"

Sam smiled, nodding. "All right."

"OK," Alex nodded back, walking out.

Sam watched her leave, then took a deep breath as Alex booted up the machinery.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"Lena!"

Lena looked up as she approached the corner, and smiled when she saw James walking her way. "Jimmy!" she smiled back. "Good morning."

"Morning," he returned, the two walking side by side the rest of the way down the street. "Where are you off to?"

"Vironique's," Lena answered with a smile. "It has the most overpriced egg Benedict in the city, but most people thank me later when I suggest it. Would you like to join me?"

"It sounds great, but I'm not sure if I have time," James shook his head. "I have an editorial meeting at ten o'clock."

"Oh, right," Lena nodded, remembering that on her calendar. "Would you like me to join you?"

James gaped like a fish for a few seconds, then cleared his throat. "I mean, you can, but I can handle it."

Lena raised an eyebrow, trying to decide if she should be amused or offended. "You don't want me to join."

"No!" James hastened to say. "As the owner, of course you're welcome to join. It's just that, to be honest, I think the staff gets a little self-conscious when the big boss is just kinda sitting there staring at them."

Lena smirked. "So you're saying the only way they could be more intimidated is if I had Slade and Malcolm as silent bodyguards."

James exaggerated a shiver. "Exactly."

Lena laughed in amusement, but it was quickly cut off by a cold voice behind them. "Well, well, well." Lena stopped in her tracks by the stairs up to Vironique's, and she and James turned to see a very unwelcome figure walk down them. "I thought Vironique's had a hard 'no liberals' policy."

"But apparently they're fine with murderers," James retorted.

Edge clicked his tongue, walking right up to get in their space. "You know, Mr. Olsen, for a newspaper man, I'd like to think you'd be a little bit more considerate with your words. My lawyers can bury you alive for defamation of character."

"I don't know," Lena smirked. "Don't you have to have character to defame?"

"Ooo," James grinned smugly, not bothering to hide his amusement.

Edge just smirked back. "And the pot calls the kettle black. You know, Lena, I do love it when you talk tough, though."

Lena rolled her eyes as he walked past them to his car, and she turned to look after him. "You know, Edge, you act like a bully, but underneath it all, you are scared to death of a powerful woman you can't control," she accused, James turning to watch. In doing so, they missed the duo walking down the street their way, both of them slowing as they overheard what was going on. "You're so terrified, you would sacrifice kids, poison our water, do just about anything to kill me and get rid of the problem."

"And you got it wrong, Lena," Edge told her. "I like powerful women. Nay, I _love_ powerful women. But you're not a powerful woman. You're wasting away in that ivory tower, posing as Cat Grant, hoping that the gleam of liberal media is gonna somehow magically rub off on you. I don't have to kill you, Lena. You're already dead."

A low whistle sounded behind them. "You know, Cat Grant can annoy the hell out of anyone," a slightly familiar voice said, and all three of them turned to see a dark-haired man approach, wearing a dark grey peacoat over black dress slacks and a dark green button-down shirt. Lena was surprised to see James do a double take when he saw the smirking dark-haired woman that was with him, she in palazzo pants and a glossy emerald blouse, matching the man's color scheme except for the black coat she wore. "Clearly you don't know her very well, because if you did, you'd know there's no way anyone could ever pose as her," the man continued. "They'd just be wasting their time."

Lena frowned, wracking her brain to figure out why this man was so damn _familiar_ when Edge straightened, narrowing his eyes to slits. "Mr. Lord," he greeted coldly. "I thought you left National City after that mind control fiasco a few years back."

"Well, I did," the man shrugged, and Lena's eyes widened when she realized this was Maxwell Lord, the CEO of Lord Technologies, and the man who had been behind some of Kara's biggest problems in her first year as Supergirl. "But I suppose, as the cheesy saying goes, home is where the heart is." He paused, then mockingly pointed between Lena and Edge. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?"

The woman behind Max snickered, and Edge gave him a nasty glare. Max just raised an eyebrow, not daunted at all. Edge finally sneered and turned his glare on Lena. "Enjoy the eggs," he snapped. "They're mediocre, you'll fit right in."

Max's eyebrows raised, but Lena snapped first. "Burn in hell, Edge!" she barked.

"I hear the company is fantastic," Edge countered, then glared at the valet in the driver's seat. "Come on, what, are you napping in my car? Let's go!"

The valet scurried out, and all four watched as Edge got in his car and drove off without a care in the world. Finally, Max turned to his companion. "I take it back. The files really _didn't_ exaggerate."

"What the hell are you doing here, Lord?" James narrowed his eyes.

Max raised an eyebrow. "It's wonderful to see you, too, Mr. Olsen. Thank you for such a _warm_ welcome back to the city."

"James," the dark-haired woman stepped forward as James opened his mouth again. "Please. That was two years ago. We don't have time for this."

"Lucy," James began.

"It involves my dad," Lucy interrupted, and blinking, James shut his mouth with a click. "It's why we came back to National City."

"We?" Lena asked, looking between them.

"Let's just say we have common goals," Max nodded, looking James in the eye. "It involves your girl in blue."

James tensed, and Lena looked at her fellow CEO sharply. "What about her?" she demanded.

Max and Lucy exchanged wary looks. "Nothing good."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Eve Teschmacher_**

Kara hummed to herself as she walked to her desk, checking her phone for any new messages. When she found none, she put her purse by her chair, then stopped when she saw the small white box next to her keyboard. She blinked rapidly, then looked around. "Hey, Eve!" she called, and the assistant looked up from her work. "Who brought this in?"

"Oh, they had it down at reception," Eve answered with a smile. "I thought I would bring it up for you."

"Oh," Kara blinked, taking the box and opening it up. "Did it have a card or anything?"

"No, just a note that said it was for you."

"Huh." Kara narrowed her eyes at the box, then lowered her glasses slightly. A quick second scan revealed nothing dangerous, and Kara saw the outline of something that made her do a double take. She opened the box and carefully took out a black velvet box, unclasping the gold latch and opening it.

Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the red crystal earrings inside in the shape of flowers, set in gold, lying inside. "Whoa," she breathed, tracing over the earrings with one finger.

"Wow," Eve's eyes widened. "Those are beautiful!"

"Yeah," Kara agreed, blinking rapidly as her vision swam slightly. "They are." She shook her head, trying to clear it, then put the earrings down. She would put them on in a few minutes. "Thank you, Eve. I'll see if I can figure out who bought these later."

"Maybe it was Oliver?" Eve suggested. "A work surprise?"

"Maybe," Kara considered. "He's more of an in person gift giver, though."

"Ah," Eve nodded. "Well, good luck."

"Thank you," Kara smiled, picking up the box and heading for the restroom to change her earrings out.

Eve watched her go, a small frown on her face, then turned back to her computer, dismissing the small red flash she saw in Kara's eyes as a coincidence. It could have easily been a glint off her glasses.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"How's it going, Winn?" Oliver asked, leaning against the center console.

"The same as it was thirty minutes ago," Winn sighed, leaning back in his chair and spinning to face him. "I've got the entire planet to search, but I'm searching."

"Kara and her cousin both landed in the United States, though," Slade mused, frowning thoughtfully as Malcolm and Laurel skimmed through tablets to update themselves on what had happened on Earth-38 so far. "Would that narrow the search?"

"Maybe," Winn shrugged.

"Sir," an agent approached quickly, eyes wide. J'onn looked up from his tablet expectantly, and the agent swallowed. "Major Lane is here."

Winn almost fell out of his chair. "Lane?" J'onn repeated sharply, making the Earth-1ers look at each other in confusion. _"Major_ Lane?"

" _Lucy_ Lane?" Winn asked for further clarification.

"Yes, sir," the agent confirmed.

"Oh, dear," Winn mumbled, straightening up in his seat. "This can't be good."

"Is she here with her father?" J'onn asked with a scowl.

"No, sir," the agent shook his head. "She came here with one person . . . Maxwell Lord."

Oliver's eyebrows shot up. Now that he thought about it, those names sounded vaguely familiar. Behind him, Winn whistled lowly. "Oh, boy."

J'onn seemed to brace himself. "Let them in."

The agent nodded and left, speaking into his comms device. "How do I know those names?" Oliver asked out loud.

"Major Lucy Lane is the daughter of General Sam Lane, US Army," J'onn answered, placing his tablet on the console. "And he is . . . "

"Xenophobic," Winn said helpfully.

J'onn sighed. "A little more tact when Major Lane arrives, Agent Schott?"

"What?" Winn protested as Malcolm and Laurel exchanged suspicious looks. "He is!"

"And I know it," a clear voice rang out, and everyone turned as the pair walked in, escorted by a quartet of agents. "I know exactly what my father is," Lucy nodded to Winn. "And it's not nice." She smiled at J'onn and gave a sharp salute. "Director."

"Major," J'onn nodded curtly, holding out his hand. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has," Lucy agreed, shaking his hand. "I apologize for coming on such short notice."

"It's certainly a surprise," J'onn said, eyeing the man with her. "Given present company as well."

"If you're worried about me attempting to bring down your golden girl, Director, don't be," Max shook his head. "I made my peace with Supergirl a long time ago."

"I admit, Mr. Lord, you were helpful with the Black Mercy, creating a cure for your own problem, and during Myriad," J'onn narrowed his eyes, and Oliver tensed, making the connection. Judging by Slade and Malcolm shifting to keep the man in their sights, they made it as well. "But I am also keeping in mind the trouble you caused Supergirl and the D.E.O. before that all happened."

Oliver had to give the man credit, he didn't so much as flinch. In fact, he just raised an eyebrow and put a hand in his coat pocket. "Peace offering?" he suggested, pulling something out and pitching it to J'onn.

The Martian caught it with quick reflexes, every D.E.O. agent in the vicinity drawing their guns, Slade beating them to it. Max wisely placed his hands in the air, waiting expectantly. J'onn examined the spherical object in his hand, narrowing his eyes. "This is the Omegahedron that powered Fort Rozz and Myriad," he identified.

"The good General Lane gave it to me," Max nodded in confirmation. "Wanted to know if there was any possible way to weaponize it."

"Weaponize it?" Oliver repeated sharply.

"Director," Lucy stepped forward, swallowing. "I've been keeping an eye on my father ever since Myriad happened. When Project Cadmus went down, and when he heard Supergirl and Superman played a part in it, he started planning something. When Max was brought back into it, we knew something was wrong."

"Then Reign showed up," Max nodded. "And if we thought he was paranoid before . . . "

He let the sentence hang. "When we had enough intel to get even the slightest idea of what he wanted to do, we went to get what we could, bring it back here," Lucy told J'onn, reaching into her sleeve and pulling out a USB drive. "And what's on this . . . " She shook her head, swallowing. "I think my dad's gone insane."

"It's that bad?" J'onn looked at the drive like it was an envelope that carried anthrax.

Lucy nodded numbly. "We're on your side for this, Director," Max told him.

After a moment, J'onn held his hand out for the drive. "Stand down," he ordered. The agents around the room did as commanded, Slade narrowing his eye before doing the same. "Agent Schott," J'onn turned around. "I want everything on this drive, now. If Major Lane and Mr. Lord are to be believed, this comes before our current problem."

"Yes, sir," Winn took the drive from him.

"So on a scale of the alien bar to Lillian Luthor, how accepting is General Lane of aliens now?" Malcolm couldn't help but ask sarcastically as the Earth-1ers drifted over to join them.

Max snorted. "He'll make what Cadmus attempted look like mosquito bites."

"That'll be quite the feat," Oliver remarked.

Lucy frowned, looking at him. "I'm sorry, I don't think I recognize you from before."

"You wouldn't," J'onn shook his head. "Lucy Lane, meet Oliver Queen. Kara's fiancé and partner in crime."

The look of surprise on Lucy's face was so comical that Winn laughed before coughing to hide it. "Oh," was all she managed to say.

"So she knows?" Slade smirked as Laurel burst out laughing.

"She knows," J'onn confirmed. "As does Mr. Lord."

"Nice to meet you," Oliver nodded politely before giving Max an iron glare. "If you so much as look at her the wrong way – "

"I'm either getting an arrow, a sword, a scream, or a bullet of some kind in me," Max guessed. "I've heard nonstop griping about the new vigilantes in town. It gets a bit old."

"Well, the arrows are first in line," Oliver smirked. "Then it's swords, and then it's screaming."

"Debatable," Laurel shrugged.

Oliver gave her a look. "She's my fiancée."

"She's our little sister," Slade deadpanned.

"Then you're next in line."

Lucy cleared her throat. "I'm confused."

J'onn sighed. "Meet Slade Wilson, Malcolm Merlyn, and Laurel Lance. They're on Oliver's team, but have adopted Kara as their little sister."

"And they're scary as hell if you piss them off!" Winn looked past Oliver to address them. "Just saying!"

"Noted," Lucy sized the three of them up.

"Maybe we can unleash them on your dad," Max suggested.

"I'm not opposed to that."

"Whoa!" Winn's eyes bugged wide open when he saw what was on his screen. "Holy . . . wow!"

"Agent Schott?" J'onn prompted. "What problem do we have?"

"OK, we have way more than a problem," Winn swallowed. "We've got _hell."_

"Told you," Max said simply.

"Winn, what is it?" Oliver asked.

Winn gulped. "I don't have everything yet, but from what I can see . . . a plan to rip Supergirl's good image to shreds, and take her down with it."

Laurel's eyes narrowed to slits as Slade and Malcolm growled. "How?" Oliver demanded.

Winn braced himself, then clicked on a media file. "It revolves around _these."_

Oliver frowned when he saw the red crystal earrings on screen. "What?"

"Those aren't crystals," Lucy said grimly.

"It's Red Kryptonite," Max nodded, making Oliver blanch. "And I don't know if we got here in time to stop it from arriving or not."

"Red Kryptonite?" J'onn demanded, turning to Max. "You know how the public turned against Supergirl the last time she was infected with it!"

"That's exactly the argument I gave General Lane when he demanded I make more," Max shot right back. "I said if he wanted to hurt her, go for the green stuff. He actually wanted that _later."_

"Later?" Laurel echoed.

"After the Red K took effect," Max nodded, pointing at the earrings. "The Red K in those earrings is an improved formula he had me make."

"So what symptoms are we looking for?" Slade asked.

"Well, the good news is you won't be dealing with an immature brat who's going to go around thinking she's queen of the world."

"That's the good news?" Winn snorted.

"The bad news is you'll be dealing with a Kryptonian just as violent," Max continued. "And this Red K is designed to bring out her violent side."

"How so?" J'onn asked.

"Here," Lucy moved over to Winn's station, her fingers flying over the keys. "Unfortunately, my dad was very cryptic in his work, so we can't say exactly who he's going to hit."

"Going to hit?" Malcolm looked at her sharply.

"This Red Kryptonite draws some negative emotions out, but what it really brings out this time is emotional attachments," Max answered, and several gazes immediately turned to Oliver, who closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What we've gathered is my dad plans to make a hit on someone close to Supergirl while she's under the influence of Red Kryptonite and make someone else take the hit," Lucy explained. "So when Supergirl, Red-K influenced, goes after the wrong person – "

"As violent as the last time this happened, may I add," Max added helpfully.

" – in front of National City," Lucy continued, "he gets the chance to put her down."

"Put her down," Laurel growled. "You make it sound like he thinks she's a rabid dog!"

She kicked the thing closest to her, which happened to be the main command console, and Malcolm raised an eyebrow when she cursed. "Did that help?" he asked.

"No," she grumbled.

"Did that hurt?"

"Yes."

Both yelped when Slade smacked them each on the head. "General Lane is taking a huge risk, though," Oliver frowned, ignoring the three bickering vigilantes behind him. "He's assuming the Red Kryptonite works, he's assuming Supergirl will react like he wants her to, and he's assuming people will support him killing her. I mean, Supergirl has saved the world _twice."_

"He's bonkers," Max shrugged.

"When Reign came, it was like the last straw for my dad," Lucy nodded. "He's started thinking that whatever makes Reign the way she is will infect Supergirl and Superman, too."

"That's not possible," Winn shook his head.

" _We_ figured that out," Max nodded between himself and Lucy.

"I _tried_ to tell him that," Lucy added. "But Dad's lost it."

J'onn sighed. "Do you have any idea when this attack will happen?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "All we know is that it'll happen around when these earrings get delivered to Kara."

"We ran into Mr. Olsen and Ms. Luthor on our way here," Max said. "We told them the basics of what's going on. They know what to look for."

"Good," J'onn nodded, turning to Oliver. "Check her loft, see if anything's arrived there."

"You got it," Oliver nodded, walking past them.

"Agent Schott, monitor every government vehicle coming in and out of the city," J'onn ordered. "I want to know the second General Lane enters."

Winn nodded nervously, turning back to his computer. "Here we go again," he mumbled.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor_**

Kara opened her notebook, skimming through what she had written regarding the Albatross Bay attack, when she heard a strangled noise from nearby. Blinking, she looked up, only to see James looking at her like deer in headlights. "Something wrong, James?" she tilted her head.

"Uh, no," he cleared his throat. "No, just . . . nice earrings. Are they new?"

"Oh, yeah," Kara nodded, reaching up to touch one of them. "They were left at reception for me. Eve brought them up to surprise me."

" . . . ah," James weakly nodded, then cleared his throat again, looking around everyone that had gathered for the meeting. "OK, let's get started. Investigative team, what do we have?"

"DOC rounded up most of the prisoners who escaped Albatross Bay during Reign's attack except Thomas Coville," Kara answered, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the name.

James nodded. "Let's see if we can get a quote from the warden on the record. Art department," he looked over. "What's up?"

"The Parks Conservancy is having a black-tie gala tonight," Lena answered, walking in. "All the city's major donors are gonna be there." As she did, she paused when she saw James microscopically nod towards Kara. Lena casually looked at her friend, almost faltering when she saw the crystal earrings she was wearing. She plastered her smile back on her face, however, and leaned against the table. "I feel like an ace reporter would be able to find a story."

Thankfully, Kara didn't seem to notice she found anything wrong, as she smiled right back. "OK, you guys heard the boss," James said, and Lena noticed Kara tense next to her. "Who's headed to the gala?"

Kara whipped around suddenly, one hand flying into the air. Lena jumped when keys smacked into her open palm, and Kara's fingers curled around them, her eyes narrowing angrily. "I got a story for ya!" Edge's voice yelled, and Lena whipped around to see the man walk into CatCo, fuming in fury.

James blinked rapidly, seeing his suit torn and dirty in places, his hair mussed up like he'd been in a fight. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked in disbelief.

"I survived!" Edge snarled.

"Survived what?" Kara scowled.

"An attempt on my life!" Edge snapped. "How about this – why don't you try 1,500 words on how this deranged, trust-fund baby hacked into my car and tried to steer me off the edge of this damn city!"

Lena did a double take, then grinned. He couldn't be serious, could he? "Wait, wait . . . you're accusing _me_ of trying to kill _you?_ Oh, that's rich."

"Look, whatever happened to you, Lena had nothing to do with it," James told him.

"Yeah," Kara scowled, and both James and Lena looked over at her, noting the unnatural sneer she had in her voice when she spoke. "So why don't you just turn around and go accuse one of the other fifty people who despise you in this city?"

"She shows up where I have breakfast, hangs out at the valet stand just a little bit too long, tells me to go . . . what was it, 'burn in hell?'" Edge accused. "And then somehow, mysteriously, my car steers itself off the road, explodes into the water. Coincidence? I don't think so."

"I don't put hits on people no matter how much I despise them," Lena scoffed.

Edge nodded sarcastically. "That's right. You like to do the dirty work yourself." He walked forward, glaring daggers into her. "Here I am, sister. Why don't you man up and finish the job?"

Before he could move any closer, Kara smoothly stepped in his path, close enough that Edge backed away in surprise. "How about you find the exit?" she hissed, eyes narrowed to slits as she kept walking forward, making Edge, still surprised, back up as well. "Or would you like me to help you find it?"

Edge finally found his footing and straightened, glaring past her to Lena. "You better get ready to finish what you started, because you wound me up and I'm not gonna rest until it's over," he spat. "And I never lose. Got it?"

Kara actually reached out and shoved Edge away with enough force to make it look like she was angry, not a superpowered alien. Edge stared at her in shock, along with everyone else in the room. "Exit," she pointed. "That way. _Now."_

Edge ground his teeth, glaring daggers at her. Kara seethed right back, and had Edge been looking really closely, he would have seen red flashing in her eyes. Neither noticed James silently take a picture of the earrings she wore before texting on his phone.

* * *

 ** _Maxwell Lord_**

Lucy looked down at her phone when it chirped. She pulled it out, checking the message, and she paled drastically. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Max walked up to her, the others turning to see.

Lucy just swallowed and zoomed in, then held up her phone. "Dad's already started."

Winn balked when he saw the glittering red crystals Kara wore, and Slade closed his eye, seething. Max just turned to J'onn. "I don't suppose I can borrow a lab to get to work on adjusting that gun to the cure I've got?" he asked.

J'onn didn't even try to argue. He just nodded to one of the agents, who peeled off down the hall, Max following after him.

* * *

 **A/N: If it seems like Lane's plan involves grasping at straws, that is pretty much exactly what he's doing. Hopefully, however, you guys like where this is going!**

 **Next part will be coming tomorrow morning!**


	56. Of Two Evils - Part Two

**Alex and Sam find out what's going on, the Red Kryptonite gets a tighter grip on Kara, Lucy takes a small trip, and Lena speaks with our favorite Team Arrow guys.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor**_

"He's gone," Kara announced as she walked back into the main office, Lena cradling her face in her hand, James pacing restlessly. "And security knows better than to let him in again."

"He's not gonna come back and try again in person," Lena said. "This was an uncharacteristic outburst. I've never seen him so angry. He's gonna come back at me twice as hard. This is never gonna stop!"

"But you're not the one who's trying to kill him," Kara pointed out.

"No," James agreed. "He's tried to kill Lena plenty of times and she's never retaliated."

"So someone out _there_ is trying to kill him," Kara nodded.

"He's got no shortage of enemies. But, like you said," James addressed Lena, "this is uncharacteristic for him. Edge is too good at covering his tracks to have somebody build a case against him."

"I mean, we don't even have enough for a damning story," Kara added, glowering at the thought. Oh, how she would love to write that story to get her friend closure.

"We should really be focused on this car hack," James decided.

Kara frowned. She really wanted that story, damn it. "Yeah," she finally nodded. "You're right."

"I'm just tired of this cycle of violence, OK?" Lena threw her hands up in exasperation. "I just want these threats, these attacks, these recriminations – you know, I've seen it ruin my mother's life and my brother's. I just want it to stop."

"Well, that's what we're here for," Kara stood up, walking over to Lena. "Let your friends help you."

Lena stared at her long and hard before nodding silently. Kara smiled back and gave her a hug, which Lena tentatively returned. As she did, she exchanged a look with James, who looked just as worried as her.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"So what do you see?" Sam asked as Alex watched the scans load.

"Nothing," Alex answered after a moment.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Well, it's neither good nor bad," Alex looked closer at the images. "It just means that whatever's causing the blackouts isn't showing up on the images."

"OK," Sam sighed, looking down at her hands. "So where do we go from here?"

"We send the images to an expert along with some bloodwork," Alex turned to her, pulling on plastic gloves. She raised an eyebrow, taking a closer look at Sam's face. "Are you OK? What are you thinking?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired of all the lying," Sam nodded. "Lies to Lena about my whereabouts, about the press conferences and the board meetings, and the earnings calls, and just . . . all of it. I lie and I tell her that everything's fine."

"I thought you told her about the work trip?" Alex asked, wrapping a band tightly around Sam's arm.

"I told her that my adopted mother was in the hospital," Sam admitted. "So, that's a lie on a lie on a lie."

"So maybe it's time for some truth," Alex suggested.

"The truth is that I'm becoming a burden," Sam told her. "To Lena, to L-Corp, to you, to my friends, to my daughter. I don't wanna be that person." Alex nodded somberly, and as she took off the cap of the syringe, Sam gulped. "I'm afraid of needles," she confessed quietly.

"It's really not that bad," Alex assured her. "I'm gonna make it painless."

Sam winced, turning away. "Can you go quick?"

"OK," Alex nodded, inserting the syringe into Sam's vein. She watched the woman's reaction as she drew the blood, then grinned when it was done. "Hmm? See? Painless. Your being sick isn't a burden to anyone. Lena might be your boss – hang on to that," she added as she put a cotton ball on where she drew the blood. Sam nodded, reaching over to hold it in place. "But she's also your friend. So, maybe you should try letting her in."

"Alex, I've handled everything on my own since I was sixteen," Sam told her. "Ruby, college, work, everything. Been white-knuckling my whole life. It's bad enough I included you in all these problems. So, I'm . . . I'll be fine."

"I know what it's like to be afraid to let other people in," Alex informed her as she wrapped gauze around Sam's arm. "I have always been used to dealing with things in my life on my own. So, after Maggie and I broke up, the thought of talking about it was terrifying. But Kara being Kara, she wouldn't let me shut down. She forced me to let her in so that we could figure things out together. That's the only way that I'm getting through any of this." Well, she wasn't about to add that being the Black Wolf was a nice way to let out her emotions as well. "And I am not about to let you make the same mistake that I almost made."

Sam swallowed, then nodded jerkily. "OK," she whispered, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'll talk to Kara and Lena today."

"Now _that,"_ Alex grinned, holding up a plastic-wrapped orange candy. "Is a good choice."

Sam giggled. "I get a lollipop?"

"You get a lollipop," Alex confirmed.

"I'll take it," Sam decided, taking it and unwrapping it, popping the sweet in her mouth. "It's my favorite."

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

"She's got them?" Oliver demanded as he returned to the D.E.O.

"Not only that," Laurel nodded grimly. "She's _wearing_ them."

"And James just confirmed that it's already affecting Kara," Lucy sighed, hanging up her phone. "Morgan Edge just accused Lena in front of everyone of trying to kill him, and Kara not only threatened him, but physically made him leave."

Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel simultaneously groaned. "Can this guy seriously lay off her for once?" Malcolm rolled his eyes to the sky.

"Well, here's what he looks like," Lucy flipped her phone around, showing him the whole picture.

Winn's eyebrows shot up, and Laurel grinned. "Tell me who did that to him. I wanna give them a thank you present."

"Warn James and Lena," J'onn told her. "General Lane could happen at any moment. And recall Alex to the D.E.O.," he added to Winn. "The closer all of us are, the less of a target there is out in the open."

"Dad wouldn't try to hit anyone here," Lucy agreed. "That's too much noise."

"What about James and Lena?" Oliver asked in concern.

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

Kara growled as she hung up. "OK, that was my source at NCPD," she said, turning around. "They just salvaged Edge's car and there's no sign of tampering."

"You think Edge did this himself?" Lena asked incredulously. "Why? To frame me?"

But James was shaking his head. "Edge is crazy, but he's not suicidal."

"Well, whoever hacked his car, it's above and beyond anything the NCPD has ever dealt with," Kara shrugged.

"What about the guy who hacked Maxwell Lord's limousine and tried to drive him off a cliff?" James suggested.

"Yeah, I thought of that guy, too, but there's no connection to Edge," Kara sighed.

The door to the office opened, and all three looked up as Eve entered. "Ms. Luthor," she smiled, holding out a take-out cup. "The usual."

"Thanks, Eve," Lena smiled thankfully, and Eve beamed at her before leaving. When she was gone, the smile faded from Lena's face. "Guys, listen, we've been at this for hours," she glared at them, standing up and heading outside for some fresh air. "How do we not have any leads?"

"Maybe we're barking up the wrong tree," James suggested as Lena took a sip. "Well, we can start with the attempts on your life, and maybe that'll get us into Edge's inner circle and look for new suspects – "

He cut off when Lena gave her cup a suspicious glance, then promptly collapsed, coffee spilling on the ground. Both Kara and James stopped, watching in horror as Lena foamed at the mouth, spasming on the ground. "Poison!" Kara ran to her side, taking her glasses off. "Go! I've got her!"

James ran back into the office, pulling out his phone and texting as he yelled. "Eve! _Eve!"_ When the blonde hurried back in, James sent the text off and looked at her. "The coffee," he began.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Olsen," she blinked. "Did you want one, too?"

"No, where did you get it from?" he asked.

"The cart, where I always get it," Eve answered in confusion, and James burst past her.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Hey," Alex jogged into the D.E.O., a confused look on her face. "I got the recall message. What's going – " She faltered, eyes wide as she took in the brunette woman that turned. "Lucy?" she asked.

"Hi, Alex," Lucy swallowed, not sure how she was going to explain this.

"When did you get back?" Alex demanded, Oliver looking for his phone when it beeped. "What's going on?"

Oliver blanched when he checked the message. "Oh, my God."

"What?" J'onn turned to look at him.

"It's James," Oliver swallowed. "Lena's just been poisoned, Kara's flying her here right now."

"Alex!" J'onn barked, and the agent immediately sprang into action, barking out orders to prepare for Lena's arrival.

"You were right," Lucy swallowed. "Everyone should have been here."

"Lena better survive this," Slade growled softly.

"Or National City isn't gonna survive a Red-K Supergirl," Winn agreed.

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

James burst out the CatCo doors, approaching the coffee cart Eve mentioned, but when he found no one there, he whipped around, searching. A bearded man in black, a few yards away, immediately took off when he was spotted, and James chased him at once. He jumped over the rails, then dropped to the ground when the man fired bullets at him. He looked up to see the man run through a construction zone, and James turned in another direction, glad he knew National City by heart after a few years of being there and being the Guardian.

He caught up to the man easily, crashing into him and through tables at the outdoor café. The other man got to his feet first, James just getting up as the gun was aimed at him.

A sniper's shot cracked in the air, and James faltered, seeing the man collapse, but no bullet wound at all. He blinked, surprised, then dropped down. "What did you give her?" he demanded. _"What did you give her?"_

But the man didn't respond, and when James checked for a pulse, he found none. Stunned, he looked up and around, then pulled out his phone to call the police.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"What happened?" Alex asked as Kara flew into the D.E.O., a stony look on her face as she carried Lena to the gurney rolled her way.

"Edge tried to poison her," Kara answered as everyone else ran up, Lucy keeping back. "It was in her coffee."

"Two hundred milligrams phenobarbital, stat," Alex ordered the doctors around her.

"Come on, Lena," Kara bounced up and down on her heels, eyes narrowed as her friend kept choking and jerking.

"Kara," Oliver put a hand on her shoulder, hesitating when he felt how tense she really was. "She'll be OK."

"Two liters of saline, run it open," Alex ordered, Max emerging from the hallway to join Lucy, the major biting her nails anxiously. "I want a radial artery line and two red tox."

"Blood pressure, 70 over palp," one of the nurses told her. "Pulse is 30 and falling."

"I need to know what poison he used," Alex turned to Kara.

"I don't know," Kara shook her head helplessly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Mustard gas, cyanide, strychnine," Malcolm rattled off poisons at the top of his head, trying to help Alex.

She leaned down and lifted Lena's mask, sniffing her breath. "Almonds," she declared, standing back up. "That's cyanide. Fifty mils of sodium thiosulfate!"

"How long has it been?" Malcolm looked at Kara.

"About two, three minutes," Kara answered, checking her watch.

"Cyanide is circulating through her system," Alex checked Lena's pulse. "Her brain and her heart are going to shut down."

"Well, do something!" Kara finally shouted, making Oliver wince and Laurel jump.

Surprised, Alex looked at her in shock. "I need to slow down her circulation in order for this to work," she finally stammered out.

"Well, how do you slow it down?" Kara demanded.

"Induce hypothermia," Malcolm answered.

"Then move!" Kara practically shoved her sister out of the way.

Alex stumbled, still looking at Kara with wide eyes. "Let her do it," Slade held out his hand, stopping the other nurses from approaching.

Kara used her freeze breath over Lena, only stopping when Malcolm put his hand on her shoulder. "That should be enough," he told her.

Kara stopped, licking her lips anxiously, looking up at the monitor showing Lena's vitals. "Come on, come on, come on," she fidgeted nervously. "Come on, Lena . . . "

Lena's temperature dropped, and so did her heart rate, both returning to normal. "Normal sinus rhythm," Alex smiled.

Kara practically collapsed in relief, and Malcolm laughed, patting her on the shoulder. "Good job, almas."

"Thanks," Kara nodded, looking Lena over one last time before walking past the gurney.

"Kara!" Alex ran after her.

"Don't," Laurel grabbed her hand, just stopping her.

"Kara!" Oliver hurried after her, and Kara stopped, hearing his voice. "Where are you going?"

Kara turned, narrowing her eyes, red flaring in her pupils. "To pay someone a visit," she answered in a clipped tone, turning around and shooting off into the sky.

Oliver watched her go helplessly before turning around. "Please tell me we've got a cure."

"Halfway there," Max answered, and Alex did a comical double take when she heard his voice. "It won't take long to finish now."

"Cure?" Alex asked sharply. "What cure? And what the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too, Agent Danvers," Max smirked.

"What is going on?" Alex looked around. "What is happening to my sister?"

Oliver sighed. "We've got a lot to catch you up on."

* * *

 ** _Morgan Edge_**

Edge walked across the top of the parking garage to his car, paying no attention to the wind whistling behind him. He did when a heavy weight smashed into him, and he yelped in surprise. "You're a hard man to get an appointment with, Edge," Supergirl snarled, grabbing him by the throat and hauling him towards the railing.

He grunted, trying to shove the Kryptonian off him, but she just yanked him over the edge, dangling him by his knees. "Let me go!" he yelled, seeing the bottom of the garage beneath him.

Supergirl just chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really want me to do that?"

"OK!" Edge yelled when she loosened her grip just slightly. Supergirl tugged him back, and Edge panted, leaning against the rail. "What do you want?"

"You poisoned Lena Luthor," she accused.

"No, no, no, no," he shook his head rapidly. "That doesn't sound like something I would do."

"No, you get people to do your dirty work for you, and then you kill them before they can talk," she sneered.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Edge glared at her. Had Supergirl gone off the deep end or what?

Supergirl smirked. "Then you'll be happy to know she survived."

Edge glowered. "No," he told her. "Actually, I despise her. There's a lot of other people in this city who'd be happy to rid this place of a Luthor. Maybe you wanna dangle one of _them_ over the side of a building before you make an enemy out of me." Supergirl narrowed her eyes, and then Edge found himself dangling over the railing again, this time literally by Supergirl's pointer finger and thumb holding on to his belt. "All right, OK!" he cried. "All right, OK! OK!"

Supergirl pulled him back, and Edge shook his head, dazed. "See, that's where you're wrong," she hissed. "I _am_ your enemy, Edge. So, you better tread carefully." She threw Edge against his car, and his head smashed into the glass. As he collapsed on the ground, Supergirl strode away, cape billowing in the breeze. "Because if anything happens to Lena Luthor, I _will_ find you . . . and you won't be walking away from that."

Edge groaned in pain, weakly looking up in time to see Supergirl shoot into the sky, leaving him crumpled on the ground.

* * *

 ** _Lucy Lane_**

Lucy walked into the lab where Max was working, seeing him bent over the same gun that was used to deliver the cure to Kara last time she had Red Kryptonite poisoning. She took a deep breath, walking over to him. "Alex says Lena will wake up soon," she said.

"Mmmhmm," Max nodded noncommittedly, paying attention to his work.

"Kara still isn't back yet."

Max finally looked up, lifting his safety glasses. "And how soon will it be before we get a call saying Supergirl attacked Morgan Edge?"

"Probably soon," Lucy admitted.

"Wonderful," Max griped.

"Basically," Lucy nodded in agreement, sighing and looking down at the gun. "We should have come here sooner."

"There's no way we could have proven your dad was up to something if we came sooner," Max pointed out, leaning against the table. "We had bits and pieces, nothing solid."

"All we had when we came here was the Red Kryptonite earrings," Lucy countered. "We had no idea who my dad would target. Oliver was right – my dad's assuming too much."

"Well, he got Kara's emotional attachment to Lena guide what she's doing right now," Max shrugged. "She went after Edge, like he expected. And if that's not the Red Kryptonite speaking, I'll eat this gun."

Lucy smirked. "You don't have to do that."

"Good," Max nodded. "Because I don't know how I'd do that."

Lucy sighed, running a hand over the gun, desperately hoping it would work like it did last time. "How did the two of us ever get here?"

"Well, I settled whatever I had with Supergirl after she saved the world twice," Max shrugged. "And your dad's gone off the rails."

Lucy snorted. "What a team we make."

Max grinned at her. "Not a bad one, I don't think."

"No," Lucy agreed, smiling. "Not bad at all."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"She's still not back yet?"

Oliver looked away from the railing as Mon-El and J'onn approached, and he sighed, shaking his head. "No," he answered. "She's probably still threatening Edge."

"Well, from what I've heard about him, he probably deserves it," Mon-El shrugged.

"That's why Malcolm, Laurel, Dinah and I did the dirty work when he poisoned children," Oliver said darkly. "If Kara's doing it, and if it gets out to National City . . . "

J'onn watched Oliver shake his head, then looked out at the sky. "This world is a crazy place right now," he said. "People are acting, reacting, escalating behaviors."

"Like Morgan Edge and Lena," Oliver scoffed.

"Like Morgan Edge and Lena," J'onn agreed. "What our lawmakers are doing, sniping at each other, going round and round in circles, it's not doing any good. It reminds me of Mars before the civil war. But, like my father said then, there is great power in being the calm at the center of the storm. A beacon to show the way. Supergirl is here to remind us on Earth about what's best in ourselves."

"But if she puts that aside for one moment, one day, to go after Edge," Oliver palmed his face. "Is that worth it?"

Before J'onn could answer, a blur of blue, red, and blonde flew past them. "Whoa!" Winn spun around, seeing her zoom down the hall. "Hello!"

Kara left again in a second from the room Lena had been placed in, and Mon-El watched them leave. "Well, hopefully Lena being alive will be better than if she was dead."

Oliver sighed, then nodded in agreement.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena groaned, trying to force her eyes open, feeling like they'd been shut with cement. "What happened?" she mumbled, finally getting them open.

"Hey," James moved to help her sit up. "Just take it easy, OK?"

Lena winced and nodded, taking the glass of water Kara offered her. "Why do I feel like I've been hit by a truck?"

"You were poisoned," Kara answered, sitting down across from her.

"It was the coffee," James nodded. "Kara got you to the D.E.O. in time and saved your life."

"Malcolm said it's best for you to rest," Kara added.

Lena swallowed hard. "It was Edge, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Kara nodded.

"Has he been arrested?"

"No," James sighed. "He didn't do it himself. He hired a hit man, and now that hit man is dead."

"So Edge is gonna get away scot-free again?" Lena asked incredulously.

"For now," James confirmed.

Lena scoffed, standing up. "You know, Reign was right. Scumbags like Edge need to be put down, OK? He wants a war, then he's got one. I'm the only one who can protect myself."

Kara surprised her by staying silent. "No, Lena," James shook his head. "You do not win this by being a killer."

"Yeah, James?" Lena raised an eyebrow coldly. "Maybe you don't know what I am."

"Do we have any leads?" Kara interrupted them.

James cleared his throat. "Uh . . . yeah. Yeah, we weren't able to find any fragment of the bullet. No exit wound, no shrapnel, nothing, no casings."

"So it just vanished?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's some really weird futuristic technology," James confirmed. "But if we can find out who can manufacture a bullet like that, we can find the shooter."

"Lena," Kara stepped forward, and Lena did not like the burning look in her eyes. "I give you my word, Edge will not get away with this again."

"OK," Lena nodded, giving her a weak smile. "I feel better."

"Good," Kara smiled, giving her a hug.

Lena hugged her back, but on the inside, her mind was going a million miles a minute.

* * *

 ** _Lucy Lane_**

"Major Lane?"

Lucy looked up from her tablet to see Lena walking towards her. "Just Lucy, please," she smiled, walking over. "What can I do for you?"

"James said the shooter left behind nothing of a bullet," Lena told her. "Was that right?"

"Yes," Lucy confirmed. "Why?"

Lena swallowed, then pulled a file out from underneath her coat. "Is there any way your father could have gotten his hands on this?"

Lucy frowned, opening the file. Her face drained of color as she read over the specifics of Evanesce Project, designed to manufacture dissolving bullets. She took a shaky breath, closing the file. "Follow me."

Lena did without hesitation, and Lucy led her down to Max's lab, the man aligning a few crystals. Lucy waited until he was finished, then knocked on the door. He looked up, then stood up straight. "Ms. Luthor," he greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"We need to look through those files we found," Lucy said, handing him the Luthor Corp file.

Curious, Max opened it up, and as he read the report, he narrowed his eyes. "The hitman."

"Yes," Lena nodded.

Max handed the file back to her, moving to the computer he had nearby. "I got the drive back from Agent Schott," he said, logging in. "I just need to pull up its contents . . . " He skimmed through the files uploaded, then let out a low whistle. "Well, no specifics here, but I did find this."

He turned the screen to them, and Lena swallowed, seeing the blank file that opened up. "Evanesce."

"Looks like dear General Lane was in cahoots with a Luthor," Max nodded.

"He always was Cadmus's number one supporter," Lucy glared down at the file, shaking in rage.

Abruptly, she turned on her heel and headed out. "Hey!" Max shouted after her. "Where are you going?"

"To find my dad!" Lucy shouted back, storming down the hall, opening the file again, gaze zeroing in on the location of where the production happened.

* * *

 ** _Lucy Lane_**

Lucy looked up at Thundercorp Labs building in front of her, then took a deep breath, walking inside. She passed a forklift going past, recognizing army camouflage around her. She walked further into the building until she found who she was looking for. She stopped a few feet away, bracing herself. "Hello, dad."

Sam Lane turned around, frowning when he saw her. "Lucy," he nodded, seeming surprised. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"I didn't expect _you_ to be here, either," Lucy countered. "Why are you back in National City, Dad?" She eyed glowing green rock being sorted out nearby. "Come to kill Reign, I assume?"

Lane scoffed. "That demon demolished Supergirl like she was an ant under her boot."

"Which is why she's the one you need to go after," Lucy countered. "Reign hasn't been seen since Albatross Bay. Have a plan to lure her out?"

"She's Kryptonian, Lucy," Lane shook his head, waving the men he was speaking with away. "If one of them can be such a monster, so can the rest of them. They all need to go."

Lucy stared at him incredulously. "You really try to see the worst in all of them, don't you?"

"I see the truth," Lane retorted. "It's what I keep telling people, Lucy – Kryptonians are dangerous. Myriad? Attempted by Kryptonians. Zod? Kryptonian. The Daxamite invasion? Daxamites _hate_ Kryptonians. By having them on our planet, we are sitting ducks unless we admit they're the problem and get rid of them."

Lucy scoffed, staring at her father in disbelief. "So you concocted a plan based on the faintest idea that Supergirl would be effected by Lord's Red Kryptonite and she would go after the first person she thought of after someone close to her was harmed."

"And it worked, didn't it?" Lane held out his hands. "All that needed to happen was the right push, and the guilty party will take the blame."

Lucy frowned at him before horror dawned in her eyes. "Morgan Edge's car hacking. That was _you?"_

"The rivalry between Morgan Edge and Lena Luthor is something everyone in the city knows," Lane smirked. "Including Supergirl, who seems to be very buddy buddy with Ms. Luthor. All that needed to happen was push Edge to the point he retaliated to kill Ms. Luthor."

"Except she's still alive," Lucy pointed out.

"I admit, it would have been more convenient if she died," Lane nodded, making Lucy gape at him. "But Supergirl will come for Edge again. And when she does . . . " He looked and eyed the Kryptonite being brought in. "We'll be there to show the world that every Kryptonian should be our enemy."

Lucy swallowed, knowing exactly where her father's thoughts were heading. "You're insane," she accused hoarsely.

"I'm realistic," Lane retorted. "And I'm trying to keep the American people alive."

Lucy chewed her lip, then nodded. "You do what you have to do, Dad."

She let him interpret that how he wanted, and when he smirked and nodded, she took it he wasn't going to keep her contained. She turned sharply on her heel and headed back out of Thundercorp Labs, pausing once she was a few yards away. She took out her phone, ending the recording she had been making, and sighed, slipping into the car waiting for her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat before quietly saying, "Let's get out of here."

Max silently nodded, peeling the car out of the lot and heading back to the center of the city.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena slowly walked out of the elevator into CatCo, trying to figure out what to do with the recording Lucy had made when James came up to her other side. "Hey," he frowned when he saw her face. "What happened?"

"We know what's going on," Lena took a deep breath. "It involves – "

"Hey, Lena." Lena looked up at her name, blinking when Sam nervously approached, followed by Alex and Kara. "Can we talk?"

Lena blinked, looking at her CFO worriedly.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Samantha Arias_**

"Sam, I'm so sorry you've been going through this," Kara told the brunette with wide eyes as they sat in CatCo's main office.

"I wish you'd have come to us sooner," Lena agreed from next to her. "You shouldn't have had to go through this alone."

"I know," Sam said miserably across from them, Alex sitting with her. "I'm sorry I didn't. I . . . I've always had to take care of myself, you know, and I guess I was just afraid that if I let you in . . . you know, let myself feel vulnerable, I would completely fall apart."

"Yeah, but falling apart is OK," Kara assured her. "'Cause you'd have us to pick up the pieces."

"Yes, if it were just me, then that would be one thing, but it's not," Sam took a shuddering breath. "When Ruby was first born, the nurse handed her to me in the hospital and she wrapped her tiny hand around my finger, and I just stared at her in awe. And I swore that I would _always_ protect her, no matter what." She gulped, her voice starting to choke as her eyes filled with tears. "So my greatest fear is that something will happen to me and I won't be around to protect her. All Ruby has is me. So, if I'm not here . . . if I'm not around, then what will happen to her?" She tried to smile, even as she started to cry. "I'm scared!"

"But we're your family," Kara reached out to take her hand. "And we're Ruby's family, too."

"And that little girl has got the fiercest mama on the planet," Lena added.

"And you got to remember you're not alone," Alex put her hand on Sam's arm.

Sam smiled through her tears. "You have no idea what that means to me."

"Well, good," Kara smiled back. "Because all we have to focus on now is getting you better."

"Yeah," Sam nodded, wiping tears off her face, smiling at Lena when her friend nodded to her.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena rubbed her hands together anxiously as she nervously paced one of the training rooms at the D.E.O., trying to calm her nerves. When the door opened, she turned around, hoping she didn't look like a total mess. "Hey," Oliver frowned in concern, stepping inside with Slade and Malcolm behind him. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Lena blew out her breath, nodding. "It's just . . . I needed to speak to someone, and Kara on Red K . . . I don't think that would have gone well."

"OK," Oliver nodded slowly, folding his arms. "Shoot."

Lena let it out in a rush. "I tried to kill Edge."

All three men blinked. "Good for you," Malcolm finally nodded, then winced when Slade punched him in the arm.

"When?" Oliver walked forward.

"After he poisoned the children and tried to frame me," Lena admitted. "I went to his office with a loaded gun and the intent to kill. The only reason he's still alive is he outsmarted me."

Oliver nodded. "OK," he told her. "Well, the good news is, you didn't. That is never something good to have on your conscience."

"Yeah," Lena nodded, licking her lips. "The other thing is . . . my mother's still around."

"I beg your pardon?" Slade blinked.

"Lena, unless she was a clone, Slade and I killed your mother," Oliver shook his head.

"Not like that," Lena shook her head. "General Lane was in league with my mother before. He used the plans for Lex Corp's disintegrating bullets."

"The hitman," Oliver seethed.

"Yes," Lena nodded, sitting down on one of the benches. "When I realized what my mother's legacy was doing, it made me realize two things about myself. One, I very well may be a killer."

"You'll have to work much, _much_ harder to accomplish that, Lena," Slade shook his head.

"Maybe not yet," Lena smirked. "But I do have the emotional range of Medea."

"And two?" Oliver asked.

"I'm smart," she smirked. "Cunning. Strategic. I think steps ahead of most people."

"I think the chess trophies Kara's bragged about seeing speak that for you, not plans for disintegrating bullets," Malcolm snorted, then blinked when Slade glared at him. "What?!"

"So you think steps ahead," Oliver folded his arms. "What are you thinking?"

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara packed up her things to go, then looked up when a TV broadcasting the black-tie gala appeared in the main office. She walked over curiously, then picked up the remote and unmuted the screen. _"Of course I'm happy to be here, Simon,"_ Edge was telling the reporter. _"I donated $10 million to the Parks department so our beautiful city could have more trees. After all, who doesn't like a little more oxygen, huh?"_

Kara narrowed her eyes, flickers of red going through her pupils as she focused on Edge accepting a lanyard from someone. National City news was going to be covering the gala, with all of National City's elite there.

What a perfect place for a confession from Morgan Edge.

* * *

 **A/N: This Red K version of Kara was much more fun to write than it was to see her in 1x16.**

 **Next time, it's Team SuperArrow trying to save Supergirl and take down both Edge and Lane!**


	57. Of Two Evils - Part Three

**Guest: Not Oliver vs Kara this time, but there will be ally vs ally action. Regarding the Red Kryptonite affecting her, this version works a bit differently than the Red K from Season 1. Max explains what it is in the first part.**

 **Team SuperArrow tries to save Supergirl and bring Edge and Lane down. Luckily, they've got a bit of help.**

* * *

 _ **Lena Luthor**_

"She's gonna confront Edge at the gala?" J'onn asked in surprise as everyone convened back by the main console.

"She'll get him to do it in front of all the heaviest hitters in National City," Lena nodded. "Everyone will see the Girl of Steel be just like she was when she was Red K-ed before, scaring the living daylights out of a civilian. That's more the vigilantes' style than hers." She paused, then winced. "No offense."

"None taken," Oliver smirked.

"That was a compliment," Laurel chuckled.

"So we need to get to the gala first and get a confession from him before Kara gets to him," Winn nodded.

"And when she shows up, we hit her with the cure," Max walked up. "I just finished running a few tests. It's raring to go."

"My father will be there, too," Lucy warned. "He'll be there to take her down."

"So we'll be trying to hit her with the cure while she's trying to avoid being killed by Lane," Oliver frowned, tapping a finger on the console. "We'll never be able to keep up with her."

"Imra and I could try and help," Mon-El offered. "I mean, I don't know if we're fast enough to shoot Kara with the cure, but we could try and keep her in place, or keep the army off her."

Oliver, however, started to smile. "You don't need to be fast enough." He looked up, grinning widely. "We already know someone who would win in a speed duel against Kara."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"This is one thing I _don't_ regret leaving behind in National City," Max sighed as he and Lena approached the gala.

"What, you weren't a fan of giving National City more trees?" Lena snorted.

"Nah," Max rolled his eyes. "I swear I was more fake at galas like these than I ever was on camera."

"Right," Lena smirked. "Like you were never fake before?"

"Ouch," Max grinned.

" _Whenever you two are done flirting,"_ Lucy griped over the comms.

" _Did you find him?"_ Laurel asked.

"I don't know," Lena frowned. "Look for the shiniest red dress, and I'm sure you'll find the mouth-breather Edge behind it."

Max stopped, then pointed. "Try shiny red _lipstick."_

Lena rolled her eyes in disgust when she saw Edge, then sighed when she saw the man in a suit standing nearby. "I should have known about the ear piece."

Max smirked. "Good thing a few others had an idea." The guard suddenly smacked his neck, blinking down at his hand when he didn't find a bug. He jerked again, swatting around himself. "Come on," Max grabbed Lena's arm, hustling her right past. "Smart," he said quietly under his breath.

" _He's gonna feel that later,"_ Malcolm said smugly.

"I've got two pools and a very large hot tub," Edge was sweet talking the woman with him as the two walked up.

"You know, you really should be careful of standing water," Lena smoothly inserted herself into the conversation, Max backing away to keep an eye out for Kara. "It's usually riddled with _disease."_

The woman eyed Edge nervously, who plastered a very fake smile on his face. "I'll catch up with you later." The woman moved off, and Edge hissed, "How in the hell did you get past my security?"

"I don't know," Lena tilted her head innocently. "It's almost as easy as poisoning a cup of coffee. That was low, even for you. At least crashing a plane had a certain kind of elaborate elegance, but _poisoning?_ That's just a coward's method."

"No idea what you're talking about," Edge brushed it off, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yeah," Lena nodded, smirking. "You know, I thought you'd say that, so . . . "

She slipped a slim object out of her purse, holding it up for Edge to see. "What is that, some sort of a weapon?" Edge asked. "A bomb? You gonna try to kill me in public?"

" _I wish."_

" _Shut up, wizard."_

"Magician!"

" _Will the two of you shut up?!"_

Lena's lips quirked as she tried to ignore Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel over the comms. "No," she said. "I'm actually here to save you."

"From who, yourself?" Edge asked sarcastically.

"Supergirl," Lena answered, making Edge pause. "She went after you tonight, didn't she? You see, she didn't hack into your car, but I know who did. And the person who did it has poisoned her with something that's effecting her mind. And because of it, she's gonna try and come after you again, right here, unless I find a way to stop her."

"Supergirl," Edge chuckled nervously. "America's golden girl, turning rogue to come after Morgan Edge? But why?"

"Because you screwed with her friend," Lena answered, looking up as the fireworks and light show began. "I know how to help her, but unless you confess, she'll come and get it out of you herself. She might even kill you for it, and I don't think either of us want that."

"I have nothing to confess to," Edge shook his head.

"Such a small thing considering your life may be on the line," Lena eyed him. "I mean, granted, you will spend the rest of it in prison, but let's not sweat the details. So me, or a mind warped Girl of Steel." She turned the recorder on, smiling. "Tick tock."

"You're insane, you know that?" Edge protested.

"Admit you tried to kill me," Lena countered.

"Incoming!" Max suddenly yelled.

There was a crash on the table next to them, and Edge and Lena spun around to see Kara stand from her crouch, in full Supergirl regalia. "I warned you I would find you, Edge," she smirked, stepping down off the table she smashed. "And here I am."

"The hell?" Edge scurried backwards, Lena hurrying to get out of the way.

"I believe Ms. Luthor asked you a question," Kara walked right after him, then glared at the guard who tried to stand between her and his client. "I'm not talking to you," she sneered, backhanding him and sending him crashing into a post nearby.

Max pulled Lena back. "Guys?" he reached up to touch his comms. "We could use some backup here!"

" _Alpha team is thirty seconds out,"_ J'onn responded.

"We need them here in five!"

" _Max,"_ Lucy cut in. _"My dad's already there."_

Kara barely turned when army vehicles drove up to the gala. "The waterfront," she told Edge, backing him up against the wall. "You remember that, don't you? It's the one you wanted for your development. You weren't very happy about that, were you? And then suddenly, missiles attack the statue unveiling. Coincidence?" she mocked him.

"Supergirl!" Lane yelled as he and his men swarmed, civilians hurrying to get out of the way.

"The lead poisoning," Kara continued, putting her heel on Edge's chest, making him wince as she stepped down on him. "Innocent children who swam in a pool got those symptoms. Except it wasn't Ms. Luthor's bomb that poisoned them. It was chemicals in the pool. And that night, you tried to send her into the water with a plane full of those chemicals. You would have poisoned National City's water just to frame a Luthor."

"Supergirl, stand down, or we will shoot!" Lane threatened.

" _Ten seconds!"_ J'onn called.

"We need them _now!"_ Max yelled.

"You thought she hijacked your car," Kara leaned down, getting right in Edge's face, eyes glowing ominously. "You wouldn't think otherwise. So you paid a hitman to poison her coffee. Poison's a coward's weapon, Edge." Her eyes glowed even brighter. "And if you won't confess, then so are _you."_

"Fire!" Lane bellowed, his men taking aim.

The temperature in the air suddenly decreased, and Lane's men went flying as an ice slide came from nowhere, knocking them off their feet. Caitlin glided down the slide, shimmering silver eyes narrowed as yellow lightning raced down as well. It hit Kara just before her heat vision hit Edge in the shoulder.

A breach opened up where Kara had stood, and Cisco and Ralph jumped out, followed by Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel. "Don't kill!" Oliver ordered, drawing an arrow and aiming at the army.

"No fun!" Malcolm scoffed, drawing an arrow of his own as Slade and Laurel raced forward.

Lena walked out from where she was hiding over to Edge as Barry sped Kara away. "Ready to confess?" she asked, holding out the recording device.

Edge fearfully looked over to see Mon-El fly into Kara so she wouldn't approach Edge again, Barry racing after them. He looked over at the four vigilantes, Caitlin, and Cisco holding off the army, Ralph using his powers to pull civilians away from the carnage, then gulped. "OK," he held up his hands. "I did it. All of it. The waterfront, the lead poisoning, I tried to kill you. I tried to cover my tracks. Just stop all this madness!"

* * *

 ** _Mon-El/Maxwell Lord/Oliver Queen_**

Mon-El and Kara faced each other in the sky, Kara glaring at Mon-El. "Let me have him," she growled.

"I can't let you do that," he shook his head.

"He tried to kill my friend!"

"That doesn't mean you can kill him!"

"Move, Mon-El."

He shook his head. "No."

" _Move!"_ Kara yelled, zooming towards him.

Mon-El braced himself, and when Kara crashed into him, they went into freefall to the ground. A crater formed in the pavement where they landed, and both hurriedly got to their feet. Kara spun around, using her x-ray vision to find Edge, when a forcefield formed around her, keeping her in place. Kara balked, using her fists to try and punch through the field, but Imra grimaced, keeping her hand outstretched. It was only when yellow lightning zipped their way did Imra lower the forcefield.

Kara immediately took off, tossing Imra aside as she flew back to the gala. Barry raced after her, running up another building and jumping onto her. Startled, Kara twisted to see who was on her. When she did, Barry pointed the cure gun at her and fired.

The red light hit Kara in the chest, and with a yelp, she crashed down at the gala. She spasmed as Barry continued to shoot her, Lena and Max watching hopefully. Finally, the Red Kryptonite seeped out of Kara and misted into the air, and Kara's eyes fluttered shut, the Kryptonian going limp on the ground.

Max walked over and bent down over her, pressing his fingers to Kara's pulse. He nodded in confirmation when he found one, then stood up. "She's fine," he announced.

A green Kryptonite bullet pierced a pedestal nearby, sending civilians scrambling. "But it was like she was two years ago!" someone yelled.

"Yes, it was," Max agreed, pulling out his phone. "But I have something you'll want to hear."

" _So you concocted a plan based on the faintest idea that Supergirl would be effected by Red Kryptonite and she would go after the first person she thought of after someone close to her was harmed,"_ Lucy's voice said as Laurel screamed, one army vehicle thrown end over end into another, Kara's eyes trying to open when she heard it.

" _And it worked, didn't it?"_ Lane's voice was next as one soldier went down with a cry, Slade whipping his sword out of his thigh and shooting another soldier in the shoulder, throwing his aim off. _"All that needed to happen was the right push, and the guilty party will take the blame."_

" _Morgan Edge's car hacking. That was you?"_ Malcolm launched an explosive arrow, the blast tossing half a dozen soldiers into the water.

" _The rivalry between Morgan Edge and Lena Luthor is something everyone in the city knows. Including Supergirl, who seems to be very buddy buddy with Ms. Luthor. All that needed to happen was push Edge to the point he retaliated to kill Ms. Luthor."_ Caitlin froze three soldiers' fingers to their triggers, Cisco blasting them head over heels and into the water as well.

" _Except she's still alive."_ Ralph wrapped his arms around two pillars, moving backwards until he was taut, then shot forward like a slingshot, curling his body into a ball and ramming into an entire squad of soldiers, leaving the route to Lane open.

" _I admit, it would have been more convenient if she died. But Supergirl will come for Edge again. And when she does . . . we'll be there to show the world that every Kryptonian should be our enemy."_

Lane drew his sidearm, only to tense as Oliver strode up to face him down, his emerald eyes as cold as ice. "You messed with the wrong woman, _General,"_ he snarled the title in disgust.

"General Lane poisoned her," Max explained, turning to glare at the general, seeing him facing off with Oliver. "A form of Kryptonite synthetically designed to bring out the worst in her. He's trying to turn your hero into someone she isn't, and he would have let two of National City's elite _die_ just to get what he wanted."

Lane sneered, turning to glare at him. "I thought we were on the same side, Lord!"

"I gave up my grudge on Supergirl after she saved the world," Max narrowed his eyes. "The moment that happened, I was never on your side again."

Lane growled. "So be it."

"Arrow, look out!" Cisco shouted.

Oliver looked up in time to see something soar down from the sky and start encasing Lane from head to toe. _"Holy crap, is that the Lexosuit?"_ Winn yelped. _"That is_ awesome!"

"And Lane wants to kill us with it," Laurel pointed out, Caitlin narrowing her eyes.

" _. . . it's gonna be awesome when you all freaking destroy that thing!"_

"Nice save," Oliver clenched his bow tighter.

Lane's head turned, and Oliver did as well, realizing Kara had risen to her feet, this anger entirely her own, not Red Kryptonite induced. "Suit's a bit much, don't you think?" she spat.

"Says the girl in the cape," Lane sneered.

Kara flew forward, but a blade of pure Kryptonite came out of the suit, and Kara yelped when Lane swiped at her, knocking her back into a lamppost. Oliver quickly ran to check on her, Laurel whipping around to face Lane. He drew back his blade to stab her, but one of the drones from the light show crashed into him, knocking him off balance. "I'm sorry," Mon-El tilted his head innocently as Imra flew to his side, Barry running to stand underneath them. "Did that hit you?"

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Max and Lena herded civilians inside the building, away from the destruction being caused outside, and both paused when Edge cornered them, an ice pick in his hand. "Give me the tape," he sneered. "Now!"

Lena narrowed her eyes, but the clicking of safeties being released behind Edge made him pause. "How about you give _us_ the pick," Lucy aimed the gun she held at his head.

Edge turned around, trying to find a way out of the problem, only for Joe with his sidearm to approach on one side, Harry with his rifle on the other. James, suited up as the Guardian, came to watch Max and Lena's backs. As soon as his back was turned, Lucy kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground. Lena wrinkled her nose in disgust, looking down at her rival. "Ass," she declared, using the toe of her heel to kick in him the head, knocking him out.

Joe snorted, lowering his gun as Lucy walked over to pick up the ice pick. "If half the things I've heard about this guy is true, that is the understatement of the century."

"Trust me," Harry walked forward, slinging his rifle behind him. "It is." He looked at Lena in concern. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," she promised, unable to keep a smile off her face. "Just my quarterly assassination attempt, you know?"

Harry smirked. "Why is it I'm always saving you from it?"

Unable to help herself, Lena reached up and kissed him. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara took a few deep breaths, then put a hand on Oliver's arm, giving him a steely look. He smirked, looking up at Lane. "Go show him who he messed with," he told her, backing up.

Kara nodded, and as Oliver backed away, she shot into the sky as Lane swiveled to face off with Mon-El and Imra. When the Kryptonian appeared behind him, he turned to face her. Kara fired her heat vision immediately, trying to melt the armor. Below her, on the ground, Barry started running in a circle, building up electricity fast. Getting the idea, Caitlin soared up to the Lexosuit's level, Cisco breaching himself onto the building closest. When Barry finally finished building up a charge, he threw the lightning he conjured at the Lexosuit, Caitlin shooting ice from her hands, Cisco firing energy blasts from his hands. Lightning, ice, and vibe blasts combined with Kara's heat vision tossed Lane out of the sky, and when he hit the ground, the Lexosuit fell off him in pieces, the general knocked out.

Lucy looked down at her father with no emotion in her eyes, and the others looked up as Kara, Mon-El, Imra, Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry returned. "Nice work," James complimented.

"Thanks," Barry grinned.

Kara just looked down at Edge, swallowing hard. "Supergirl?" Lena asked cautiously, walking away from Harry towards her.

Kara couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the man she had almost killed. "Supergirl?" Max prompted, Lucy coming to stand with him. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I . . . " She gulped, tears filling her eyes. "I remember everything."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Kara Danvers_**

"You know these charges are never gonna stick, right?" Edge ranted as he was led by the police in handcuffs, right past where Lena was standing with Harry, Joe, and Lucy. "You better run, 'cause when I get back, I'm gonna _crush_ you!"

"Well, you know where to find me," Lena's grin was all teeth. "My name's on the building!"

Edge sneered at her. "Careful," Max grinned as well as he approached, this time with Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel. "Your face might freeze like that!"

Lucy's laughter followed Edge as he was led to the police cruiser. Kara, now dressed more formally and out of her suit, sat by the fountain, arms around her knees, Oliver's arm around her. "It was Red Kryptonite again, wasn't it?" she asked faintly.

"It was," Oliver nodded.

"Rao, I'm going to kill Lord," Kara closed her eyes.

"If it wasn't for Lord, and for Lucy, we would've had no idea what happened to you," Oliver shook his head. "They worked together to bring what happened to the D.E.O., and the second he got the chance, he started working on the cure."

"I can't believe Lane did this," Kara looked down at her shaking hands. "Again."

"This is the end for him," Oliver told her. "He won't get to hurt you again."

Kara smiled faintly. "Good."

Oliver squeezed her shoulder as the others walked up. "This is CatCo's," Lena told Kara with a smile, holding up the recorder. "Although, I may have to expense them another one, 'cause I think the police are gonna wanna look at this."

"It's CatCo's," Kara managed a smile. "So, technically, it's your property."

Lena smiled, sitting down on her other side. "I'm not a killer," she announced. "You wanna know why?"

"Why?" Oliver humored her.

"Friends," she answered.

"Well, that's what we're for," Laurel grinned. "We get each other through the dark times."

"That we do," Lucy smiled, walking over to Kara. "And we have each other's backs, too."

"Even when it's against family?" Kara looked up at her.

"Especially when it's against family that deserves it," Lucy nodded.

Kara stood and hugged Lucy tightly, the major returning it just as tightly. "Thank you," Kara's voice cracked.

"You're welcome," Lucy rubbed her back.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

The entire D.E.O. stood at attention as army guards led Lane towards the garage, where he would be headed straight to prison. "You betrayed me," he growled, stopping by his daughter, who was standing with J'onn, Alex, and Supergirl.

"You shouldn't have tried to kill a friend in cold blood," Lucy countered, lifting her chin and staring her father in the eye, Max smirking behind her. "I would do it again if I had to."

"Burn in hell, General," Alex sneered. "You deserve to."

Lane took a threatening step forward, but stopped when the Green Arrow, the Dark Archer, Deathstroke, Black Siren, the Flash, Vibe, Killer Frost, and the Elongated Man came forward as well, all more than ready to throw another punch at the general who had dared to hurt someone on their team. "Take him away," J'onn ordered.

The soldiers tugged Lane off without further ado, and Kara relaxed as the man who tried to kill her went out of sight. "It's over," she said quietly.

"Yes," J'onn nodded as everyone joined them, Oliver putting his arm around his fiancée. "It's over." He turned to Lucy and Max. "It's been a pleasure, Major Lane. And you, too, Mr. Lord."

"Actually," Max folded his arms, rocking on his heels. "I was thinking I might stick around for a little while. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed that adrenaline rush."

"I agree," Lucy nodded and smiled, looking up at J'onn. "I could use a change of scenery for a while, and this base is much more my style than that base out in the desert. That's if you'll have me, Director."

J'onn chuckled, seeing Kara's eyes light up, Alex grinning. "I think we will, Major Lane. I could always use a third in command. Welcome back to the D.E.O."

"Happy to be back, sir," Lucy saluted crisply.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias/Alex Danvers_**

"Yes, thank you." Sam looked up fearfully as Alex finished speaking on the phone, Kara and Lena inching closer to her. Alex hung up, walking over to sit across from them. "OK, so, all the test results came back clear." Sam closed her eyes and leaned her head back, Lena patting her on the back as Kara smiled. "No tumor, no blood disorders, nothing. You are as healthy as an Olympic athlete."

"Really?" Sam asked, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands.

"Sam, this is a really good thing," Kara insisted. "All of the worst possibilities have been ruled out."

"No, I know," Sam nodded. "I know. It's just . . . I mean, if it's nothing, then what's happening to me?"

"We'll figure it out, OK?" Alex told her. "I promise. But for right now, just take the good news."

"Alex is right," Lena nodded. "Go home to Ruby, enjoy the now. Every second of this is important to you, and it's important to your daughter."

"OK," Sam sighed. "No, yeah, you're right. Thank you, guys. I honestly . . . " She reached over, and Kara and Lena took both her hands. "I don't know how I lived my life without you guys. Thank you."

She squeezed their hands, then stood up and left. Alex sighed, looking at Kara and Lena as the door closed behind Sam. "I'll figure it out."

"We all will," Lena agreed, Kara nodding in worried agreement.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor_**

"I was beginning to wonder if we'd see you before we left," Barry smiled as Kara, Lena, and Alex returned to the D.E.O.

"Wouldn't miss it," Kara shook her head, hugging her friend tightly. "Thank you, Barry."

"Any time," Barry smiled, patting her on the back. "Happy to help."

"Really," she looked over everyone from Team Flash that had come – everyone except Iris. "Thank you, all of you."

"Of course," Caitlin smiled.

"We got your back, girl," Cisco mock saluted.

"Good to see you back to yourself," Joe nodded.

"So," Harry raised an eyebrow at Lena as she walked up, Kara giving hugs to everyone else. "If we're doing this every 'quarterly assassination attempt,' that means I have to save you again in . . . what, three months?"

"Only three months?" Lena raised an eyebrow back. "So if I want to see you again, I have to try and get killed _every_ month now, is that what you're saying?"

"Well," Harry shrugged noncommittedly. "That depends on if you think it's worth it."

Lena smirked, walking up to him. "And if I think it is?"

Harry tilted his head back and forth. "I suppose you could convince me."

"Good," Lena smiled. "Because I think it would be. I don't kiss people just because they save me."

"If you did, I wonder if Danvers over there would be cheating on her fiancé," Harry snarked.

Lena rolled her eyes, reaching up to kiss him. This time, Harry kissed her back. "Oliver has nothing to worry about," she smiled. "I better see you again, mister."

"Not if I see you first," Harry smirked, walking over to join his teammates.

Lena snickered, watching him go, then groaned when she heard a wolf whistle. "Shut up," she glared at Laurel and Alex.

"Not a chance," the two women laughed.

"You know he's gonna get it worse back on Earth-1," Kara grinned.

Lena snorted. "Please. You three are bad enough."

"Not as bad if Thea were here," Laurel snickered.

The crackling of a breach made them all turn around. "See you around!" Barry saluted, the rest of his team waving.

"Good luck, Mr. Allen," J'onn nodded, the others waving back.

The members of Team Flash left through the breach, the blue grey portal shutting behind them. "You know," Lucy folded her arms, staring at where the breach had hovered. "I miss the days when all I had to deal with were things on _this_ Earth."

"Yeah," Kara grinned, looking over at her Earth-1 family. "And now I'm engaged to someone from another, and one of my surrogate siblings is from yet another."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "What has my life become."

"Uh, something _awesome,"_ Kara grinned, looking over the D.E.O. uniform Lucy was now wearing. "And I have to say, it is good to see you back."

"Thanks," Lucy smiled warmly. "It's good to be back."

Kara turned as Max approached, smiling at him as well. "You, too," she acknowledged the CEO. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem," Max shook his head. "I never liked Morgan Edge or General Lane, so any help I could give knocking them down a few pegs is worth it."

"And being your usual snarky self probably was worth it, too," Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Your words, not mine," Max held up his hands.

Kara snickered, then heard Winn whoop. "What's that, you ask?" he stood up from his station, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. "Has Winslow Schott, your favorite human on Earth-38, finally cracked the case, and maybe come up with a hot lead?"

Kara perked up in excitement, hurrying over. "What did you find?"

"I cross-referenced the meteor impact sites with news reports and hospital records to search for anomalies, and let's see what we came up with," Winn answered, using his tablet to bring files up, the combined Team Supergirl and Team Arrow coming in to see what he found. "This guy had super strength, but turns out he was just a Maaldorian. Then we have a Coluan, we have a Phorian, and then . . . there are these four." He pulled up four women on screen, all of them looking up. "There's no reason for these anomalies. They've survived horrific car crashes, falls off of cliffs. The doctors said it was unprecedented. Like a miracle that they are alive and completely unharmed."

"So two of these are our Worldkillers, huh?" Mon-El asked.

"Uh, maybe, yeah," Winn shrugged. "But which one, or _ones,_ is gonna take a lot more research."

While the majority of people's eyes were on the screens, Oliver's were on Kara, who was walking towards the screen as if in a trance, her eyes locked on one file in particular. "Kara?" he whispered. "You recognize any of them?"

 _The black-skinned Worldkiller, floating through smoke and flame, smirked darkly, her eyes pure white._

Kara swallowed, then pointed at the same black-skinned woman on the screens: Julia Freeman. "It's her."

"Her?" Winn repeated, blinking in surprise.

"How do you know?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Kara swallowed, Oliver taking her hand. "I just do."

"Good enough for me," Lena shrugged.

"So we have our purity or our pestilence," Malcolm's lips curled in a smirk.

"At long last," Slade smirked as well.

"So what do we do?" Lena looked at Kara.

Kara clenched her jaw, looking up at Oliver. He nodded his full support of her, and Kara took a deep breath, turning around to look at everyone. "We go get her," she declared.

* * *

 **A/N: Phew. So, how did I do? As long as everyone feels I had a decent plot that made sense and had characters that made sense and were . . . well, _in character,_ I'm happy.**

 **Also, yes, Lucy for sure will be sticking around at the D.E.O. Max will certainly have his uses later in the season, so we'll be seeing more of him, too. Hope everyone's good with that!**


	58. Supergirl - Both Sides Now - Part One

**Thank you to everyone for your patience! As some of you know, I am also on Wattpad, and during this long time away, I was working on a Doctor Who crossover with another author. Thank you for bearing with me while I finished the first parts of it. Don't worry, this series will _not_ be abandoned, not when I'm so far into it.**

 **The D.E.O. finds Julia/Purity, Kara and Alex have two very different ways of doing things and have to get refereed, and Mon-El asks for help from J'onn.**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"We're here."

Kara took a deep breath, then swooped down to land amongst the D.E.O. vans parked outside Julia Freeman's house. The moment she touched down, the D.E.O. strike team along with J'onn, Alex, Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel poured out of the vans, Mon-El landing on the ground a second later. No words were said among them as Kara led the way up to Julia's house, the rest of the team falling in behind her.

J'onn looked to the side and pointed at Mon-El and Laurel, then pointed off to the left of the house. Mon-El nodded and raised his hand, some of the D.E.O. soldiers peeling off and following him, Laurel jogging after him. J'onn looked at Malcolm and nodded, and the two men led more of the soldiers to the right side of the house. That left Kara, Alex, Oliver, and Slade at the front, the four of them approaching the door.

"OK," Winn's voice came over the comms from where he was in one of the surveillance vans, Lucy with him. "We've got one heat signature inside . . . no movements. Look like we might catch this Worldkiller off guard. But be careful in case she's as bad as Reign."

"Copy that, Telle," Kara nodded, taking a deep breath. "Watch our backs."

"You got it."

Kara bit her lip, then planted one foot on the door and smashed it inwards. Oliver and Slade were in immediately, weapons drawn and aimed. Kara and Alex were behind them, Alex's alien gun up and ready to fire. The D.E.O. soldiers swarmed in after them, and Kara looked around, not seeing any sign of Julia. "Telle, what's your twenty on the heat signature?" Alex asked.

"Looks like a back room," Winn answered.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Mon-El and Laurel slowly moved through the kitchen, only to slow down further when they heard a female voice singing. They did a double take, exchanging surprised looks, then saw J'onn and Malcolm come from the other side. As soon as J'onn heard the singing, his face scrunched up in bewilderment. "Is that Lisa Loeb?" he asked.

"I thought the target's name was Julia Freeman?" Mon-El blinked.

"It is," Malcolm frowned.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen/Malcolm Merlyn_**

Kara perked up when she heard the singing, she and Slade both moving forward at the same time. The eight heroes met up and emerged in the living room, where a woman was kneeling on the ground, headphones over her ears, singing and swaying like no one else was in the room, eyes closed. "That's our Worldkiller?" Laurel asked in disbelief.

"Is that her?" Oliver asked, looking at Kara.

Kara took a few steps forward so she stood in front of the woman. "Yeah, that's her, all right," she confirmed.

"Huh," was all Malcolm had to say, looking at Julia in confusion.

Alex and J'onn, however, gestured for Kara to get her attention. Kara timidly nodded, then bent down, slowly reaching out for Julia. Just before she touched her shoulder, Julia's eyes opened. The moment she saw the heroine in front of her, she let out a bloodcurdling scream, flinging her headphones off and scrambling backwards until she was pressed up against the wall. Kara jumped back as Alex and Slade raised their guns, Oliver and Malcolm reloading their bows. Laurel's eyebrows just climbed higher, signaling her surprise at the woman in front of them. "Supergirl?" Julia stammered. "The vigilantes? What – what are you . . . what are you doing here?"

"Are you Julia Freeman?" Kara asked, slowly walking forward.

"Yes," Julia answered, eyes flicking around nervously. "What do you guys want from me?"

Satisfied, Kara turned back. "Stand down," she ordered. Oliver, Slade, and J'onn complied, Malcolm a bit slower, and J'onn turned to reinforce the order. "It's OK," Kara insisted when Alex alone remained holding her gun up. Reluctantly, Alex lowered her gun as well, and Kara turned back to Julia. "Do you," she began, only to frown. "You don't know why we're here, do you?"

"No," Julia whispered, swallowing hard. "What's going on here?" Kara continued forward, looking at Julia in concern. Could she . . . could she have been wrong about this? "Supergirl, please, don't," Julia gulped. "Don't let them hurt me. Please."

Alex's jaw was clenched as she watched what was happening, and Laurel looked up at Malcolm, who was exchanging even more bewildered looks with Oliver and Slade. "This is our Worldkiller?" she repeated.

"No, no," Kara shook her head. "Don't worry. I won't." She held out her hand encouragingly, and biting her lip, Julia moved to take it.

That was when Alex raised her gun again, taking a threatening step forward. "Don't move!"

"Whoa!" Julia backed away quickly, Kara turning around and looking at Alex incredulously.

"Wolf!" Oliver looked at her sharply.

"You stay right there!" Alex snarled.

"Let's get her back to the D.E.O.," J'onn tried to calm everyone down.

"This doesn't feel right," Kara walked back over insistently.

"Guys," Laurel watched Julia warily as she scrambled to her feet, pressing against the wall as if she hoped it would swallow her, her eyes blown wide.

"She's right," Malcolm tried to cut in.

"I said _stay still!"_ Alex glared at Julia.

" _Guys!"_ Laurel shouted, eyes widening as Julia panted for breath, then threw her hands out to her sides.

Sound vibrations were immediately projected, and Kara tried to approach, only to grimace in pain and find herself stopped in her tracks. Mon-El and J'onn hnched over behind her, reaching for their ears, and Oliver and Malcolm doubled over, fists clenching.

That left only Slade, Laurel, and Alex mostly upright to see Julia's eyes snap open, now pure white.

Glass and electronics shattered all around them, forcing everyone to back up and cover their heads, trying to avoid being cut. The fire poker went flying past Alex's head, heading for Oliver, but Mon-El brought his hand up just in time, snatching it out of the air. Both men looked at the poker in surprise, then Oliver nodded his thanks, Mon-El nodding back.

When the vibrations stopped, J'onn made the first move, walking forward with the power-dampening cuffs in his hand. Julia screamed in his direction, unleashing a sonic scream similar to Laurel's and Dinah's that hit J'onn and catapulting him back and through one of the walls. She turned in the direction of a few of the D.E.O. soldiers, but Laurel jumped in the way. The two screamed at the same time, and everyone stared in a mixture of shock and horror as Julia's overwhelmed Laurel, the metahuman's eyes widening in surprise before she was thrown into the D.E.O. soldiers behind her, all of them falling to the floor.

Kara turned back around, and as Julia opened her mouth to scream again, she blew with all her might, freezing the entryway into the living room, Julia trapped on the other side. "J'onn!" she called desperately.

Malcolm and Mon-El went to help the collapsed men, Malcolm reaching Laurel first. "You OK?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded shakily, taking a few deep breaths as Malcolm put his arm around her. "What . . . what was that?"

Malcolm looked back as J'onn ran forward, phasing through the ice. "That was our Worldkiller," he answered grimly.

Kara reached out and tapped twice on the ice, then stepped back again as it started to crack. Alex waited in anticipation as Oliver and Slade tensed, waiting to see if they were needed. Both men relaxed as, when the ice shattered, they saw J'onn standing over Julia, the woman on the ground, her hands in the cuffs.

Alex sighed in relief as J'onn hauled the woman up. "That could have been worse."

"Says the one who made her attack us," Slade shot her a sharp look.

Kara just swallowed, Julia's pure white eyes making her feel far too uncomfortable.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"I met your KPis, and you're still under-performing . . . I'll call you back. Hey!"

Lena looked up from her tablet when she heard Sam hang up, and she turned to look at her friend, smiling. "Hey," she greeted back.

"What's up?" Sam asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Lena shook her head, looking at the phone Sam was putting away. "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "TYK Labs branch. I'm gonna have to replace a few people there."

"Oh, I can handle that," Lena waved her hand dismissively. "I've been away from L-Corp too long. I'm looking forward to getting back in and getting my hands a little dirty again." Sam looked at her incredulously, and Lena gave her a reassuring smile. "Sam, this has nothing to do with the way things have been running, believe me."

"But it's because I'm sick, though," Sam scowled. "You don't think I'm up for the job anymore?"

Lena raised an eyebrow, surprised her friend would even think that. "Sam, do you remember when we first met?" she asked, gesturing for her to sit as she took her own seat. "It was three 'o clock in the morning. We'd just acquired your company, and I was in charge of the takeover. You were a junior VP, and your light was the only one on in the office. I walked by, and I saw your head down over spreadsheets."

"Cross analysis report," Sam remembered, smiling fondly. "God, I was good at those."

"You were so focused," Lena chuckled. "And I thought, 'Her. I wanna work with _her.'_ Everyone knows how good you are at your job, Sam. You don't have to keep on proving it. With everything that you're dealing with in your life right now, I just wanna give you as little stress as possible."

"Lena, I can't take time off right now," Sam protested.

"Yeah, you can," Lena interrupted. "In fact, I am _ordering_ you to take today off. There is nothing here I can't handle, so go. Be with your daughter."

Sam chewed her lip, then finally smiled and nodded.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Whew," Alex sighed happily as the team walked through the D.E.O. "Purity is down, Reign and Pestilence to go, and it is only Wednesday."

"It's certainly been a good morning so far," J'onn agreed.

"Yes, and bonus points, the D.E.O. techs found _this_ at the Worldkiller's home," Winn gestured to what Max was examining. "It is a Kryptonian cache crystal, as you know, used to store sensitive information."

"I've seen crystals like this in the Fortress of Solitude," Kara nodded. "They contain elements of the Fortress itself, sort of like an artist's stamp."

"If we're going with that analogy, this crystal has a very different stamp, which means it has a very different home," Max told her.

"We might be able to pinpoint the location of the Worldkillers' headquarters if we analyze it," Kara realized.

Max nodded, and Alex raised her hands in satisfaction. "First round is on me," she announced.

"It better be," Slade grumbled under his breath, making Oliver give him a warning look.

Alex ignored him. "Winn, get your chicken wings."

"And I will have an unnecessary amount of chicken wings as befits a man of my stature," Winn declared.

"As long as I get those mozzarella sticks," Laurel smirked.

Kara nodded as if automatically, still gazing at the crystal. "Are you OK?" Oliver asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped as if realizing she was being spoken to. "You took a few blows back at the house."

"Oh, hey, you know what?" Winn snapped his fingers, turning to his computer and tapping on the keyboard. "I analyzed the frequency of the Worldkiller's vibrations when I was in the van. Turns out, it is tuned specifically to hurt Kryptonians."

"Of course it is," Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Luckily, the inhibitors in the cell seem to be working on her," J'onn eyed Julia as she came on the screen.

"Yeah, you do seem a bit off," Alex eyed her sister. "Maybe we should run some tests. Guys?"

"Yeah, sure," J'onn nodded, backing away.

"Absolutely," Lucy followed after him.

Oliver kissed Kara's cheek, squeezing her shoulder softly before following the others. "Thanks," Alex nodded.

"Break," Winn whispered, Max snorting as they left last.

Kara chewed her lip, folding her arms and stopping in front of Alex. "It's not the sonic blast that's bothering me," she said.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"Hey, J'onn," Mon-El turned to the Martian as they walked down the steps. "By the way, I need your help with something."

"Yeah?" J'onn raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Well, you know that our Legion ship is the only way home," he said. "And in about a day, we're gonna lose the ability to fly."

"That's not good," Malcolm frowned.

"Is there some way to fix it?" J'onn asked.

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded. "And I think the part might be in your ship."

"Whoa, whoa," Winn spun around, eyes wide. "You guys are doing spaceship repair? 'Cause I need to see that."

"You're busy," J'onn deadpanned.

"Oh, come on," Winn grinned. "The decoder, it's doing its thing. It's gonna take, like, five hours."

"And between him and me, who would you rather have around a spaceship like that?" Max pointed out.

Four identical snorts came from the Earth-1 vigilantes. "What confidence," Lucy teased.

"Fine," J'onn grumbled. "But you're coming back here the second there's a breakthrough with that crystal."

"Yes!" Winn fist pumped.

"And if you cause trouble of any kind," J'onn turned to glare at Max, "I will let these four race to get you out of here."

"Yes, sir," Max nodded, giving a halfway sarcastic salute.

"I'll watch him," Lucy snickered, following after Max as he returned to head back to the lab.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"That woman was scared before her eyes turned white," Kara told Alex, gesturing to the monitor with Julia on it. "She looked me in the eye and she asked me for help. It's like someone else took over her."

"Due respect, but what I saw in that house was a very capable liar putting on an act so she can get close enough to kill you," Alex shook her head, glaring out the one-way mirror at Julia.

"No," Kara argued. "No, I don't think she's faking it."

"You told me about the vision you had," Alex looked at her. "The world was _burning. That_ is the Worldkiller that you saw."

"Yes, but what if there's a part of her that isn't?" Kara asked. "If I can get her to be Julia again, doesn't that mean that there's someone we can work with? This?" She gestured wildly around them, to the computers and the cell. "This isn't telling us anything. Julia might."

Alex gritted her teeth. "We can try it your way," she told her.

"Thank you," Kara sighed in relief.

"And when your way fails, we try it mine," Alex finished her thought.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara walked into the room, approaching the cell Julia was in. "Hi, Julia," she greeted, hearing Alex close the door behind her. "You seemed really scared at your house earlier, and I totally understand that. And I'm here to help you." The woman in the cell chuckled, and Alex threw Kara a victorious look. "Julia," Kara began.

"That's not my name," she shook her head.

"OK," Kara tilted her head. "What would you like me to call you?"

"I am the scalding light," she answered, her tone piercing and cutting. "I am the flood that sweeps away sins. I am the word and cry of justice."

"Yeah, would you mind just condensing that a little bit?" Alex stepped forward.

"Alex!" Kara shot her an exasperated look. "Just – "

"Well, it's long!"

" _Alex!"_ She turned back around, walking up to the glass door, where the woman was smirking at them. "Hey. Hey, you were about to tell me your name. I'd really like to hear what you have to say."

"I am Purity," she answered, holding out her hands as if she should have known that.

"Nice to meet you, Purity," Kara nodded. "I'm gonna call you Julia, though. Is that OK? Just, I met her first, and she's who I'd really like to talk to, actually."

"Hmm." Purity smirked, sitting up and scooting forward on the bench. "Call me what you will, Kryptonian. They don't understand yet." She pointed, but not at Kara. "You do."

"Me?" Alex raised an eyebrow, pointing at herself. "Yeah. Yeah, I do," she nodded, walking forward. "I understand it just fine." She turned to look at Kara. "May I?"

"Alex," she sighed.

"See, I know that look," Alex pointed at Julia, then folded her arms. "You think that you're smarter than me, that you're stronger than me, which is fine. I mean, you're entitled to your own opinion. It'll change in time, though. Because, after days, weeks, _months_ in here, you're gonna feel like I peeled your skin off and saw everything underneath. You can call me Agent Danvers, Purity."

Purity just looked at them with unblinking eyes. "Julia," Kara tried again. "I know you're in there. If you can show yourself, I will help you."

"Or you can just tell us where Reign is," Alex said, and Kara closed her eyes, sighing in frustration. "I mean, that's why we brought you in here. Which was _super_ easy, by the way."

"Oh, ladies," Purity chuckled, looking between them. "How will you _ever_ make your minds up about me?"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Slade Wilson_**

From the room Kara and Alex had left, Oliver turned away from the computers with a frown, leaning against the table and looking at Slade, who was watching through the mirror. "OK, I get what you mean."

"It's like Malcolm said," Slade looked at his brother. "It didn't feel right. It was Julia first – "

"Then Alex got aggressive, and out came Purity," Oliver nodded. "So what do we do?"

Slade narrowed his eye, considering Alex as the two sisters exchanged tense looks.

* * *

 ** _Ruby Arias_**

Ruby hurried down the steps of Davis Middle School as Sam's van pulled up, and she opened the door, looking at her mom in surprise. "OK, _ice skating?"_ she asked.

"Uh, it's a mental healthy holiday," Sam told her as Ruby got in.

"Is everything OK?" Ruby asked in concern, taking her backpack off.

"Yeah, of course," Sam assured her. "I just miss seeing you, babe. I mean, it's been a rough couple months, I feel like we can both play a little hooky."

Ruby stared at her in shock. "Oh, my God, you're being serious."

"I'm serious," Sam confirmed with a grin. "Sound like a plan?"

"Hell, yeah!" Ruby grinned back.

"You get precisely one 'hell, yes' today," Sam informed her, putting the car back in drive. "I hope you enjoyed that."

"OK," Ruby bit her lip, trying to contain her grin as they drove off.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Malcolm Merlyn_**

J'onn pushed up the garage door, and as he, Winn, Mon-El, Malcolm, and Laurel ducked under to enter the garage, Winn all but squealed when he saw J'onn's disguised ship. "A Bel Air!" he gawked. "Oh, your ship is a _Bel Air?!"_

"Indeed," J'onn nodded, popping the hood open. "Two four-barrel carburetors, Duntov cam – "

"What's the mileage?" Winn asked eagerly.

"About 700 million," J'onn answered.

"You're into cars, Winn?" Laurel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, please," he scoffed. "If you can take it apart and put it back together, you better believe I'm into it. Ooo!" he reached down to look into the hood, and Malcolm smirked when J'onn smacked the techie's hand away. "Yeah, 'look, don't touch.' Got it."

"Why did you want to see my ship?" J'onn asked Mon-El.

"Well, the Moran battery in our cruiser died last week," he began.

"Your ship doesn't have any power?" Malcolm asked in surprise.

"Well, not entirely," Mon-El tilted his head side to side. "There's five power sources."

"But a Moran battery generates anti-gravitational field," J'onn said slowly.

"Which is how the ship flies," Mon-El nodded. "But if the circuits are without power long enough, they degrade."

"And turn into a pumpkin," Winn nodded. "Got it."

"So the only way to save it is if we use the Moran battery from your ship to regenerate the fuel cells in ours," Mon-El told J'onn, who nodded and moved over to find the necessary tools.

"So you need a jump," Laurel made the connection.

"Yeah," Mon-El confirmed.

"Easy," Winn smiled, then his eyes lit up as J'onn disconnected the battery. "Ohohohoho, now _that_ bttery looks like it packs a punch! Can I hold it?"

"No," J'onn deadpanned.

"OK," Winn hastily ducked his head as Laurel grinned at Malcolm, the assassin rolling his eyes fondly.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Julia Freeman," Kara read off the file she held, pacing in front of Purity's cell, the woman leaning with her back against the glass. "No birth certificate, adopted in 1993 by Lawrence and Molly Freeman. Let's see what it says . . . " She chuckled when she saw the first thing. "Allergic to milk. Studied music at the Cincinnati Conservatory."

"Doesn't Julia sound nice?" Purity suddenly asked.

"Yeah," Kara blinked, then nodded. "Yeah, from the little I've been around her, I liked her."

"She was very fun to play," Purity said. "Everything you have in that file is just a character description. There never was, and never will be, a Julia Freeman. Just little old me."

"But why keep up an act for a decade?" Kara asked.

"When my sisters and I arrived, we knew it would be many years before the cosmic alignment of forces came to pass," Purity answered. "Masks would be necessary."

Kara looked through the file, then pulled out a picture, crouched down, and put the picture up against the glass. "Vinita Ripson," she told Purity as she turned to look. "Your roommate at Cincinnati. Your emergency contact, your best friend for a decade. I bet she's really worried about you right now."

"Sounds about right," Purity said after a moment, her voice trembling slightly. "Vinita was always so clingy. It drove me crazy."

"Crazy enough to save her life?" Kara raised an eyebrow, then took the picture away, seeing Purity's fingers were hovered over the picture. Purity looked down, seeming confused, and Kara looked at her hopefully. "Julia?" she asked, Alex straightening from where she leaned against the wall.

But then just as suddenly, Purity's face was cold again, and she scoffed, glaring at Kara. "You imagine I care about humans just because _you_ do?"

"I think you _do_ care, Julia," Kara nodded. "And I care about _you."_

"Hmm," Purity smirked, turning so she faced Kara fully as she stood. "Will you care when I tear open your bones and rip out your soft parts?"

"You're never gonna get that chance," Alex strode forward angrily, "because you are gonna sit in that cell until I say so."

"And after," Purity continued, smirking at Alex, "I'll open up your friend and eat her heart with the other gods."

"You want to talk about insides?" Alex glared. "'Cause you are gonna have eight different government agencies fighting over who's going to _dissect_ you."

"All right," Kara stood up, glaring at Alex. "Let's speak outside, Agent Danvers."

"You're not a god," Alex sneered as she backed up. "You're just meat and bones!"

"Agent Danvers!" Oliver opened the door, he and Slade both outside.

Alex seethed and stormed out, Kara giving Purity one last look before following.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Alex!" Kara ran after Alex as she stormed into the lab nearby. "Alex, why are you fighting me so hard on this?"

"You realize that Purity is just toying with you, right?" Alex turned and looked at her.

"If we have the chance to save Julia, we have to take it," Kara told her.

"That is such a nice motto, Kara, but it's not very practical," she snorted.

Kara's eyebrows flew up. _"Excuse me?"_

"No matter how much evidence piles up saying that you are wrong, you always hope!"

"That's my job!"

"Purity is evil!" Alex exploded. "She is a Worldkiller, and there's two others out there just like her, endangering lives, and your _feelings_ are costing us time!"

"OK, my _feelings_ have saved lives countless times," Kara retorted.

Alex scoffed and turned around, smiling in disbelief. "Alex," Slade cut in, drawing attention to where he and Oliver were on the opposite side of the room. "Purity is a Worldkiller, yes – "

"Thank you!" Alex gestured to him triumphantly, smirking at Kara.

"But it was not Purity we stormed in on," Slade finished, and Alex did a double take, looking at him in shock. "Those were two very different people."

"Slade's right," Oliver nodded. "I may have been down, but Julia was scared of us, frightened, and she only moved when Kara encouraged her to. And her eyes were far from white. It was only after _you_ drew your gun on her and threatened her that she got scared and attacked us. That was when her eyes turned white. Maybe it's Purity in that cell now, but that doesn't mean she was never Julia."

Alex stared at them in disbelief, then scoffed and turned around. "Alex, wait," Kara held out her hand. "Listen to me. I am used to you being pragmatic, but since when have you become so hard and cynical?"

"Well, not all of us are bulletproof, Kara," Alex told her.

"I know," Kara glared at her.

"So cynicism? That's what's keeping the rest of us alive."

"This is more cynicism from you than I've ever seen," Slade remarked.

"Stay out of this," Alex growled.

Slade raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. "And it seems like it's killing you," Kara agreed with Slade. "My sister? The sister _I_ know? She has compassion for others."

"I am just trying to do my job!" Alex scowled.

"OK, enough," Oliver rubbed his temples, pushing up off the wall. "Alex, if you think your way will work, by all means, try."

"Oliver!" Kara protested.

"Thank you," Alex smirked, walking off.

Oliver waited until she was gone before holding up her hand to stop Kara from saying anything else. "Take it from me," he said softly. "If someone ever gets like that, it's best to let them do what they think will work. I saw what happened when she saw Vinita's picture. I don't think that was Purity."

"No, it wasn't," Kara shook her head.

"But Alex isn't going to see what you're seeing, not when she's looking for what _she_ wants to see," Oliver continued. "Let her try her way, we'll see what happens."

Kara closed her eyes, sighing. "OK," she whispered.

"And we'll see which side appears," Slade turned back from watching Alex leave. "Because while this isn't like Alex, I do want to know which side will win."

* * *

 **A/N: Alex just annoyed me this episode. Anyone else?**

 **So like usual, no promises on when another update will happen, but keep an eye out!**


	59. Both Sides Now - Part Two

**Alex has a go at Purity that backfires rather miserably, we check in with Malcolm and Laurel, and J'onn and Mon-El have a chat that really reminds me how polar opposites my two takes on Mon-El so far (here and in D4) have been. I know which Mon-El _I_ would prefer.**

* * *

 _ **Laurel Lance/J'onn J'onzz**_

"OK," Mon-El finished with a few wires, then looked behind him to where Winn and J'onn were at one of the command consoles. "Try it now?"

Laurel tilted her head, hearing machinery whir, then saw something by Mon-El spark, and everything powered down again. "Guess not," she clicked her tongue, Malcolm shrugging from where he was leaning against the doorframe.

"Um, you know, is there, like, a user manual or something that we can take a look at for ideas?"

Mon-El just sighed and put his tools down, putting his face in his hand. "Sprock!"

"The 31st century has some very interesting curse words," Malcolm observed, then winced when Laurel smacked him in the shoulder.

Mon-El gave him a very unamused look as footsteps came from the other direction. "I gather it's not going too well?" Imra asked, looking around the room.

"Uh, not at presently," J'onn shook his head. "But we will get there."

"Brainy and I took a look into that Thysteria rock, but it was a dead end," Imra told Mon-El, walking up to him. "Did you get the battery working?"

"No, but I'm handling it," Mon-El shook his head, looking back down to fiddle with more wires.

"OK," Imra nodded. "Did you try recalibrating it?"

Mon-El sighed, looking like he was trying very hard not to get annoyed with her. "Yes, Imra, I'm handling it."

"OK, look," Imra raised an eyebrow at him, scowling. "I may not be a 12th-level intellect, Mon-El, but I'm sharp. And as I said last night, there's no need of telling me anything twice. _Ever."_

Mon-El finally looked up as Imra turned, heading back the way she came. "Imra, please don't do this."

"I'm just doing exactly what you told me when I joined the Legion," Imra held out her hands in exasperation. "I'm just speaking the truth."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow as Imra walked off, then he and Laurel exchanged looks that clearly said they should leave. "We'll go check with the others," Laurel offered an excuse for them, then both were gone.

"Uh," Winn stammered, looking at J'onn. "I'm – I've got to check on the crystal."

"Yeah," J'onn nodded, knowing that even though Max and Lucy were doing the same thing, it was probably best to have as few people around now as possible. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

"Thanks," Winn all but fled.

J'onn watched Mon-El stand up and unplug the battery, then walked over. "You still wanna carry on working?" he asked.

"There's no point," Mon-El sighed heavily, handing the battery back to him and walking off.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara had known this was a bad idea when it was suggested.

But now, standing in the room as Alex approached Purity's cell, she felt like she had underestimated how bad of an idea this really was. "Where is Reign?" her sister asked bluntly. When there was no answer from the Kryptonian lying on the metal slab, Alex carried on. "We have the Kryptonian crystal from your apartment, and we know that it's gonna lead to your headquarters. Where is Reign?" No answer again, and Alex huffed, folding her arms. "You're not so chatty now, are you? That makes sense. Because I'm not your audience. I'm just looking at a bug under glass."

Kara cringed at the wording, hearing Slade sigh from the next room over. But then Purity chuckled and sat up with a sigh, turning so she faced Alex. "To use your own words . . . you think you're smarter than me, stronger than me. You think I'm powerless to your science." She scoffed her opinion of that. "I see right through you, Alex Danvers. It's a gift I have, to see inside people, to know them." She stood up, looking closely at Alex, then grinned. "You want to hurt me because _you're_ hurt. You want _me_ weak because _you're_ weak. Someone cut something out of you, and you feel the hole every day. A hole that _you_ dug in _yourself."_ Kara frowned uneasily as Purity tilted her head, her smirk growing wider. "And it's not getting any better now, is it?"

"OK, all right," Kara hurried forward, seeing Alex bristle. She knew where this was going, and it was not going to be pretty. "All right, we're done here – "

"Where is Reign?" Alex demanded, stepping away from Kara and towards Purity.

"Alex," Kara insisted.

"See the rage?" Purity grinned triumphantly. "That's your loneliness."

" _Shut your mouth!"_ Alex roared angrily.

"Let's go!" Kara grabbed Alex's shoulder.

"You had your chance at happiness, and you threw it away," Purity continued to chuckle.

"Alex," Kara tugged her back.

"And now you're just a broken little doll."

Alex yanked herself away from Kara and stormed off towards the door, and Kara watched her go, almost running. "Alex, wait!" she called.

Oliver quickly opened the door, letting Alex go through. "Let her get it out," he advised quietly, stopping Alex from going after her.

Kara stopped, taking a deep breath, then tensed when she heard Purity chuckle victoriously. She spun on her heel and stormed back over as Purity sat back down on the metal slab, perching on it like she was a queen. "She was right about you," she spat. "You're just a thing built to destroy, and I'm gonna make sure you don't hurt anyone else."

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias/Ruby Arias_**

"All right," Sam grinned at Ruby, the two of them in the center of the ice rink, hands connected. "You ready for this?"

"I'm young and reckless," Ruby retorted with a grin. "I've got this in the bag."

"Three," Sam began to count down. "Two . . . "

She suddenly let go and took off, and Ruby did a double take. "OK, cheating will get you nowhere!" she shouted, skating after her mother.

Sam just laughed gleefully, enjoying her time on the ice.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Winn paused in the doorway of the lab, seeing Lucy almost falling asleep at her tablet, Max absently looking through his own. "That exciting?" he asked.

Max just raised an eyebrow and pointing his stylus at the crystal and its scan. "You need to work on your definition of _exciting."_

Winn checked for himself, sighing in annoyance. "Really? Nothing?"

"Zilch," Lucy covered her mouth to avoid yawning.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex found herself walking away from Purity's cell as fast as she could, her entire body trembling as she tried to contain her emotions. She was halfway to the labs when a strong hand gripped her arm and yanked her into the nearest office, closing the door behind them.

Alex turned, opening her mouth to yell and say something she would regret, only to falter when she saw Slade look down at her. "Why did you think that was a good idea?" he asked quietly, no judgment in his tone.

Alex let all her breath out in a rush and shook her head, unable to give an answer. She knew she had been lashing out after keeping everything locked up inside, had let it out on their most dangerous prisoner, and she had let herself get manipulated by said prisoner in just the right way. God, that really had been stupid.

Her breath hitched as she felt her eyes well up, and Slade sighed. "Alex . . . "

She just shook her head, launching forward. Slade just hugged her and offered what support he could as Alex broke down, knowing there wasn't much more he could do for her.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

A sudden humming made all three in the lab look up from their work, and Max instinctively scooted away from the now glowing blue crystal. "Whoa," Lucy put her tablet aside.

"See, _that's_ more like exciting," Max pointed to Winn.

Winn just nodded absently, peering closely at the crystal as Max rolled over to check the scans. "Well, who turned _you_ on?" he murmured.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Purity suddenly smiled, and Kara stiffened as Kryptonese poured from the Worldkiller's lips. _"The three will walk across the land, and the blood of the weak will water the new world."_

Kara narrowed her eyes, stepping closer and spitting Kryptonese as well, seeing Oliver's confused look in the glass. _"Rao defies you,"_ she declared. "I _defy you, and I will bring you low!"_

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Back away."

"What?" Winn looked up from the crystal, not seeing it glow brighter.

"Winn, get away from it!" Max leapt from his seat, and Winn saw the blinking red levels on the scan.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias/Ruby Arias_**

"Ah!" Sam squealed as Ruby skated past her with a wide grin. "Beginner!" she tried to defend herself before freezing on the ice. When she stopped entirely, her face was blank, her eyes rapidly flashing between their normal dark brown and devilish red, finally settling on completely red.

When Ruby reached the wall and turned to brag to her mom, she was nowhere in sight. "Mom?" she asked in confusion, skating out and looking around. "Mom?" she tried to call again.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Lucy grabbed Winn's arm and pulled him away, they and Max diving under the closest table as the lights above them crackled and popped, sparks flying everywhere.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara blinked as the power sputtered in the cell, looking up and around. "Oliver?" she began, looking around.

"Get back!" Oliver lunged forward, grabbing her arm.

Purity screamed, her sonic blast smashing through the glass and hitting Kara in the chest. Oliver was propelled back with her, the two hitting the back wall hard and collapsing on the ground, out cold, leaving Purity to walk free.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"It's a good question to know, though," Malcolm was telling Laurel as they walked back through the D.E.O. "Between the two of them, who would win?"

"My money's on the telekinetic telepath," Laurel said dryly, unable to keep herself from laughing.

"But if there was a way to block her powers?" Malcolm pointed out. "The collars the Earth-Xers used?"

Laurel closed her eyes, feeling a shiver go down her spine. "Please never remind me of that again."

"OK, yeah," Malcolm agreed at once, squeezing her shoulder. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Laurel exhaled slowly. "Just . . . please. Don't."

"I won't," he promised, rubbing her back. "I wouldn't do that to you, Siren."

Despite the mood being brought down exponentially, she smiled. "I know you wouldn't."

Malcolm smiled back, then alarms started blaring around them. Laurel winced and covered her ears, instantly on alert. "What caused that?" she yelled to be heard over the noise.

Malcolm grimaced when he felt everything around them shake with vibrations. "Purity," he ground out. "She's out."

" _Shit,"_ Laurel growled.

Malcolm experimentally curled his cybernetic hand into a fist, relieved it was still functioning. "Come on," he grabbed her wrist. "She'll go for the crystal."

Laurel nodded, staggering after him as they tried to run against the vibrations. When they suddenly stopped, both faltered. "Oh, that can't be good," Laurel whispered.

They broke into runs, taking the staircase two at a time. "Contact! Contact!" they heard a D.E.O. soldier shout before a sonic scream launched two D.E.O. soldiers in full armor over the railing and past them.

Malcolm and Laurel finally reached the balcony to see Purity in the doorway of the lab, her crystal pulsing blue in her hand . . . and her back was to them as she smirked at the soldiers she had just gotten rid of. "You can do this," Malcolm whispered supportively.

Laurel took a deep breath, then screamed at the top of her lungs. Her scream hit Purity in the back, knocking her to the ground and across the platform. Purity tried to scramble onto her knees, but Laurel inhaled quickly and screamed again, knocking Purity back down. She curled her hands into fists, seeing Slade and Alex burst from an office across the area, running towards them. She took another deep breath, screaming for a third time as Alex pulled out her gun, aiming at Purity. Laurel had to cut off again to take a breath –

Purity shot up from the ground and screamed at her, and Laurel felt it hit her like a Kryptonian punch in the gut, and she was knocked head over heels towards the lab. She felt Malcolm's arms wrap around her waist before she was flung into the glass, and she instinctively curled into him as he fell to the side, wincing when she felt glass from the windows rain over them. "Are you OK?" Malcolm asked, carefully helping her to her knees, swiping glass off his pants.

"Yeah," Laurel swallowed, picking glass out of her hair and watching Purity take off, smashing through one of the D.E.O. windows and out into the sky. "I'll live."

* * *

 ** _Mon-El/J'onn J'onzz_**

Mon-El pulled up hologram schematics of the cruiser, sighing in annoyance when he saw part of the ship blinking red. Footsteps on stairs made him turn, and he blinked, seeing J'onn descend into the room. "I thought you left."

"I did," J'onn nodded. "But, uh . . . " He grinned, holding up two bottles. "Only to get these. Come on." Mon-El couldn't help but smile, walking over to join J'onn in sitting on the steps. "It's sort of a Martian moonshine," J'onn explained, handing him a bottle. "It's kind of spicy. It has a consciousness-enhancing quality to it."

"This has a label," Mon-El pointed out, grinning as he looked over the bottle.

"Oh, yeah," J'onn nodded. "They sell it in the alien bars. Doing quite well."

Mon-El laughed. "Cheers," he told J'onn.

The Martian chuckled, clinking bottles as Mon-El sat. "You know," he began, eyeing his bottle. "It's been a couple of centuries, but I _was_ once married. Seventy-seven years, in fact. So I'm quite familiar with the marital spat."

"Yeah, it's, uh . . . it's not what you think," Mon-El shook his head.

"It might help to talk about it," J'onn prompted.

"Yeah, thanks, but, um . . . I don't think so."

J'onn nodded as Mon-El took a swig from his bottle, then maneuvered himself so he leaned against the wall, facing Mon-El entirely. "You keep a lot of secrets, young man," he remarked. "Usually, they're to protect others, so your intentions are good, but it really might help if you share the load."

Mon-El fidgeted, then sighed. "Well, Imra and I have a . . . _complicated_ history."

"Hmm," J'onn nodded, already having an idea about where this was going.

"We didn't exactly choose to get married to one another," he elaborated, taking another drink. "So she's from this important family on Titan, and Titan was the head of this faction of planets that were very against Earth and its allies. So in the early days of the Legion, we needed to do something symbolic. You know, to show that we represented everyone."

"You united the planets when you got married," J'onn guessed.

"There it is," Mon-El raised his bottle in acknowledgement.

"Wow," J'onn shook his head, mulling it over.

"And I was still mourning Kara," Mon-El continued. "Imra and I were friends and partners, and I was fond of her, I respected her . . . but I knew that marrying Imra would help so many, it just seemed like the logical thing to do. And then, with time, I mean, I . . . our pretend marriage became more real and our feelings deepened, and I grew to love her. I was content. But with Kara, I mean . . . there was nothing logical about falling in love with Kara. I mean, she was – she was a Kryptonian elitist, and I was this completely self-absorbed misogynist. Not anymore," he quickly reassured J'onn when the Martian raised an eyebrow, and both laughed, remembering how Mon-El used to be. "But what I felt for her," Mon-El continued, the smile fading as he reminisced. "It was . . . it was just . . . " He sighed. "Being back here is, um . . . " He trailed off, trying to figure out how to put his feelings into words. "I respect Kara," he finally said. "And I respect Oliver. He had every right to do what he did when he first heard I was back. I had chances to tell Kara about Imra, and I didn't. I hurt her in a way by doing that, and even if it wasn't physical, she was hurt. Oliver countered for her. And I respect him _so much_ for that." He looked down at his hands. "To have a relationship like that . . . I don't want to break that up. Not after everything that Imra and I have had. I don't want to be the ex-boyfriend who reappears and makes things worse. But being back here . . . I feel I have to keep a distance from Kara because I'm afraid that if I'm ever around her . . . ever _alone_ around her . . . that old feelings will get stirred up. And I keep worrying about that, and I have to hide it from Imra. But lately, there's just been all this friction between us 'cause of . . . " He sighed, lowering his head. "I know it's my fault, and I just . . . I don't know what to do."

J'onn nodded, then sat up straight. He was relieved to hear what Mon-El had to say and was happy that he had trusted him enough to talk to him about it. There was also the added bonus that Mon-El respected Kara had moved on with Oliver, and respected the archer as well. He was _definitely_ happy about that. "You know," he leaned forward conspiratorially, a small smirk on his face. "If you think keeping secrets from your _wife_ is hard . . . you should try keeping secrets from a _Martian."_ Mon-El let out a startled laugh, and J'onn nodded, smiling as he recalled his family from Mars. "My wife and I would bond and literally share our thoughts and feelings every night. Marriage is sharing, Mon-El. _Everything._ You are not a criminal because you fear you may have complicated feelings. If you truly love and honor Imra, maybe you should let her in."

Mon-El nodded thoughtfully, then looked at J'onn when he heard a phone beep and buzz. J'onn straightened and pulled his phone out of his jacket, looking at the alert that popped up. Mon-El frowned worriedly when J'onn's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "What is it?" he asked.

" _Purity,"_ J'onn spat like a curse, narrowing his eyes and standing up.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

 _Ring, ring._

A dark-haired head popped over the couch, frowning when the phone went off. When the Caller ID flashed on the home phone, however, he jumped off and ran over, picking up the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

"William?" Lena's voice sounded panicked. "Is Kara there? Or Oliver?"

"No," William shook his head. "They're still at the D.E.O., I think. I've been working on homework."

"Do you still need to work on it, or can I come pick you up?"

"Is everything OK?" William asked.

A sigh came over the phone. "No," Lena admitted. "It's Ruby."

William did a double take. "It's just review for a quiz I have next week," he looked over at his open textbook. "I already know a bunch of it. Is she OK?"

"So I can come get you?"

"Yeah, I just need to text Dad and let him know," William told her. "Aunt Lena, is Ruby OK?"

"I don't know," Lena said. "I'm on my way, OK? See you soon."

"OK," William nodded, hanging up and hurrying to get his phone.

* * *

 ** _Ruby Arias_**

"Ruby!"

The girl's dark-haired head shot up when she heard her friend call her name, and she quickly stood up as William peeled away from Lena's side to hurry forward. "William!" she managed a smile for him, hugging him.

"Honey, are you OK?" Lena joined them next, eyes wide and full of worry.

"I'm fine," Ruby nodded, sniffing.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Lena asked, leading the two of them over to a nearby table.

"I turned around, and she was gone," Ruby answered miserably, sitting down on one side.

William plopped down right next to her, Lena sliding in across from them. "Honey, I'm so sorry," Lena whispered. "Your mom's just . . . she's going through a lot. You'll see, OK?"

"This is not OK," Ruby shook her head. "She was so excited to hang out today, and then she just disappeared! It's like a few months ago. She was planning on going on this big trip, and something wonderful was gonna happen. And when she got back, she acted like she hadn't been anywhere."

"She didn't remember?" Lena frowned, thinking of what Sam said about her blackouts.

Ruby shook her head miserably. "There's something wrong," she sniffed, voice breaking. "I don't know what, but there's _something._ It's like sometimes she's a completely different person."

William hugged her again, and Ruby leaned her head on his shoulder, grateful for the comfort. "Ruby," Lena leaned forward, placing her hand on top of Ruby's. "I know it's scary, OK? But something you've got to know about me is that, when there's a problem, I always find an answer. OK?"

Ruby nodded after a moment, and Lena smiled encouragingly.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"You found her?" Kara asked as she and Oliver walked into the main area of the D.E.O., Oliver now in his suit, though both were still wincing in slight pain.

"Yes indeed," Winn confirmed, grinning when he saw J'onn and Mon-El come from the other direction, Mon-El suited up as well. "Hey, perfect timing!"

"Where is she?" J'onn asked as the others trickled in.

"She is in the subway, though there have been no reports of any attacks yet," Winn answered.

"Yeah, _yet,"_ Max emphasized, rubbing the back of his head, wincing as he recalled when Purity had knocked the three of them out.

"There will be soon, though," Laurel muttered, eyes narrowed to slits.

"Then let's head out," Oliver nodded.

"Same team as before, right?" Mon-El looked over at them.

"Well, you were the one who stopped me from having a missing eye or dying because of a fire poker through my brain," Oliver looked over at him.

Slade snorted loudly. "I do just fine, kid."

"I don't have a super serum that can stop me from dying if something like that happens," Oliver countered.

Kara shook her head fondly at their banter, smiling at Mon-El. "We could definitely use you."

"Then absolutely," Mon-El nodded back, he and J'onn sharing small smiles for some reason.

Kara looked at Alex, who was right by Slade's side. "I'm not underestimating her again," she promised.

"Ever," Alex agreed firmly.

"Speaking of," Winn brightened. "Presents!"

"What holiday is it?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow as one case was slid towards him, Laurel, Mon-El, and J'onn, and another was slid to Oliver, Kara, Slade, and Alex.

"Uh, the one where we celebrate cutting out the frequency that Purity hit you with before," Winn answered as Kara opened the case. "Just some old sonic technology."

"Will they work?" Mon-El asked.

Winn scoffed. "Wait, you really asked me that? Uh, it's like . . . " He trailed off, thinking. "95% sure?"

He grimaced, but J'onn nodded. "Good work, Agent Schott."

"Any time," he beamed as the others put on the devices. "Now, go do super heroic stuff."

"Let's go," Kara nodded determinedly.

* * *

 ** _Reign_**

Reign strode towards the main console in her fortress, then stuck her crystal inside its slot. The crystal sank into the console, booting the electronics up.

"Someone else has found one of your partners."

Reign turned, coming face to face with the hologram that had guided her before. "How do you know?" she asked.

"She possesses a crystal like yours that has been activated," the hologram answered. "She's awakening, and you must guide her. But be wise in your tactics. She's a newborn: delicate, malleable. You must bring her here, home, before they take her away."

Reign nodded, a small smirk on her lips. "I understand."

* * *

 **A/N: So since I'm feeling super productive tonight after the day I've had, I'll see if I can get another chapter out for all of you and finish up this episode before returning to Arrow. If not, then I will definitely try to have one out before the end of the weekend.**

 **Keep an eye out!**


	60. Both Sides Now - Part Three

**Well, it's always fun when you _really_ underestimate how long your original content parts are going to be. So, at just shy of 7.7K words, this is the longest chapter I've written for this series.**

 **The final fight against Purity, its aftermath, and several discussions - some pleasant and some rather horrifying. What's Lena's decision regarding Sam this time around?**

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Mon-El/Alex Danvers/Laurel Lance**_

Kara caught up to Purity's subway quickly, dropping down through the top of the car and behind the Worldkiller. "Purity?" she called to get her attention.

"You finally learned my name," she sneered, turning around and holding out her hands.

Kara watched everything vibrate around her, then smirked and lifted her hair slightly, revealing Winn's sonic device attached to her ear. She flew forward, barreling into Purity and knocking them out of the subway and onto the tracks.

Purity rose to her feet, eyes narrowed angrily, then turned as heels clacked on metal. "Not a nice feeling when you're overpowered, huh?" Laurel sneered, eyes narrowed as she and Malcolm walked out, Malcolm with his bow raised.

Purity turned and saw Mon-El and Oliver come from another direction, Oliver's bow raised as well, and when she rotated again, Slade and Alex practically melted from the shadows on Kara's right, both with their guns drawn.

She was completely surrounded.

Purity held her hands out to the side, starting the vibrations again. Alex just smirked when she felt no effects, and Laurel laughed in relief. Purity's eyes widened in shock, then turned when she heard a warping sound. J'onn walked through the wall on Kara's left, waving the cuffs Purity had worn earlier in a taunting way. Purity screamed at him desperately, but J'onn's body flickered red, and he phased right through the scream, smirking when she stopped.

Purity's eyes were wide in panic, and she turned around, breathing heavily as the eight closed in from all sides. She finally screamed again, but Laurel tilted her head when nothing happened to any of them.

Then they all heard the cracking under their feet, and Laurel swallowed hard. "Uh oh."

Purity's scream crumbled the ground beneath them, and all nine went tumbling down into the subway station below, landing in the rubble as civilians screamed and fled around them. "Why did you say that, Siren?" Malcolm seethed.

Purity managed to stand and scream again, but it wasn't directed at any of them. Kara, J'onn, and Mon-El turned as the scream went past them and slammed into one of the concrete posts, splintering it and making the ceiling rumble and dust and plaster fly. J'onn quickly flew over to support the post, Mon-El speeding after him a second later. "Guys!" Kara urged, looking around at the civilians.

"On it," Alex nodded, running to start evacuating civilians.

"Archer?" Oliver turned to look at Malcolm.

"Up?" he guessed.

Oliver nodded, and the two fired grappling arrows up into the ceiling. They went up into the air as Slade went in the opposite direction of Alex, Laurel slinking forward so she was with Kara against Purity.

Purity sneered, and Kara fired her heat vision, hoping to hit her. Purity dodged, and Kara fired again, gritting her teeth when Purity again avoided the hit. The shot narrowly missed a civilian, who dropped to the ground to avoid being hit. "Everybody, out!" Slade's voice roared through the station, startling everyone into action.

"Hey," Alex dropped by the fallen civilian. "It's all right. Get up. Up, up, up. Everybody, get out!" she yelled as she hurried the civilian off. "Out!"

"Go!" Slade continued to shout.

Mon-El looked around, watching a mixture of green and black arrows shoot from the rafters and knock falling debris off course, Slade occasionally doing the same with his sword as he helped civilians who were too slow. "We've got to get these people out of here!"

"Go!" J'onn told him, adjusting his hold on the post. "I've got this."

"You sure?" Mon-El asked.

"Yes, go!" At J'onn's confirmation, Mon-El carefully backed off, then sped away to help the evacuation.

Kara finally came to blows with Purity, the Worldkiller holding her own and then some. Kara got a few hits in at Purity's stomach and face, but Purity retaliated with a few uppercuts and a punch Kara blocked with her forearm, only for Purity to grab her arm and bend her over backwards. Kara tried to fly out of Purity's grasp, but Purity gritted her teeth and forced Kara back down, and Kara cried out when Purity bent her far enough for it to really hurt. "Supergirl!" Oliver yelled.

Laurel swallowed hard, inhaling as much as she dared. As Purity smashed Kara into the ground, she left herself wide open; Laurel took full advantage of that, screaming as hard as she could. Purity was more prepared for it this time, but she still staggered backwards and away from Kara.

Purity left herself right in the path of the charging Mon-El, and she whirled to meet the Daxamite's fists with her own. Laurel ran to check on Kara, bending down. "Kara?" she whispered quietly.

All she got was a pained whimper in response. "Siren, look out!" Slade suddenly shouted.

Laurel looked up, then quickly ducked as Mon-El went flying over her head, crashing into an electronic newsstand behind her. Laurel's eyes widened as Mon-El collapsed with a groan, slow to get up. Purity came storming towards her next, and Laurel swallowed, rising to her feet. "Julia?" she asked tentatively. "Please, don't."

"She can't come to the phone right now," Purity sneered, unleasing her scream.

Laurel braced herself and screamed back, already knowing what this result would be. Sure enough, when the screams collided, she was thrown back as her scream rebounded onto her. She didn't feel her back hit the ground, though. A familiar grip went around her, and her body jerked as her direction changed quickly. Then a surface was under her feet, and Laurel swayed, almost falling from the rafter she was now on, then the grip around her readjusted itself. "Easy," Malcolm warned, his voice still recognizable even with the voice modulator in place.

"Let her go!" Oliver's voice snarled.

Both whipped down to see Purity had Kara in a chokehold, Kara desperately yanking at Purity's arm even as she choked. "I'll tell you a secret," she whispered. "Julia's here."

"No!" Kara gasped out, eyes wide. "No!"

"And I'm going to make her watch while I kill you," Purity declared.

"No, Julia!" Kara croaked, clawing even more at Purity's arm, Slade and Alex running back. "Julia, please! Please, don't let her hurt me!" Purity's grip suddenly went a bit slack, and Alex slowed, eyes widening when she saw Purity's white eyes change to Julia's dark brown. "Julia!" Kara cried again, and Purity's eyes went back to white as she tightened her grip. "I know you're there!"

"You have a chance, Alex," Slade said quietly, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "You're the one who didn't see her before," he reminded her. "You can see her now. Make her see it, too."

Alex took a deep breath, then slid her brass knuckles off her hands and approached. "Julia!" Kara tried one last time before she had to gasp for breath.

"No, no, no, Julia," Alex held out her hand, and Purity looked at her in surprise. "Julia," Alex insisted, keeping her attention on her as the three vigilantes in the rafters dropped down. "You stood in front of a car to save your friend Vinita because you love your friend. And you know that Supergirl wants to help you. You can fight this because you . . . " She swallowed hard. "You are stronger than you think." Slade silently held out a hand to stop Oliver from raising his bow any higher, knowing one wrong move could make this end horribly. "I know you can hear me, Julia," Alex continued as Purity tried to tighten her grip further. "I see you in there . . . and I am _so_ sorry that I didn't see it before. But I swear to God, I am gonna help you beat this. We _all_ will," she gestured around to the circle of heroes and vigilantes around them. "But you have to fight."

Purity's head suddenly jerked, and Kara gulped as the Worldkiller doubled over. "No!" she howled. _"No!"_

"Julia?" Slade called, fingers wrapping more securely around his firearm.

When her head raised, her eyes were flickering between white and dark brown and white again. Dark brown ultimately won, and Julia looked in horror at the hero in her arms before dropping her like Kara was a hot potato. "Supergirl!" Oliver rushed forward to check on his fiancée.

"Julia?" Alex asked, walking forward, seeing she was still doubled over.

The ceiling caved in again, and Malcolm's eyes widened. "Look out!"

"So the Supergirl kneels," Reign smirked as she took in the scene in front of her. "Good practice."

Oliver's eyes darkened, and he squeezed Kara's shoulder before standing. "No," Kara shook her head desperately. "Don't!"

Alex, too, had a murderous look in her eyes as she reached up and tapped the metal collar around her neck twice. It activated with a whir, and she planted herself in front of Julia and screamed at Reign, the eerie howl of a wolf echoing in the station. Reign planted herself like a tree but grimaced, reaching up to hold her ears. Oliver drew an arrow and fired it, already reaching back to draw another one as Reign caught his first arrow. It exploded in her face, making her jerk back more in surprise than pain. Alex screamed again, she and Oliver approaching faster and faster, then she drew her alien gun and started adding that as well.

Still, nothing made a scratch on the Worldkiller. "You two, I kill," Reign declared, swatting Alex away like she was a fly.

"No!" Kara yelled as Alex landed on her back, skidding across the floor. Reign grabbed Oliver by the throat next and slammed him down into the floor, Laurel quickly looking away when she heard the sickening crack of concrete breaking under the force she used. _"No!"_ Kara screamed desperately, her voice mixing with Slade's as Oliver cried out in pain when Reign's foot landed on his chest, the Worldkiller steadily applying more pressure.

"Stop!" Julia cried out, and it drew everyone's attention to her – even Reign's. She gulped and slowly stood, eyes slowly meeting Reign's. "Take me," she whispered. "You can have me."

"Julia," Slade said quietly, but he cut off with a wince as Reign applied more pressure to Oliver's chest, the archer gritting his teeth to avoid making another noise.

Julia squared her shoulders, then walked towards Reign. The first Worldkiller smirked triumphantly, stepping off Oliver, and he immediately rolled over, eyes shut as he grimaced. Reign ignored the clatter of the heels on Laurel's boots as she ran to help Oliver, Slade maneuvering to check on Alex. "Purity," Reign said slowly, as if savoring the word on her tongue. "Sister. We will find our third, our Pestilence. Once we're finally together, there will be nothing but unstoppable power."

She grabbed Julia and flew off through the hole she made in the ceiling, and Kara slumped to the ground, inhaling sharply, then started crawling over to reach Oliver. Alex accepted Slade's hand with a wince, the man supporting her as she got to her feet. J'onn finally settled the post as Mon-El braced his hands on the ground, forcing himself to get to his knees. Kara finally let herself slump when she reached Oliver's side, the two leaning against each other for support, Kara hugging Oliver tightly and burying her face in his neck as his arm went around her shoulders.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"And you wonder why I still call you kid when you pull stupid stunts like that one," Slade growled as he paced the medbay like a caged animal.

"I apologize for my first thought being 'protect my fiancée,'" Oliver rolled his eyes as he pulled his shirt back on, minding the bandages around him.

"We're some of the deadliest people in our universes, and we don't stand a chance against Purity _or_ Reign, let alone both of them," Malcom muttered bitterly, shaking his head.

"You're lucky you only got away with bruised ribs," Kara mumbled, scooting in closer to Oliver's side, minding said ribs.

"I think I would prefer those instead of what feels like a giant hematoma on my ass," Alex remarked as she pulled on a sweat jacket. "But, it could have been worse. It could have been rugby."

Oliver snorted his opinion of that. "You _both_ could have been killed," J'onn scowled.

"Don't joke," Kara agreed.

"I didn't," Oliver shook his head, kissing the side of her head and stroking her hair as Kara closed her eyes, tucking her head under his chin.

"Winn, please give them something else to think about," Alex tried to deflect.

His eyes widened as everyone looked at him. "Uh . . . "

"How about this," Max walked into the room, tucking a tablet under his arm, Lucy stopping by him. "We lost track of Reign and Julia minutes after they flew away."

"Great," Laurel buried her face in her hands. "More bad news."

"It's only a matter of time before Reign forces Julia back into Purity," J'onn sighed.

"All due respect, J'onn, I don't think that's helping," Lucy winced.

Alex, however, was shaking her head. "Julia . . . she's tough. Maybe she can hold out."

"Well, the Worldkillers might be too hard for us to beat, but maybe we're not supposed to beat them," Kara thought out loud.

"Well, how are we supposed to win?" Winn frowned.

Kara exchanged looks with Alex. "We save them."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver walked down the hall of the D.E.O., checking his phone to see if William had texted any updates on what was going on with Ruby when he heard a call behind him. "Oliver?"

He stopped and turned to see Mon-El back in casual clothing. "Mon-El," he nodded, slipping his phone into his pocket as the Daxamite caught up to him. "You look better."

"You . . . don't," Mon-El winced.

"Well, not all of us are aliens," Oliver rolled his eyes, continuing to walk with Mon-El. "Which I'm getting the feeling I will not stop hearing from Slade for quite a while."

"His mask hides his face, but he was worried," Mon-El told him. "And Kara . . . "

He trailed off, and Oliver slowed, realizing what this was about. "You want to talk about Kara."

"OK, that came out wrong," Mon-El cringed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "J'onn and I talked earlier today, and . . . it's something I want to tell you, too." Oliver narrowed his eyes, but leaned against the wall and nodded. Mon-El took a deep breath, starting to pace. "Being back in this time hasn't been easy," he began. "And I feel like if I'm around Kara . . . _alone_ around Kara . . . it'll be worse."

"So what are you saying?" Oliver frowned.

"I was a jerk," Mon-El turned to him. "I told you back at the bar when Reign first appeared, but I was. And maybe it was the stress of being back, me trying to come to terms with how little time had passed for Kara in comparison to me . . . but you retaliated for her. I deserved that."

"Yes, you did," Oliver agreed.

"I just . . . I don't want to be the ex who shows up and expects the girl to come back to me," Mon-El stopped in front of Oliver. "I see Kara with you, and I see her happy. She was _terrified_ Reign was gonna kill you back in the station. Frankly, I'm surprised you're away from her right now."

"She and Alex are going out after extreme urging from Slade," Oliver snorted. "Otherwise I wouldn't be."

"That's my point," Mon-El nodded. "You took on Reign for her, and she was terrified when she thought you would die because of it. What I'm trying to say is . . . " He took a deep breath. "I won't get in your way while I try to figure this century out again."

Oliver blinked once, then twice, then shook his head. "You make it sound like I'm going to kill you if you even hint that you may still have feelings for Kara."

The look of surprise on Mon-El's face made it clear he _had_ thought exactly that. "Is it that obvious?" he asked meekly.

"Mon-El," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting a grin. "Do you honestly think I'm going to kill you just because you still care for my fiancée?"

"Considering how terrified you made me when we first met, a bit," Mon-El admitted.

"The first time we met was after I already wasn't in a good mood after one of the longest nights in a while with my team and I got voicemails from Winn saying I needed to get back minutes ago, and I came here to find out my then-girlfriend's ex returned when he was supposed to be allergic to something in the atmosphere and didn't seem to care about her," Oliver deadpanned.

Mon-El let out a startled laugh, leaning back against the wall. "Yeah, when you put it that way . . . "

"Since then, you volunteered your technology to save Kara when she was in her coma, helped fight Reign at the cost of your own lives, volunteered yourself and your team to help _me_ and _my_ team just because I need help, and saved my life," Oliver counted off. "I think it's an understatement when I say we started off on the very wrong foot."

"Yeah," Mon-El agreed, still chuckling.

"I appreciate you telling me your concerns," Oliver stepped closer. "If that's not a sign of respect, I don't know what is. I admit, I was a bit wary when I found out you were back." He looked Mon-El in the eye. "I'm not anymore," he told him. "Whatever happened during those seven years in the future, I'm happy to work with who came back."

Mon-El smiled, looking much more relaxed. "Thank you," he told Oliver gratefully. "And it's an honor and a pleasure to work with you, too."

Oliver extended his hand, and Mon-El reached out, choosing to grasp his forearm. Oliver nodded at the added sign of respect Mon-El gave him, clasping his forearm in return. He then tilted his head, smirking. "You wanna bet someone's checking security cameras to make sure we aren't actually trying to kill each other?"

"No," Mon-El grinned, releasing Oliver's hand as his phone buzzed. "Because I'd lose."

Oliver laughed, continuing to walk down the hall, leaving Mon-El to see the message he received. "You probably would."

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

When Mon-El saw the message, he raced as fast as he could to the Legion cruiser. "Winn, hey!" he rushed into the main room. "I heard you fixed it. How did you – ?"

"I mean, I assisted," Winn began.

"That was a little more than an assist," Imra stood up from where she was working, walking over. "He researched Moran math. They currently run their entire measurement system on a scale of 12 instead of 10."

"Yeah, sort of how in America, we use inches instead of the metric system," Winn explained. "They must have switched over before this here battery was invented, which, actually, you know, gives me hope for America."

"So we were overloading the fuel cells," Mon-El realized.

"Bingo," Winn nodded.

"Thanks, Winn," he smiled gratefully.

"I mean, if you really wanna thank me, you could let me take this out for a test drive," Winn smirked conspiratorially as he walked off. "Just saying."

Mon-El shook his head fondly as Winn left the ship, then realized he was left with Imra, who looked at him in trepidation. Mon-El took a deep breath, not sure how to start this conversation, when she did. "I'm sorry you lost the Worldkiller," she said. "But I . . . you didn't think to call me about the fight?"

"I know," Mon-El sighed, looking down. "I, uh . . . " He cleared his throat, then looked up at her. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. It's just, being back here, it's . . . " He sighed. "It's been very confusing for me."

That was an understatement, and Imra knew it, too, because she gave him an incredulous look. "You don't think I already know that?" she asked. "I mean, that fight last night, Mon-El, was so _stupid!"_

"What, about the Legion manual?" he asked.

"You think I'm bothered that you misplaced the manual?" Imra's voice raised in pitch as she stormed up so they were on the same level, and she leaned against one of the other consoles. "I was upset before that! We were sitting in the D.E.O. Supergirl was talking about Reign, and you got this look in your eye, one that I know so well. You had the same look the first time you told me you loved me."

Mon-El took a deep breath. He had just gone over this with J'onn and Oliver, and he wasn't entirely sure how this would go a third time. "Spending time with Kara again has been," he said slowly. " . . . more difficult than I could have imagined."

Imra looked down, seeming to brace herself. "Are you still in love with her?" she whispered.

When she looked back up, Mon-El was fully prepared to meet her eyes. "No," he answered. "Not like I used to be."

Imra let out her breath slowly, nodding. "Thank you for being honest. It's why I fell in love with you in the first point."

"Imra, I swear to you that I will always be honest to you," Mon-El assured her, walking forward and taking her hands. "OK? I respect and love you. This is more difficult than anything I could have fathomed, but we will work through it, OK?"

"Mon-El . . . " Imra swallowed. "I'm . . . " She pulled away, walking a few feet back and turning to face him again. "I haven't been completely honest with you," she confessed, making Mon-El look at her in confusion. "I always knew there was a risk when Brainy and I planned this mission."

Mon-El blinked rapidly. "What mission?"

Imra took a deep breath. "It's time for me to tell you the truth about why we're _really_ here."

Mon-El stared at her, feeling dread sink into him.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"OK," Kara marched over to the table Alex sat at, putting a basket of food down on the table and eyeing the tumbler Alex held. "Start with this, and then I'll try to talk you out of tequila."

"Hmm," Alex smirked. "There's a bold move."

Kara sat down, then looked at her. "Are we OK?" she asked.

"We are OK," Alex nodded.

"Do you wanna tell me what's going on?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

Alex fiddled with her straw, then sighed. "I just thought that it would get easier," she answered. "But it's not."

"Alex," Kara sighed, shoulders slumping.

"You know," Alex pulled out her cell phone. "I have two speed dials on this phone. It's you . . . and Maggie. And every day, _every single day,_ I look at this phone, and I wanna call her . . . and then I wanna delete her . . . but I can't do either because I am scared, and I am weak."

"No," Kara shook her head. "That's not true."

"No, but, I mean, it is," Alex argued. "Because otherwise, I would be better. And I keep willing myself to just get over it, but I can't. And that's why I've lost hope. That's why I was angry and why I refused to see Julia the way that you saw her."

Kara sighed. "You know, I stopped believing, too," she told Alex, making her look up. "I didn't think I would ever get through the heartbreak of losing Mon-El."

"And then you got Oliver," Alex smirked.

"Yes, I got a boyfriend and later a fiancé," Kara conceded, pink staining her cheeks as she blushed. "But the point is, I got through it. And you are far stronger than I am."

"See, you're always hopeful," Alex gestured to her.

"So are you," Kara countered. "You were hopeful when you made the decision that you could have more. And you know what? I think you're right. I think there is another person out there for you, and I think you will be a mom. You will have _all_ the things."

She made a grand gesture with her hands to finish, and Alex finally cracked a smile. "I'm glad you're the way that you are," she said.

"You, too," Kara smiled back.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena looked up from her computer when she heard heels click on the floor, and the moment she was in the door, Sam headed for her. "Where's Ruby?" she asked, eyes wide with panic. "Your text said you picked her up!"

"She's fine, OK?" Lena assured her, standing up. "She's at my apartment, William's there, too. She's sleeping." Sam's breath shook as she turned away, burying her face in her hand. "She called me when you disappeared," Lena rounded her desk to walk over. "She thought you'd come in to work, but you hadn't."

"My God, how could I do this to her?" Sam whispered, turning around to look at Lena. "What if I'd been driving at the time?"

"She's safe, all right?" Lena soothed. "She did the right thing. She called for help."

"Was she scared?" Sam asked nervously.

"Yes," Lena admitted. "We all are." Sam closed her eyes, shoulders slumping, and Lena cautiously walked forward. "Do you . . . do you remember any – ?"

"No," Sam shook her head. "I don't, I – same as always."

"Ruby told me about the other times," Lena told her.

"What?" Sam frowned. "No, she doesn't know."

"Sam, she's a smart kid," Lena told her. "She knows something's wrong. She knows that you go places and then you don't remember where you've gone."

Sam's frowned deepened, realizing where Lena was going. "You told her I was sick?"

"I told her that we didn't know what was wrong yet," Lena corrected.

"You told a twelve-year-old her mother has a disease no one could diagnose?" Sam narrowed her eyes, her voice suddenly much more even.

"I reassured her that you didn't abandon her," Lena began.

"You had no right to tell her anything," Sam cut her off, storming past her and turning to look at her. "Just because you're my boss does not mean you can make decisions for my family."

"No," Lena shook her head, trying to help Sam understand. "No, it wasn't like that!"

"No one makes those decisions but me!" Sam insisted, her back to Lena.

"Sam, your blackouts are coinciding with something," Lena tried to change the subject. "I just need to ask you a few – "

" _Silence!"_

The inhuman bark from Sam made Lena freeze, her eyes widening at the unfamiliar tone Sam used. When she turned around to glare at Lena, she swallowed hard, seeing her totally void of expression, eyes dark. "Sam?" she whispered.

When Sam's eyes flickered between their normal color and devilish red, Lena swore her heart skipped a few beats.

The red was gone after a few seconds, and Sam's face morphed into one of horror. "Sam?" Lena hesitantly stepped forward, moving quicker when Sam's breath turned shaky and she backed up. "Sam, did you just have a blackout?"

Sam swallowed hard, clutching the desk for support, then sank down into one of the chairs. "Yeah," she whispered.

"You don't remember anything you said?" Lena asked ,just to make sure.

"No," Sam shook her head, looking on the brink of a panic attack.

Lena swallowed hard, and trying to keep her own voice from shaking even as her heart thudded in her chest, Lena sank into a crouch, putting her hand on Sam's knee. "Sam, honey, it's OK, all right? I know what's wrong with you," she told her, taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna make you better."

Sam just nodded jerkily, looking down in her lap, which gave time for Lena to look away herself, finding a large lump in her throat as she tried to swallow again.

What . . . the _hell_ . . . was she going to do now?

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

The lights had long since gone out, but she sat like a statue against the back wall, just staring at the shattered doorframe in front of her.

At least, until a shape moving through the doorway made the sensors turn the lights on again, and she winced, holding a hand up over her eyes, blinking sudden spots away. "I didn't expect to find you in here," Malcolm tilted his head.

"I didn't really want to be found," Laurel muttered, lowering her hand and letting it drop with the other into her lap, returning to staring at the remains of Purity's cell.

Malcolm frowned, folding his arms and walking over, turning to take in the cell as well. "She really did a number on this place, didn't she?"

"You don't say."

Malcolm paused and turned back to her. "You're laying the pessimism on really thick, you know that, right? It's not a good look on you."

"Why are you here, Malcolm?" Laurel gave him a nasty look.

"Because you've been off the entire day," he answered, leaning against the wall next to her. "And I would like to know why."

Laurel huffed, looking away from him. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

Malcolm snorted. "So we're gonna play this game, huh." He shook his head, sliding down the wall effortlessly to sit next to her. "Now, Slade and I may know each other pretty well, but what some people don't seem to keep in mind is that, while we _are_ close . . . he's not the one I've often partnered with since we arrived on this Earth. Or the one who I've shared living spaces with the longest. That's _you._ So . . . " He pretended to take an interest in his gloves. "I think I know you well enough now to know that something's bothering you, Siren."

Laurel couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Sometimes I think you just like listening to yourself talk."

" _Laurel."_

The steel in his voice when he said her name made Laurel shiver, and she took a deep breath, tearing her eyes away from the cell to look in her lap. "When we were in the subway," she began, fiddling with the rings on her fingers, "when we had the sonic devices to block her frequency so we weren't affected . . . I taunted her about it."

"Well, she did kick your ass a few times earlier," Malcolm pointed out. "No offense."

"None taken," Laurel's lips quirked up, going back down just as quickly. "It's just . . . then I saw her face. It wasn't Julia's . . . it was Purity's. And she was terrified because nothing she was doing was working. Her powers didn't affect us. And it made me think . . . if she didn't have super strength, if the scream was her only power . . . she would have been helpless." She looked up from her hands, staring back at Purity's former cell. "You know what that reminded me of?" She took a deep breath. "Me."

"You?" Malcolm repeated, frowning.

"I mean, I can fight," Laurel elaborated. "But these powers? I've had them for so long that they're a part of me. They're like another limb." She took a deep breath. "And then to be put in a place where it's suddenly _gone . . . "_

She knew when it clicked for Malcolm when he inhaled sharply. "The pipeline."

"Nothing worked," Laurel nodded. "For the first time . . . since I can remember, my powers did nothing to help me. I was trapped in an unfamiliar world, in an unfamiliar place, with familiar faces yet unfamiliar people looking back at me . . . and I lost the one connection I had to my previous world. It was like that limb got chopped off. When Chase freed me and I screamed for the first time . . . _my God,_ the rush I got from that . . . " She swallowed, closing her eyes. "Purity was in a new world, too," she went on. "Maybe faces she had seen before, but she was on an opposite side now. And then to have the one thing that could have given her the advantage at that moment not work . . . "

She cut off, her head falling back against the wall, wincing when she felt how hard her nails were digging into her palms. Two hands, one gloved, took them and uncurled her fingers, and Laurel took a deep breath, looking back as Malcolm took a closer look at her hands, making sure she hadn't cut herself. "You saw yourself," he guessed.

"I basically taunted myself," Laurel nodded. "And I just . . . wonder how I could have done that."

"Because you are not Purity," Malcolm answered. "That's not who you are."

"Maybe not," Laurel shook her head. "But I've been where she's been. Whether it's in a cell to dampen your powers . . . " She sank her teeth into her lip. "Or it's a dog collar to dampen them . . . " She looked up at Malcolm. "This just hit close to home for me," she said quietly. "I needed to sort this out for myself."

"I probably didn't help earlier, did I?" Malcolm grimaced, recalling his comment about Earth-X.

"Not really, no," Laurel admitted.

"Look," Malcolm released her hands, then held out a hand, raising an eyebrow. Laurel gave him an incredulous look, then caved in and scooted closer so they were shoulder to shoulder, knees touching. "I know how it feels when something hits close to home. Whether it affects a family member and therefore you, or affects you directly, it takes a toll. And it can be a big one." He looked at her, nodding slowly. "Like I said, we've been in the same living quarters for over half a year now. You don't need to carry a toll like that by yourself."

Laurel let out her breath slowly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he nodded.

They sat staring at Purity's cell for a bit longer, then Laurel frowned, scrunching up her nose. "What's that?" she wondered, sniffing.

Malcolm smirked. "I was wondering if you'd finally notice."

Laurel sniffed again, then slowly turned back to Malcolm. "You didn't."

"Well, I distinctly remember you saying Alex was paying," Malcolm smirked wider, holding up a paper bag. "She didn't, but I figured if it helped bribe you into opening up . . . "

"You bastard," Laurel grinned.

"Ouch," Malcolm scoffed, handing her the bag.

Laurel shook her head in disbelief, opening it up and taking out the carton of fresh mozzarella sticks inside. "I hate you."

"No, you don't."

Laurel popped one in her mouth, chewing and savoring the taste, then smiled at Malcolm and offered him the carton. "No, I don't," she agreed.

Malcolm chuckled, taking one of the mozzarella sticks, just as his phone trilled. A second later, Laurel's did the same thing. "Huh," Malcolm frowned, reaching into his jacket pocket for his phone, Laurel picking hers up from the floor. "That's Lena's tone."

"Hers for mine, too," Laurel frowned, unlocking her device. Her eyes widened when she saw the message she received. _The entire team needs to meet at the D.E.O., now._ "Malcolm," she began, scrambling to her feet.

"Yeah, we need to go," he nodded, getting up as well, Laurel tossing the paper bag into a nearby trash can as they ran from the room, leaving Purity's cell behind.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"OK, I had to take potstickers to go," Kara frowned as she and Alex returned to the D.E.O., seeing J'onn, Winn, Max, and Lucy already waiting. "What's this about?"

"We don't know," J'onn shook his head, finishing dismissing the few agents that were still there so they could talk alone.

"Yeah, all we got were texts from Ms. Luthor saying we needed to meet," Max added.

"It wasn't just you," Slade said as he came from the direction of the training rooms, holding up his own phone.

"No," Laurel said, she and Malcolm walking down the steps, James coming down the opposite staircase. "We got them, too."

"Hey, are those mozzarella sticks?" Kara pointed to the carton in her hand.

"You're not getting any," Laurel scowled, taking a bite of one.

"Does anyone know what this is about?" James looked around.

"That was what I was going to ask," Oliver came from the direction of the Legion cruiser, Mon-El with him, though Mon-El looked a bit shaken for some reason.

"No, we just got here," Alex shook her head.

"Thank God you did." Everyone turned as Lena hurried into the room, face void of color, looking a bit unstable on her feet. "Thank you for coming."

"Whoa," Winn straightened off the console as Kara hurried to help balance Lena. "You look awful."

"Thank you, Winn," Lena closed her eyes. "I really needed to hear that right now."

"I'll shut up, then," Winn cleared his throat.

"He's right, though," Lucy frowned. "Are you OK?"

"We can do this later," J'onn offered.

"No," Lena shook her head rapidly. "It needs to be now."

"What happened?" Oliver asked, stepping forward in concern. "Are William and Ruby OK?"

"What about them?" Alex's head snapped up.

"William asked me earlier in the day if he could go with Lena," Oliver answered. "Something about helping Ruby."

"They're fine," Lena assured him, swallowing. "It's not them I'm here about."

"Is Sam OK?" Laurel frowned.

If possible, Lena got even paler. "No," she shook her head. "No, she's really not."

"What happened?" James asked worriedly.

"Did she have another blackout?" Alex asked.

"She did," Lena nodded. "That's why I asked William to come with me earlier. I told Sam to take today off, spend some time with Ruby after everything that's happened to her. Ruby called from the ice rink, saying Sam had disappeared. I took her and William back to my apartment. Thank you for letting him come, Oliver, he really helped Ruby."

"Of course," Oliver nodded.

"Poor Ruby," Laurel whispered.

"Did Sam come back?" Malcolm asked.

"She did," Lena slowly nodded. "And then she had another blackout when she was there."

"You saw her have one?" Winn asked in surprise.

"I did," Lena swallowed. "And it was like Ruby told me today . . . it's like she's a completely different person."

The way she said it made everyone look around at each other. "By a completely different person," Mon-El began slowly.

Lena took a shaky breath, then pulled a flash drive out of her coat pocket. "Pull this up," she told Winn quietly, holding it out to him. "It's the security feed from my office showing Sam's blackout."

"OK," Winn frowned, going over to his station and putting the drive in.

"We're not going to like what we're about to see, are we?" Oliver looked at Lena, he and Kara instinctively stepping closer to each other.

Lena's voice cracked when she answered. "No."

"Here we are," Winn said, bringing up the video.

"Poor Sam," Alex sighed, watching Sam panic about leaving Ruby behind.

Kara frowned, shifting uneasily as she watched Sam storm past Lena, her voice changing as she grew more angry. "That's not like Sam."

"Not at all," Alex whispered.

When Sam suddenly shouted, all the blood drained from Kara's face. "No," she whispered, starting to back away, shaking her head even as Lena nodded miserably. "Lena, _no."_

When Sam turned on camera and her eyes flickered red, Kara rapidly backed away further, shaking her head and dropping into a crouch, burying her face in her hands. "No," Alex breathed in horror as Laurel's jaw dropped, Slade and Malcolm exchanging startled looks as Oliver rushed to Kara.

"Oh, my God," Lucy covered her mouth with a hand.

" _Sprock,"_ Mon-El closed his eyes as James swallowed hard, Winn quickly turning the video off, his face tinged green.

"I think that may be an understatement," Malcolm ran a hand over his face. All of them knew it took a lot to shake the man, but even he looked unnerved by what he had just seen.

"No," Kara whimpered, trembling as Oliver took her glasses then hugged her tightly. "No, no, no, no, _no . . ._ "

"One of my best friends, one of the kindest women I know, is the one who almost killed my other best friend at Christmas," Lena turned to look at the others, having to brace herself on the console. "Sam is Reign."

"Her blackout coincided with when Purity broke out of the D.E.O. and when Reign came to get her at the station," Oliver swallowed hard, letting Kara tuck her head under his as she tried to keep calm. "Oh, God, _Sam . . ._ "

"Does Sam know this?" J'onn asked, turning to Lena.

"No," Lena shook her head, taking a deep breath. "I haven't told her, and Sam never remembers what happens when she becomes Reign. They're just blanks."

"Where is she now?"

"I have her at L-Corp," she answered. "I told her I know what's wrong and that she needs to stay there for me to help her. I came here because all of you deserved to know . . . " She took a deep breath. "And what I need to do in able to help Sam."

"You think she's safe at L-Corp?" James frowned.

"We couldn't even contain Purity!" Winn gestured around the D.E.O.

"Purity's crystal caused the power to fail," Lucy pointed out.

"And keep in mind that even though I am _not_ my mother or my brother, I am a Luthor," Lena told J'onn. "If I need more help with Sam, I will let you know."

"What do you plan on doing?" Kara asked quietly, standing with Oliver's help.

Uncertainty flashed in Lena's eyes, and she seemed to brace herself as she took a deep breath. "I need to use Kryptonite in case Reign appears again."

The reaction she got was . . . not very comforting. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard that," Winn scratched the back of his head. "Did you say the K word?"

"Winn, don't make this harder than it already is," Lena closed her eyes. "Yes, I did just say I need to use Kryptonite."

"Why?" Alex protested. "You just have it laying around?"

"No, I don't have it just _laying around,"_ Lena scowled at her. "I buried it under lock and key after I found it in Lex's vault when I inherited L-Corp, especially after everything that happened with Cadmus. Do you really think I would want anyone to find out I had it and try and steal it to use on Kara?" she gestured to the Kryptonian, who had gone still.

"But you didn't think to tell the D.E.O.?" J'onn frowned.

"When I was still an unknown, when you didn't know if you could trust me?" Lena's voice turned harsh. "When, at the time, I was still a wildcard because of my last name? No, I didn't. And then you started to trust me, and I didn't want to lose that trust because, again, I didn't want to be seen just as my last name." She swallowed hard, looking at J'onn. "Read my mind if you don't believe me."

J'onn frowned, but stepped forward, his eyes glowing red. Lena stiffened for a second, then relaxed. After several tense seconds, J'onn nodded and stepped back, the red disappearing from her eyes. "She's telling the truth."

"Would you have ever told us?" Kara asked quietly.

"Before now?" Lena closed her eyes. "Not unless it was necessary."

"And when would that have been?"

"If another evil Kryptonian came around and more Kryptonite was needed to bring them down," Lena answered. "Like Overgirl."

Everyone who had been involved in the Earth-X attempted invasion grimaced at the memory. "Or if it was just us against one on Red or Silver K," Oliver followed her train of thought.

"Exactly," Lena nodded, desperate for them to understand, walking forward. "Kara, please, I would _never_ have used it on you. Do you really think I want to use it on my best friend who isn't even aware she's a murdering Kryptonian as well?"

Kara swallowed hard, the tears in Lena's eyes making her feel ones that were starting to burn in her own. "No," she croaked.

" _Never,"_ Lena's voice cracked. "But if Reign makes a reappearance . . . "

Kara swallowed hard, then nodded shakily. "OK," she whispered. "Just . . . it's _Sam."_

Lena nodded as well, hugging her tightly. "I know it is," she forced out, Kara starting to cry as well. "I know."

Alex joined the hug, tears in her eyes as well as Oliver rubbed Kara's back comfortingly, sharing worried looks with everyone, Winn looking a few seconds away from tears as well, J'onn, Mon-El, Slade, Malcolm, and Max looking resigned, Lucy, James, and Laurel looking a bit helpless. This had already been personal after Reign had beaten Kara almost to death back around Christmas.

But now that they knew _Sam,_ one of the kindest, most caring women they knew, was _Reign . . ._ that made this even more personal now. "We're going to save her," Oliver decided, remembering how Julia fought against Purity. "Julia's strong, and we know Sam is, too. Reign isn't going to win."

Kara nodded, taking a deep breath and looking at Lena. "Do what you have to do," she whispered. "Just help her."

"I will," Lena nodded firmly. "I promise."

Kara swallowed, looking at everyone else. Winn, James, and Laurel were nodding as well, and J'onn, Slade, and Malcolm had steely, determined looks in their eyes. Mon-El locked eyes with her and nodded his support. While Max and Lucy hadn't met Sam, they nodded as well. They were all in agreement.

They were not losing Sam to Reign when she had a chance to win.

* * *

 **A/N: So there's your answer to those who were wondering what Lena was going to do about Sam. She's known Kara is Supergirl for almost an entire year now, and she's been working with her team for a little less than that time. I don't believe she would have kept this secret from them after all they've done together.**

 **So this was a big canon shift. We'll see how much more canon gets thrown our the window or kept when we return to Arrow next time.**


	61. Arrow - All For Nothing - Part One

**Yes, I am back, and no, I have not abandoned this story or "The Daxam Four." To everyone who has been patiently waiting for updates, thank you _so much_ for sticking around. The last few months of school put a ton of pressure on me that required my full attention, and I wasn't going to sacrifice a good grade by diverting my attention elsewhere. Similarly, the holidays and my vacation have been spent by me focusing on my health and just having a break, because I was as sick as a dog when I got home for a while. Long story short - life happens, and life comes first. Hopefully this semester will be less rocky than last semester, so here's fingers crossed.**

 **Now, it's back to Star City! A lot of money has been lost, Team Arrow discovers the Outsiders' mole in Cayden James' operation, and Laurel makes a discovery.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver, clad in an SCPD jacket, walked down to the river, Quentin joining him on the bank. "All right, we're all set here," the Deputy Mayor reported.

Oliver nodded, looking at the Asian woman standing right by the water's edge. "Captain Hill, thank you for stepping up to lead the department," he told her. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

"After tonight, they will be," Hill promised.

"All right, take me through the details."

"We know Cayden James is monitoring traffic in and out of the city – airports, highways, ports, but the shoreline might be the blind spot," Hill answered.

"Specifically, right here," Quentin pointed to where they stood, Oliver eyeing Dinah as she walked up to join them. "There's no satellite flyover for about ten minutes. That's our window."

"And SWAT has the perimeter, so no one's getting in or out without us knowing it," Dinah added.

"Good," Oliver nodded, looking out over the water. "When do we make contact."

Quentin sighed, folding his arms. "Should be any minute."

The surface was quiet for a few seconds, then a man in black SCUBA gear surfaced. He lifted his goggles and trudged up towards them, and with relief, Oliver noted the ARGUS patch on his gear. "Mr. Mayor," he greeted. "I'm Alex Scott, ARGUS."

"Good to meet you," Oliver nodded.

"We're good to move?"

"Yes," he nodded.

Alex nodded, turning and putting his hand to his comms. "All clear on shore," he reported. "Exit, exit."

He grimaced suddenly, face twisting. "What's wrong?" Oliver frowned, gut twisting anxiously.

"No, just some weird feedback," Alex answered.

"Are your comms line of sight?" Oliver asked, anxiety growing.

"No," Alex shook his head. "We're patched in."

"You got to get those things off!" Oliver lunged forward.

Electricity crackled from the earpiece, lancing al through Alex's body. Quentin, Hill, and Dinah all grabbed Oliver at the same time, stopping him from helping Alex further as his body dropped to the ground. Wind whistled past them, and a blue blur followed by a black one and dark purple one, dove down into the water, just as electric crackles started appearing. Oliver stopped, already knowing the worst had happened, even as Kara, Mon-El, and Imra started pulling dead divers from the water.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver clicked a button on his keyboard, sighing and watching the transaction take place for the seventh time that week. "Seventy million dollars," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief as he stood, Thea walking towards him, a similar look on her face. "At this point, we've got maybe another day or two."

"What about the federal government?" Thea asked. "I mean, don't they have plans for this kind of stuff?"

"ARGUS was our best shot, and Cayden James was ready for it," Oliver told her grimly. "I think that we are on our own."

"So does that mean I go forward with the emergency bomb shelters?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "We need a contingency. We have Kara, her team, and the Legion, and if we can do our part, too, that's a place to start."

Thea nodded, making a mental note. "How's William holding up?" she asked quietly.

"Are we talking about here or National City?" Oliver asked.

Thea winced, remembering the conversation Oliver had had with her, Quentin, Dig, and Felicity about the discovery they made regarding Reign. "Both," she replied.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Doing as well as can be expected," he answered. "He's worried about Ruby – rightly so – and he's holed up at an ARGUS safehouse with Raisa and a PlayStation 4."

He walked back to his desk, Thea frowning after him. "You look like you could use some rest."

"I'll get some if you will," Oliver gave her a look.

Thea snorted fondly, folding her arms. "Like brother, like sister, I guess," she teased, making Oliver smile slightly and nod in agreement. "Hey," she put a hand on his arm. "Don't worry, OK? Cayden James is not the first guy to try to take our city hostage. We will figure it out."

Oliver nodded, watching Thea leave, then reached over to turn off his computer. He paused, however, when he heard wind rustling outside the windows. He turned to look, but saw nothing outside. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. "Hey," Kara said quietly, stepping into his office.

"Hi," Oliver smiled, turning off his computer and walking around his desk. "How are you holding up?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Kara smiled weakly.

"I'm not the one who flew into the river to save those divers," Oliver reminded her, giving her a hug, which Kara relaxed into. "I'm . . . as OK as is expected. You?"

"I don't like not being able to save people," Kara mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Me, neither," Oliver agreed, kissing the top of her head.

"Thea's right, though," Kara looked up at him. "We'll figure this out."

Oliver just nodded, relaxing more as Kara put her head back on his shoulder.

* * *

 _ **Laurel Lance**_

" _Cayden James' hold on Star City has reached eight days and counting now with all routes in and out of the city under James' control. Though Mayor Queen has urged for calm, tensions are running high as the threat of the thermobaric bomb continues to loom. With supplies running low and desperation growing, many are left wondering: how long will the city last before it implodes?"_

Laurel scoffed as she looked at the newsreel on her phone, readjusting her sunglasses and the baseball cap she wore on her head as she walked down one of the less busy streets. "And the question of the year goes to?" she muttered sarcastically, adjusting the coffee tray she carried in her other hand.

Halfway to the corner she turned onto to return to the bunker, she stopped, a tingling going up her spine. Pretending to look both ways on the street as she recovered, she took a deep breath, then crossed the street, holding her phone up as if to check her reflection. At the last second, she tilted her phone and triggered the camera, taking a picture of her shoulder.

When she checked the photo she had taken, she saw Evelyn Sharp behind her at a distance. Surprised, she turned to check behind her, but Evelyn had already disappeared.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

That evening, Dinah walked along a chainlink fence, looking around. "You're late," Vincent quietly said from the other side of the fence.

"Sorry," Dinah told him with a scowl, turning to face him. "SCPD's been dealing with the fallout from last night's debacle."

"I didn't know about the ARGUS team until after Cayden killed them," Vincent told her. "You believe me, right?"

"Cayden James likes to play things close to the vest, even with the people he's supposedly in league with," Dinah reminded him.

"Which makes finding the location of the thermobaric bomb _very_ difficult," Vincent countered. "You believe me, right? About not knowing about the ARGUS divers?"

"I already told you I do," Dinah nodded.

"I guess what I'm asking is . . . do you trust _me?"_

Dinah stared at him for a few seconds, then reached up and kissed him. When she pulled away, she gave him a small smirk and asked, "Does that answer your question?"

Vincent smiled in reply.

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

Vincent later walked into the conference room where Cayden was waiting, along with Diaz, Anatoli, and Talia. "Didn't know we were having a clubhouse meeting," he remarked. "Adults 21 and over only?" he snarked, noting someone was missing.

"Ms. Sharp is en route," Cayden answered. "This is less a meeting than it is a wake for Mr. Sheck."

"He bought the farm a week ago," Vincent frowned, looking around. "I didn't think we were sentimental like that."

"It's not sentimental," Diaz shook his head. "Surprised."

"Oliver would not kill man this way," Anatoli agreed. "None of his team would."

"Perhaps not Oliver," Talia raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps Slade Wilson?"

"Slade Wilson prefers swords," Anatoli deadpanned. "But also good shot."

"The place wasn't lacking for cops," Vincent reminded them. "One of them probably took him out." He noted Cayden's distant look, then leaned on the table, frowning. "What's _really_ behind this sudden paranoia?"

"Mr. Queen was obviously able to get word outside the cordon we placed around the city," Cayden answered.

"To ARGUS, you mean?" Vincent asked, looking around the table. "He seems more than capable."

"Agreed," Cayden conceded. "But it was unexpected, as was Mr. Sheck's demise. I don't like surprises, and I like even less the feeling that I can't trust my comrades."

Vincent scowled at the tone used. "It sounds like it's just me you don't trust."

"If I didn't, you wouldn't be drawing breath right now, Mr. Sobel," Cayden countered.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

Kara looked up from pacing the bunker when she heard footsteps enter, and she hurried over when Oliver entered, looking exhausted. "Hey," she took his hand, pulling him over to the table for him to sit down. "Hey, what happened?"

"I just spent the past two hours trying to convince the city council that we will get out from underneath Cayden James' thumb," Oliver answered tiredly, leaning into Kara's touch as she rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not even sure I believe that at this point."

Kara hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder. "My turn to be the comfort hugger."

Oliver chuckled. "Comfort hug accepted," he told her, kissing her neck.

"We really need a vacation after this."

"We need to get married after this," Oliver corrected.

"That, too."

"Vacation could always be the honeymoon," Mon-El remarked from up where tech support was working.

"I think that's the idea," Malcolm snorted.

"All the more reason to hurry this up," Oliver nodded, accepting Kara's hand up. "So, any news here?"

"Well, it depends on what you mean by news," Querl answered, spinning around in his chair to face them, his hands in their signature upside down triangle position. "We have split the city in half with the . . . other team." Kara giggled at the face Querl made when he finished his sentence; judging by the matching amused look given by Slade, the Coluan shared his own team's thoughts about Curtis, Rene, and Dinah. "However, divide and conquer has not gotten us closer to finding Cayden James. There has been nothing for a few hours."

Beeping came from another computer, and Felicity cheered victoriously. "'Has been' being the operative phrase!"

"I stand corrected," Querl muttered.

"Facial recognition picked up Vigilante," Felicity announced. "Despite his mask having no face . . . Cayden James' people don't ordinarily walk around like that."

"Finally," Laurel smirked.

"We might have caught a break," Oliver held in a sigh of relief. "Tell John the location. Imra, stay here in case we need back-up. The rest of you, suit up."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle/Oliver Queen_**

Vigilante jumped down from a fire escape in a dark alleyway, looking down both ends before moving off in one direction. He missed Dig hiding in the shadows of a doorway, and when Vincent had left, Dig stepped out, raising a hand to his comms. "I'm headed your way," he said.

Atop another fire escape further down in the alley, Oliver looked through the grating as Vincent walked underneath him. He looked up at where Malcolm was crouched on the roof of one of the buildings, and he gave one short nod. They grappled down at the same time, Vincent spinning around to see them. He was just in time to see Mon-El land behind Oliver, on his left. "Hello, there," the Daxamite smirked.

The clicks of two guns made Vincent look behind him, and Slade and Dig came from behind, Laurel sauntering behind them, a smug smirk on her face. "You going somewhere?" Dig asked.

"Where's Cayden James?" Oliver asked.

Vincent surprised them all by taking off his helmet. "You're making a mistake," he warned.

"You've got three seconds," Oliver countered.

"Oliver, listen," Vincent began.

"One," the archer began the countdown.

"I'm trying to _stop_ Cayden."

"Two."

"I can't blow my cover."

"Three!" Oliver finished, he and Malcolm drawing back their bows.

Two surprised yelps came from the alley entrance, then Kara's annoyed voice. "You're lucky I saw who the two of you were!" She poked her head around the corner a second later. "Did you get him?"

"Not yet," Oliver ground his teeth.

"Hold your fire!" Curtis's voice shouted desperately. "Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

"Did he just say _don't shoot?"_ Malcolm asked incredulously.

"He's a friendly!" Rene's voice added.

Slade, too, paused to look behind himself, then turned back around. "Did he just say _Vigilante_ is a _friendly?"_

"What?" Dig agreed, even as he slightly lowered his gun.

Curtis and Rene stumbled into the alley, hurrying to be by Vincent, Kara behind them, a surprised look of her own on her face. "He's here for a meet with us," Curtis nodded.

"He's undercover with James' group," Rene continued.

"We were gonna tell you guys," Curtis grumbled. "Eventually."

"Before or after we killed him?" Laurel scowled.

Oliver and Kara exchanged exasperated looks, then Oliver finally lowered his bow, followed by Malcolm.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Vincent Sobel_**

"I can't believe that you had time to secretly put all this together and continue starting our startup," Felicity looked around the new base as she and Querl followed Curtis down the stairs.

"Well, being single does wonders for your time management," Curtis informed her.

"OK, on your next date, you are not allowed to lead with that," Felicity told him.

Down on the floor, Oliver bluntly asked, "How do you know you can trust him?"

"He saved my life last week," Rene answered. "Killed one of James' men to do it."

"And he's in love with Dinah," Curtis added, earning a look from the woman. "Just stating facts!"

"Vince is working on locating the thermobaric bomb," Dinah explained, sitting down on the table.

"We take that out of play, and we got the situation handled," Rene nodded.

"Has there been any progress on locating the bomb?" Kara asked Vincent directly, the first time any of them had since entering the base.

"Not much," Vincent shook his head, walking over to join the conversation. "Cayden keeps the bomb on the move constantly and has become especially paranoid since I killed one of his men. Your stunt with ARGUS last night didn't help matters."

"So why don't you just take us to where Cayden and his men are hiding?" Oliver scowled.

"Because the second you show up, he'll detonate the bomb," Vincent answered immediately. "With the amplifier he has, he'll take out the city."

"He's right," Rene nodded. "And until we find out where that bomb is, we've got no moves."

"OK," Felicity hurried down the stairs. "Well, then, we just – we find out where the bomb is. Last year, we used a sniffer device to pull information from Prometheus' mother's house."

"You want to use the same device for Cayden James?" Curtis asked.

"That's exactly what I want to do," Felicity nodded. "We can gather all his ones and zeroes. There's got to be a scrap of data left in there somewhere."

"Well, good thing we have someone to plant your toy for us," Laurel gave Vincent a sarcastic smile.

Vincent sighed. "If you want an apology, I'm sorry."

"Nice that you think that's all it'll take," Laurel scoffed.

A throat cleared, then a blue head poked between them. "If I may interrupt?" Querl asked, and both glared at him. "There is just one problem with this plan."

"Oh, no," Mon-El pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Just one?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"Well, two," Querl amended. "The first is that after viewing the schematics for this sniffer, I have noticed that it requires being implanted manually into the desired server."

"No," Dinah immediately shook her head. "No, no, there's no way he can do that without Cayden noticing, especially now that he's circling the wagons."

"I knew what I signed up for," Vincent told her. "I didn't expect this to be easy." He looked at the blue-skinned humanoid, looking only slightly unnerved by the Coluan. "What else?"

"By my calculations, Cayden James' server is deep within the building," Querl continued. "So, while our comms will be working, to transmit a data pull as large as we need, line of sight is required."

"Which means you have to install the sniffer, then wait for it to download the content of Cayden James' server," Curtis realized.

"While also ensuring Cayden does not see you or the sniffer," Querl nodded. "My calculations say that would be, as you humans say, very bad."

"Thank you, twelfth-level intellect, for that amazing boost of confidence," Malcolm closed his eyes.

"You are welcome," Querl nodded, then blinked when everyone looked at him incredulously. "Oh. That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

Malcolm banged his head against the closest metal surface. "He forgot that then you have to get it outside so you can transmit the files," Curtis sheepishly added.

"Yeah, that sounds like more than two problems," Rene grimaced.

"Sounds like a good way of getting yourself killed," Dig remarked.

"Then it's a good thing I heal fast," Vincent countered.

Oliver sighed. "Vince?" he looked at his . . . what was he now? Was he an enemy or not? "May I speak with you, please?"

While Dinah looked suspiciously at him, Vincent simply nodded and led the way off to the side, Oliver behind him.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

"Ms. Queen, I'm telling you there is nothing liquid, and we have no way of borrowing capital," the man sitting in front of Quentin and Thea told the Chief of Staff as he looked through files.

"Jay," Thea swallowed as he stood and headed for the door, "that's just not gonna work for us, so I need you to try to find more money."

"I might be able to pull a few hundred thousand," Jay turned back to her. "But that – "

"That's not gonna be enough money for Cayden James," Thea interrupted, standing up and walking closer to him. "So I just – I need you to try and find some more." Jay just nodded curtly and left the office, and Thea sighed, turning back around. "Sorry," she apologized to Quentin. "Sometimes, he just needs to be pushed a little bit."

Quentin nodded in agreement, reaching over to look through his own files.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel leaned against the stairs railing, pointedly looking anywhere except at Dinah. No way was she willing to work with Vincent personally – her shoulder was very much against that idea, thank you very much – but a lead was a lead, and if that helped stop Cayden James, then so be it. She tilted her head, thinking for a few seconds. Though, maybe if she asked nicely –

"You have that look on your face."

Laurel grimaced. "What look is that?"

"You're _plotting."_

Laurel scoffed, turning and raising an eyebrow at the man in black who walked over to lean on the pole opposite her. "I'm _plotting?"_

"You're thinking," Slade amended Malcolm's statement, walking over and closing their little semicircle, his back to the room. "What is it?"

Laurel leaned her head back, then sighed. "Evelyn," she answered.

"What about her?" Malcolm asked, narrowing his eyes.

"She's been following me," Laurel answered with a sigh. "It's been happening for a few days now."

"I assume she hasn't stopped to chat?" Slade guessed.

"No," Laurel shook her head. "Every time I turn around, she disappears."

"Is that good or bad?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

Laurel sighed, pulling up the picture she took of Evelyn and handing it to him. "I don't know," she admitted. "I never talked to her much when we worked with Chase, and I don't know how much I got through to her, if at all, when I was kidnapped during the holidays, but . . . I think she wants to reach out. She might just be afraid."

"Well, it's the least crazy thing I've heard recently," Malcolm handed her phone back.

"So I'm not crazy?" Laurel asked.

"No," Malcolm assured her. "Of the three of us, you're probably the least crazy."

"Speak for yourself, wizard," Slade smirked.

Malcolm facepalmed, making Laurel snicker. _"Magician."_

Laurel laughed, putting her phone away. "You two can never be serious a moment in your lives, can you?"

"That depends on when seriousness is called for," Slade answered.

"To quote my daughter," Malcolm pointed at where Laurel had put her phone away. "What is seriousness?"

Laurel smiled, ducking her head. Her smile faded as she thought about Evelyn. She was still so young . . . and she had never seen Evelyn kill a single person when they had been with Chase. "I just hope she reaches out," she said quietly.

"Maybe next time, we don't wait for her," Malcolm suggested. "Maybe next time, _you_ reach out to _her."_

Laurel considered, then blinked and looked up. "We?"

"We," Malcolm nodded.

"You're not doing this without someone watching your six," Slade agreed.

Laurel smiled a bit, then nodded. "OK," she told them. "Let's do it."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"What's on your mind?" Vincent asked, he and Oliver stopping in the hall.

"Dinah, Curtis, and Rene trust you," Oliver answered. "I'm not there yet."

Vincent snorted his opinion of that. "I want you to try to imagine how little I give a damn."

"You've taken a shot at me," Oliver reminded him. "Matter of fact, you've taken a shot at nearly everybody in that room, so I will be convinced that you are not playing us the way that you claim to be playing Cayden James."

"I don't have to convince you," Vincent shook his head, stepping closer. "Because you're not stopping me from doing this."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked.

"I am," Vincent nodded. "Because you know saving this city means doing whatever's necessary, and you know that means using me."

Oliver finally nodded, stepping aside so Vincent could walk past him to leave and get ready.

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

"Did Oliver push you to do this?" Dinah asked, contempt barely hidden in her voice as she followed Vincent to his motorcycle afterwards.

"He didn't have to, D," Vincent shook his head. "It's the right play." He stopped when he heard Dinah's steps stopped, and he turned to see her looking at him, a worried look on her face. "Hey," he walked back to her. "It's gonna be OK."

"I'm not so sure," Dinah swallowed. "Something just doesn't feel right, you know? The same way it did for you when everything went back with Sonus."

"That was _my_ call, D," Vincent reminded her. "Don't you wear that guilt."

"I don't want to lose you again," Dinah whispered.

"I'm so happy to hear that," he told her. "And you _won't."_

He leaned down and kissed her, then walked over to his motorcycle, swinging one leg over it to ride back to Cayden James' headquarters.

* * *

 **A/N: Just a reminder that I _do_ have to rewatch episodes as I write these to make sure I get action and dialogue speakers correct, so please, no rushing me. I work as hard as I can to get these as correct as possible, and I'm sure all of you, just like me, value quality of writing more than how quickly writing gets done. Patience is a virtue, so please don't rush me, and I'll keep getting these out.**

 **Judging by the parts I have to write, I have at least sixty to go, so . . . yeah. Patience, please.**


	62. All For Nothing - Part Two

**Vincent starts his extremely dangerous missing, Kara, Mon-El, and Imra have very clear opinions on New Team Arrow, and Laurel finally gets to chat with Evelyn.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Dinah Drake/Querl Dox_**

When Curtis, Dinah, and Rene emerged from the elevator into the bunker, they were greeted by the sight of Oliver and Kara by the railing on the tech level, Mon-El on Kara's right, Dig leaning against the metal beam on Oliver's left, Imra behind them. Felicity and Querl were by their stations. And all of them were watching them enter. "Nice," Curtis smiled nervously, trying to ease the tension. "Love what you guys haven't done with the place."

"Because your approval is what we strive for." Kara's voice dripped with sarcasm, making Mon-El smirk.

"Let's get this over with," Dinah grumbled.

"We, uh, turned your room into a home gym because," Felicity began, a smile on her face, which began to fade because of the dubious looks given to her by the three others. "Because this extremely awkward situation needs to be masked with humor."

"Why?" Querl knitted his eyebrows in confusion.

"I think what she means to say is welcome back," Dig cut in.

"We have the inside man, you have the tech," Rene shrugged. "That's the only reason we're back, Hoss."

"You're down a few members," Curtis remarked, looking around.

"J'onn, Alex, and Winn are at the D.E.O. right now and are trying to make progress on another bigger problem," Oliver said. "Lena is . . . " He looked at Kara, watching her bite her lip and look down. "Similarly occupied," he went with, because while he didn't know what exactly Lena's plans were regarding Sam, he knew she would do what it took to try and get her friend cured of Reign.

"And your attack dogs?" Dinah asked snidely.

"Watch it," Kara's eyes narrowed to slits.

She would have barged forward if her fiancé hadn't put a calming hand on her arm. "Otherwise occupied," Oliver deflected. "But it's important to our situation."

"But it wouldn't surprise me if they simply wanted to avoid the room," Imra folded her arms.

Dinah bristled, looking at the woman who had barged in on their operation when Cayden's attacks just began. "Oh?" she asked. "And why's that?"

Imra just tapped the side of her head. "You're broadcasting," she answered simply. "I'm getting a headache just being in the same room with you lot, and I haven't gotten past your thoughts of . . . oh," she blinked innocently. "I probably shouldn't say that."

Mon-El's laughter turned into a coughing fit at the disturbed look on Curtis's face and the utterly stupefied looks on Rene's and Dinah's. "Ah, my wife," he grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Oh, I'm enjoying this."

"That makes one of us," Kara muttered, and Oliver squeezed her arm comfortingly.

"So you're reading our minds?" Dinah snapped.

"It's hard to ignore someone shouting at you," Imra raised an eyebrow coolly.

Dinah shut her mouth with a click, fuming. "Could we get back on topic before this gets any worse?" Dig looked between the two women.

"Is Vince on site?" Oliver changed the topic.

"Should be as of five minutes ago," Dinah nodded curtly. "That is if everything goes according to plan."

"You sound like it might not," Dig observed.

"Vince said he doesn't have access to the server room, so if anyone spots him in there, he's gonna have a lot of explaining to do," Dinah pointed out.

"We've got eyes," Felicity announced, and Querl pulled up the camera footage from Vincent onto the large screen.

"Can I talk to him?" Dinah asked.

"Yeah."

Dinah rushed to the screen, everyone else walking over to view the footage as well. "Hey, Vince," she took a deep breath. "You get any kind of bad feeling here at all, you abort. You hear me?"

"Don't worry," Vincent told her. "I'll see you soon."

"He's at the server," Felicity said as he arrived at a door.

They heard a rattle or two, then Vincent huffed. "The door to the server room's locked. You guys have a solve for this?"

"06141998," Querl answered promptly.

There was an incredulous pause as even Oliver and Kara looked at the Coluan in surprise. "You sure about that?" Vincent asked.

"By my calculations, there is a 95.872% chance that is the code," Querl nodded. "It is also his son's birthday, which is a typical human password to use."

"If you're wrong, he's dead," Rene frowned.

Querl turned around in his chair and gave him a bitch face that made Oliver smirk. "I won't be wrong."

Vincent typed in the numbers, then tried the door again. When it opened, both Vincent and Dinah sighed in relief. "Good work, Brainy," Mon-El smiled proudly.

"Thank you," Querl bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"OK, Vince, you're in the red zone," Felicity told Vincent. "Just let the sniffer do its thing."

Vincent plugged the sniffer in to start downloading, and Querl blinked as the bar came up. "Oh, my . . . eighty terabytes."

Felicity blew out her breath in a rush. "You guys can get comfortable. This is gonna take a minute."

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

Vincent sighed, tapping his foot impatiently, then froze when he heard a questioning voice behind him. "Mr. Sobel?"

Vincent slowly turned to come face to face with Cayden, hearing two swears simultaneously from his comms. "Frak!" Felicity seethed.

"Oh, Sprock," Querl sputtered.

"I think we need to talk," Cayden said coldly, narrowing his eyes. "All of my people have specific domains. I don't believe that I.T. is one of yours, which means you would not have a proper passcode to enter."

"How much data's been copied?" Oliver asked.

"Twenty percent," Curtis answered.

"No, but Mr. Sheck did," Vincent finally spoke to Cayden, trying to buy more time. "He was a little more loose-lipped than you'd like. Rest in peace."

Cayden frowned, walking closer. "Still doesn't explain what exactly you're doing in here."

"We got to pull him out," Dinah panicked.

"Dinah, not yet," Oliver began.

"Oliver!" she snapped.

"OK, wait," Felicity cut in. "Vince, if you want to stay alive, repeat exactly what I say."

Vincent took a deep breath, then did as Felicity told him. "You think just because I can handle a gun doesn't mean I know the difference between a trans-polymer hybrid and a fiber optic cable." Cayden blinked in surprise, and Vincent went on, gaining confidence as he went. "I'm just impressed. I wanted to know how you maximized the data throughput. Sorry. I should have asked first."

Cayden considered him thoughtfully, then finally said, "Perhaps." He sounded a bit impressed as he spoke. "I may have underestimated you. It seems that ou have more skill than I gave you credit for."

"I keep telling people I'm more than just a pretty face," Vincent shrugged.

"Eighty percent," Imra said.

"Keep him talking," Felicity urged.

"Funny thing is," Vincent improvised from there, "I underestimated you, too."

"Is that right?" Cayden tilted his head.

"When you recruited me to help you take this city from Oliver Queen, I didn't think you'd have the resolve to do what was necessary to make him fear you," he nodded. "I was wrong."

"Does that mean that you also fear me, Mr. Sobel?"

"I'd be a fool not to."

Cayden scoffed. "Such flattery. Are we done here?"

"Yeah, we're good," Felicity said. "Take the sniffer and leave."

Vincent nodded. "After you."

Cayden turned and headed for the door, and Vincent quickly snatched the sniffer device and followed. When he walked out, he saw Cayden looking at his phone. "It appears that Mr. Knyazev has returned from the port," he said. "Join us in five."

He headed off, not expecting an answer. "Absolutely," Vincent spoke through gritted teeth, watching him leave.

"You were amazing," Dinah praised.

"Yeah, we'll engrave your Oscar when you're out of the building," Felicity said.

Vincent sighed in relief, nodding and turning. "Heading out now."

He was almost to the next hallway when one of Cayden's henchmen stopped him. "Hold up," he ordered. "Mr. James wants to see you."

Vincent looked side to side first; when he confirmed the guard was alone, he shoved him against the wall and delivered two sharp punches, one to his neck and the other to his face. When the guard was dazed, he shoved him carelessly to the floor, the guard slumping unconscious. "Did I teach you that move?" Dinah sounded impressed.

" _I_ taught _you_ that move," Vincent smirked, heading for the door. When he was outside, he pulled the sniffer out. "All right, transmitting now."

"It's coming through," Felicity told him. "Man, this is the motherload. Brainy, I'm gonna need your help to process this."

"I am at your services," Querl answered.

"Now get your ass back to Helix," Dinah told him.

"On my way," Vincent nodded, dropping the sniffer and crushing it under his boot.

He made it to his motorcycle when he heard the door open behind him, then Cayden's voice. "Mr. Sobel!"

Vincent hid a grimace and turned around. "Sorry, I got a text from my girlfriend," he lied. "She's at the hospital. Thinks it's appendicitis."

"Well, I'm sure the doctors are doing everything they can," Cayden brushed it off. "I need you here for a rather important assignment."

"Yeah?" Vincent raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Rooting out a traitor."

Behind Vincent, Anatoli held a tazer to Vincent's neck, and the metahuman spasmed before dropping to the ground, shocked into unconsciousness.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Intriguing," Querl hummed as he worked on the computers. "Cayden James appears to have a lot of junk in his server."

"I wonder how many brilliant people are actually slobs," Felicity tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Not Lena," Kara snorted.

"Anything yet?" Oliver asked.

"Well, if by anything, you mean the location of the bomb," Felicity grimaced, "No. Not yet."

"OK, how much longer is this gonna take?" Dig frowned.

"Yeah, how much longer do I got to be here, because I'm starting to get PTSD," Rene complained.

"There's the elevator," Mon-El pointed without looking. "Have a nice night."

Oliver hid his amused smile quickly as Rene glared at Mon-El's back. "Maybe an hour," Felicity shrugged.

"Or possibly less," Querl added, not looking up from his work.

"I'm gonna head back to Helix," Dinah told them, walking to the elevator.

"I'll go with you," Rene volunteered, quickly hurrying after her, pointedly ignoring Mon-El and Oliver exchanging smirks behind him.

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

Vincent spent a few seconds staring into the barrel of the gun aimed at him by Anatoli, then his gaze slid as Cayden walked behind the Russian. "You were always the enigma, Mr. Sobel," he said as Diaz tied Vincent tightly to a chair. "The vigilante willing to ally himself with criminals to take out other vigilantes. I must confess, I never totally bought into it. Given your background as an undercover operative, I would have been a fool to. I don't strike you as a fool, do I?"

"No," Vincent shook his head. "You are coming off a little crazy, though. I've done good work for you. I got no love for Oliver Queen, you know that."

"I don't know anything for certain," Cayden countered. "That's what this is for."

He nodded to Diaz, and Vincent braced himself when he heard the sound of a knife. Diaz stepped in front of him, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged the blade of the knife slowly against his cheek. Vincent gritted his teeth, a groan of pain slipping through as Diaz made a shallow cut.

Cayden stepped forward, and Vincent glared up at him, already feeling the cut heal. "I must admit, that is fascinating," he remarked.

"You can torture me all you want," Vincent growled. "You'll keep getting the same answer. I didn't do anything."

"I admire your tenacity, but even a man who's difficult to kill cannot withstand torture," Cayden told him, turning to Anatoli. "At least, not forever."

Anatoli nodded smugly. "In my country, we do things a little . . . how do you say . . . _dirtier?"_

Vincent averted his eyes, and Diaz smirked. "We'll give the two of you some privacy," Cayden nodded, leaving.

Diaz turned the blade over in his hands as he left; Anatoli put down his gun and walked over to a rack, cracking his knuckles. "Okie dokie," he said, pulling back the cloth on top, and Vincent tensed when he saw the variety of tools underneath. Anatoli picked one up and admired it, then glanced at Vincent. "Where shall we begin?"

Vincent gave him a dirty look in reply.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel walked down the hallway of one of the more abandoned warehouses in Star City, her phone pressed to her ear, pretending she was talking on it. "I'm here," she said quietly. "Is she still following?"

"She's right on your six," Malcolm answered through the comms she was really speaking into. "Just keep moving."

"All right," Laurel nodded, opening the next door on her left. She shut it behind her, making sure she heard it click before walking further inside, taking a few deep breaths, then ducked out of sight.

Sure enough, she heard the door open a few seconds later, followed by hesitant footsteps. The closer they got, the more nervous Laurel found herself. If they made just _one wrong move . . ._ "She's in," Slade told her.

Laurel took one last deep breath, then stepped out from where she hid. "Evelyn," she began, then panicked when the dark-haired girl immediately balked and turned to leave. "Wait, wait, wait, wait!" she held up her hands. "Don't . . . please don't go."

Evelyn froze, then timidly turned around. "This was a mistake," she swallowed, eyes darting all over the place.

"I think if you really thought that, you wouldn't have spent the past few nights following me," Laurel told her, carefully taking a few steps forward, keeping her hands in Evelyn's line of sight. "I think you want to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Evelyn shook her head.

"Then don't," Laurel shook her head. "I'll talk. How about that?" Evelyn folded her arms and fidgeted on her feet, but she didn't leave, so Laurel took that as a good sign. "I've been dealt a bad hand most of my life," Laurel told her, having to pace as she spoke, otherwise she wouldn't be able to stand still. "My dad died getting my birthday cake on my thirteenth birthday. There was the _Gambit_ sinking on Earth-2, and Oliver's father made it out, but not my boyfriend. I took it . . . hard," she let out her breath slowly. "And I made decisions that weren't right. I tried to move to Central City, start a new life." She turned to look back at Evelyn. "Then December 11th, 2013 happened."

"The particle accelerator," Evelyn whispered.

Laurel nodded. "And I got this," she rubbed her throat. "And from there, bad decisions were practically my life. I became a criminal, then I met Zoom. I can't tell you the number of buildings I've destroyed for him, how many people I probably killed because they were inside when I brought them down. I came to Central City with him to help him conquer this Earth, but as you know, the Flash and his team were able to stop him. I got locked up in their cell block, and I thought that was it for me." She stopped and turned to look at Evelyn. "You know what happened next." Evelyn swallowed, but nodded. "I am not asking you to decide right now whether I'm right or wrong, or if working with Cayden and Talia is right or wrong," Laurel told Evelyn, walking closer to her, stopping when she saw Evelyn looked ready to bolt. "We all make choices that can take us on a downward spiral, and there can be a point where it all falls apart and it's a hell of a climb back up. It's hard to be a hero when no one expects you to be. The easier path is to be a criminal. My shatterpoint was when I learned Chase brought Oliver's son to Lian Yu. I still don't think I'm done climbing out of the hole yet." Evelyn swallowed hard, backing up, and Laurel took a deep breath, saying the rest of what she wanted to say. "I don't know if you've had a shatterpoint yet or not, but all I am asking is please . . . if you want to talk to me again, you can. And there _is_ somewhere for you to go if you need out."

Evelyn gulped, then asked in a very shaky voice, "Are you done?"

Laurel stared at her for a second, then sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm done."

Evelyn nodded, taking a quick look at her watch before turning and running. Laurel watched her go, then sat down on the nearest flat surface and put her head in her hands. She heard quiet footsteps approach, then almost jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You OK?" Slade asked as Malcolm sat on her other side.

"I don't know," Laurel answered, staring at a random spot on the ground. "What did I just do?"

"I think you gave her an out if she needs it," Malcolm answered. "And what she does next is up to her."

Laurel closed her eyes, then nodded as Slade squeezed her shoulder supportively.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

There were simultaneous exasperated sighs from Kara and Mon-El as the elevator dinged open again, but Oliver was alert the second he heard Dinah's panicked voice. "Vince didn't make it back to Helix."

"Did he reach out to any of you?" Rene asked, following her out.

"No," Oliver shook his head.

"Eureka!" Querl suddenly exclaimed triumphantly.

"Boom goes the dynamite!" Felicity followed up, turning and raising her hand for a high five, which Querl looked blankly at. "Oh," she reached over and took his hand, then high fived it. "That's how you do that."

"Oh," Querl nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Curtis cleared his throat behind him. "Maybe not the best choice of words, considering the circumstances."

"Oh," Felicity smirked, she and Querl turning in their seats to look at them, "if by circumstances, you mean locating Cyaden's bomb, then yes, we just did."

"Yes!" Kara whispered, closing her eyes in relief.

"Where?" Oliver asked.

"Warehouse district, 10th and Valley," Felicity gestured to the screen.

"What exactly are we walking ourselves into here?" Dig frowned.

"Unfortunately, it is a surveillance dead zone," Querl shook his head. "We don't know because we can't see."

"No surprise there," Rene muttered.

"The place is _massive,"_ Felicity whistled, looking the schematics over.

"Then we need everybody," Oliver nodded. Mon-El and Imra nodded in agreement, though Dinah, Rene, and Curtis looked at him in slight surprise. Oliver just raised an eyebrow in response. "It's your city, too," he reminded them. "Everybody. Agreed?"

The three exchanged uneasy looks, then one by one, started to nod. "I'll call the others," Kara stepped back, pulling her phone out.

The computers buzzed, and Querl paused, hands above his keyboard. "I did not do that."

"No, you didn't," Felicity swallowed, hearing groans come through. "That's Vince. He just activated his comms."

Anatoli's voice cut through Vincent's sounds. "The pain stops once I have my answers."

"Vince," Dinah breathed in horror, Kara looking up from her phone, eyes wide. "Oh, my God. We need to help him!"

"Hey, look," Oliver turned to her. "Like Vince said, James is constantly moving the bomb. This might be our only chance."

"He's being tortured!" Dinah protested.

"And he can handle it," Dig reminded her. "With his healing abilities, they can't do anything to hurt him permanently. As far as we know, this could be a trap."

"Once the bomb is rendered safe, we go back in, we get Vince," Oliver told her.

"He has already been made!" Dinah snapped. "By the time we get there, that bomb is gonna be long gone!"

"How do you know that?" Mon-El asked.

"You are not part of this!" Dinah glared at him, making Imra glare right back at her. "And I know it! Look, we all got him into this, we should all be getting him out!"

"Oliver," Kara said quietly, looking up from her phone. "The D.E.O.'s handling an alien threat right now. It's just us here."

Oliver took a deep breath, then nodded, not breaking his gaze from Dinah's. She swallowed, then spat, "Fine. I'll do it myself."

"Dinah, Vince would not want you to do it this way," Oliver stepped to stand in her way.

"Don't you dare!" Dinah snarled viciously. "You damn well if it was Kara out there, if it was Lyla, this wouldn't even be up for debate." Oliver gritted his teeth, unable to argue with that because yes, he agreed. "Vince is _my_ family, and I am not letting him die," she told him firmly. "Not again."

Oliver took a deep breath, then nodded in understanding, stepping aside to let her pass. "Dinah," Curtis began as Dinah headed for the elevator.

"You're not talking me out of this, Curtis," Dinah growled.

"We know," Rene nodded. "That's why we're coming with you."

"You're our family, too," Curtis told her. "We'll save Vince." He looked at Oliver. "You guys save the city."

Oliver seethed, then looked at Mon-El. "Are you with us?"

"You have my word," he nodded.

Oliver sighed, then stepped back further, allowing Curtis and Rene to follow Dinah. "Then we need to suit up," he said. _"Now."_

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel sighed and pulled her phone back out when it chimed, and when she saw the message, she sat up straight, knocking Slade's hand off her shoulder. "Oh, my God, they found it," she grinned.

"Found what?" Malcolm asked.

"The bomb," Laurel answered, scrambling to her feet. "We're going for it."

"Finally," Slade smirked, he and Malcolm exchanging satisfied looks as they followed her.

Laurel grinned as she left, happy to be able to concentrate on something else. She just hoped she wouldn't have to run into Evelyn again on the opposite side of the field after she had just gotten a chance to talk to her.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, boy . . . and next chapter's gonna be where the Arrow storyline gets interesting.**

 **I'm hoping to finish this episode before I go back to school next week, so bear with me!**


	63. All For Nothing - Part Three

**Team Arrow goes after the bomb, the Outsiders go after Vincent, and there is . . . quite the fallout. It's not pretty.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Oh, boy," Mon-El whistled lowly as he and Imra landed with Dig, Kara and Oliver landing a few feet away. "This place is huge."

"Which is why we play this smart," Oliver said, looking up at the enormous warehouse as Dig and the two Legionnaires jogged over. "Supergirl, Valor, Saturn Girl, you search this place top to bottom. Strip it down, I don't care. Find that bomb."

"And all the men inside?" Kara asked.

"Leave them to us," an Australian voice answered.

Oliver turned, relief evident on his face as Slade approached, Malcolm and Laurel grappling in. "Thank you for coming," he said.

"Like we wouldn't," Malcolm adjusted his bow, looking up at the warehouse. "You need every person you can get to search this place, considering there's a bomb that can take out the entire city somewhere inside."

"What, did three others not feel the same way?" Laurel looked around, though she didn't look surprised.

"They're going after Vincent," Dig explained.

"One man over the entire city?" Slade asked incredulously.

Oliver just sighed. "We need to move and find this bomb, quickly."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

One of the guards in Cayden's headquarters was thrown to the ground, and Dinah stormed past him, violently punching the next guard who tried to get in her way. She smashed her bo staff into the head of the next guard she saw, quickly running to cover as more guards with machine guns ran into view. Rene provided cover fire as Curtis joined Dinah, then joined both of them himself. "How much further?" Dinah asked.

"About one hundred yards or so, give or take," Curtis answered.

"That might as well be a mile away at this rate," Rene shook his head.

"Not if you draw their fire," Dinah argued.

Curtis nodded. "Follow the T-sphere," he told her, holding it up. "Go!"

He launched it into the air, and as Rene ran out to fire at the men heading towards them, Dinah raced after the sphere, Rene and Curtis following her when it was clear.

* * *

 ** _Vincent Sobel_**

Vincent wearily raised his head, panting as his remaining wounds healed, perking up when he heard gunfire. The lone guard left in the room checked out the door, and Vincent gritted his teeth, finally breaking through his bonds. The guard tried to rush him, but Vincent picked up his chair and whacked the guard in the back of the head, sending the guard to the ground, unconscious. Vincent didn't stay long, choosing to rush out of the room.

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen_**

"I'll take the top level," Kara told Mon-El and Imra as they entered the warehouse.

"I'll take middle," Mon-El nodded.

"Ground," Imra finished.

Kara flew for the stairwell, followed by Mon-El, and Imra took off in a sprint, propelling herself into the air by her Legion ring, knocking out a few guards while she was at it.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson/John Diggle/Oliver Queen_**

Slade ducked away from Imra flying past him, raising his arm to block the gunfire headed for his face. With a feral snarl, he whipped his sword free from its sheath on his back, twirling it and slashing the offending guard's legs out from under him. He went down with a yelp, and Slade charged into the next three shooting at him, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off his armor.

Dig took the corridor just opposite him, punching one guard in the back and shoving him against the wall. He swiftly dodged the bullets the guard fired at him, and he grabbed the guard in a chokehold, firing into his leg to keep him down.

From the opposite side of the ground floor, Oliver brought down the first two guards with ease, then rushed the men in the kitchen, alternating between firing arrows into them and shoving them into the metal tables inside.

* * *

 ** _Ricardo Diaz_**

Diaz turned away from the bomb being loaded into a truck when he heard the sounds of fighting, and with a small smirk, he looked at Anatoli. "Looks like your little buddy's finally found us."

"Took longer than expected," Anatoli sniffed. "Good for us. Bad for him."

Diaz nodded in agreement, withdrawing a tablet from his coat and opening it up as Anatoli took out a radio, Diaz bringing up a few schematics for the warehouse. It wasn't a dead zone for them, after all.

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen_**

Imra landed in one room, taking one look around before whipping around and bringing her hands up. A forcefield shimmered to life in front of her, and the bullets fired at her ricocheted back and into the guards who fired them. They let out startled cries and collapsed, and Imra dropped the forcefield, raising a hand to her comms. "I haven't found it," she reported.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig fired shots into the last guard in his hallway, watching as he collapsed to the ground, taking a few empty cardboard boxes with him. "Not here, either," he agreed.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned, and for a second, his gun was aimed at the black and orange mask of Slade. The other vigilante silently shook his head, and Dig lowered his gun. "Wizard?" Slade asked. "Siren?"

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"For God's sake!" Malcolm growled as he stabbed one of his arrows into the neck of one of the guards he was fighting. _"Magician!"_

Laurel kicked herself off the wall and punched out the next guard trying to fire at her, grabbing him by the arm and using him as a human shield, two other guards firing rounds into their own ally. When they were nicely distracted by that, she screamed at them, sending them flying back into the wall. "Will you let that go long enough to find this bomb?" she snapped.

A yelp came from behind her, and Laurel turned around to see Malcolm's sword sticking out of one guard's chest. Malcolm swiftly pulled it out, looking down at the guard as he fell. "That'll be the day," he muttered, wiping the guard's blood off on said guard's uniform. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Laurel nodded.

Malcolm nodded back, looking around. "No sign of the bomb here," he added. "Anyone else?"

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"Nothing yet!"

Mon-El sighed when he heard Kara's report, and he finished looking into the next room he had to check. "Same," he said, then whipped his fist up, punching the guard approaching him from behind in the nose, making him stumble back before Mon-El turned and knocked him out completely.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver finished going through his next room of guards, growling angrily. "Nothing," he spat in frustration.

"I'm almost finished," Kara tried to assure him.

"I'm rounding out this floor, too," Mon-El added.

Oliver took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "We are still running out of time," he seethed. Metallic scraping caught his attention, and he turned to look at the door behind him. Narrowing his eyes, he reached for his comms again. "I've got movement, east corridor."

"Copy," Slade answered.

"On our way," Dig added.

Oliver cautiously approached the door, then snap kicked it open, reaching up to draw an arrow as he entered the room. He froze, however, when he saw several people tied and attached to bombs, and a quick look towards the center of the room revealed the detonator beeping a countdown. "Hello, Kapuishon," Anatoli's voice came from the radio next to the bomb. "No need for me to explain choice here, yes?"

Oliver growled in frustration as Slade and Dig appeared in the doorway behind him, both tensing at the scene in front of them. "I thought you were an honorable man!"

"I am," Anatoli answered. "Why else I give you choice? Find bomb or save – "

Fed up, Oliver fired an arrow into the remote, disabling it and making sparks fly.

* * *

 ** _Ricardo Diaz_**

Anatoli jerked slightly away from the remote when feedback came over it, then he and Diaz exchanged uneasy looks. "Do it," Anatoli muttered, dropping the remote and heading for the driver's side.

Diaz nodded and headed to the passenger's side, looking at his tablet and tapping a few buttons.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Go," Dig ordered. "I'll take care of them."

Oliver and Slade exchanged glances and nodded, heading for the door when suddenly the building shook. "What was that?" Slade looked up.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara flew into the last room on the top floor, pausing when she heard the radio conversation. Then she heard a loud snap above her, and she looked up to see what it was.

In the next second, she hurriedly raised her arms, just managing to catch the load of concrete blocks that were falling on her. She winced, taking a few deep breaths to get herself under control.

Then the intercoms she had seen in the room blared at a very high-pitched frequency, and Kara screamed in pain, crashing down to the ground, the concrete falling on her as she tried to cover her ears.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Mon-El paused where he ran into the last room on his floor, looking up when he heard the cry. "Supergirl?" he called, wincing when the high-pitched noise began. Then there was a snap above him, and Mon-El looked up, just narrowly managing to dodge the concrete that would have fallen on him. He was out the door a second later, just before the frequency rang out in his room. "Supergirl's down!" he reported into his comms. "I'm going to help her!"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Damn it," Oliver ground out.

"That's it!" He and Slade turned around to see Malcolm and Laurel run into view, Laurel's lips curled in a snarl as she spoke. "I officially hate Cayden James."

"Yeah, that makes two of us," Oliver growled.

Imra flew into view, landing in a run. "I think I know where they have the bomb," she reported.

"We're right behind you," Oliver nodded.

Imra nodded back, taking off again, Oliver leading the three others into a dead run after her.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah used her bo staff to flip one guard end over end, then somersaulted towards the next two firing at her. She kicked one's feet out from underneath him, then used her bo staff to disarm the other. She punched him out, panting hard, then straightened when she heard a pained grunt behind her. She quickly turned, and her eyes widened when she saw who had just knocked the guard out. _"Vince?"_ she gasped, rushing forward and hugging him tightly. "Oh, thank God!" She pulled back, grinning up at him. "Smart work activating your comms."

Vincent's relieved smile froze on his face. "I didn't."

Dinah stared at him in horror, then their attention was drawn to a beeping from the wall nearby. The beeping accelerated, and the bomb embedded in the wall detonated, throwing both metahumans to the ground.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Laurel Lance_**

"There!" Imra pointed to the doors leading to the roof.

"They're moving it," Malcolm realized.

Imra nodded miserably in response. "Move!" Oliver barked, all five making a mad dash to get outside.

As soon as she was outside, Imra propelled herself into the air, searching for the bomb. Oliver and Malcolm fired the first shots into the two guards they saw, Slade double tapping the next guard in the chest. As the next guards rushed them, Malcolm exchanged a look with Laurel, then smirked and ducked. Laurel grinned, then planted a hand on his shoulder and vaulted over him, lashing out and kicking one guard across the face, knocking him into the guard on his other side. "Nice," Malcolm grinned.

"Thanks," Laurel grinned, then it froze when she saw what was at the end of the building. "Oh, no."

"What?" Malcolm hurried to join her as Oliver and Slade took care of the remaining guards. He blanched when he saw the four similar white vans parked down on the tarmac, unable to tell them apart. "Oh, no."

The trucks drove off, and he and Laurel exchanged glances. "Please tell me you can," Laurel began as they ran off.

"What kind of vigilante do you think I am if I can't drive a bike?" Malcolm retorted. "You drive, I shoot!"

"Fine!"

Malcom nodded, letting Laurel run further along to get the bike started, raising his hand to his comms. "Saturn Girl, _stop those trucks!"_

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen/Malcolm Merlyn/Laurel Lance_**

Imra hovered in the sky, watching the trucks barrel single file towards a chainlink fence, only wide enough for one truck to leave at a time. Narrowing her eyes, she dropped down in front of the truck in the lead, extending her hand towards it.

The truck skidded to a stop, making Imra smirk, which quickly fell from her face when she saw the other trucks keep driving, veering around the first truck to try and barge through the fence. Imra quickly threw her other hand out, stopping the next truck, then concentrated on her powers again to stop the other two trucks. She grimaced with the effort, then zeroed in when the passenger's side of one of the trucks opened, revealing a man with a dragon tattoo on his neck, who drew a gun and started firing at her. Imra raised her hand to block the shots, now having to concentrate on _five_ targets.

She completely missed the black SUVs driving behind her until one slammed into her back, sending her sprawling, her concentration gone.

She held on long enough, though, as the bike Slade had used to get to the warehouse plowed through one of the buildings, Laurel shaking debris out of her hair and going at full speed. Behind her, Malcolm nocked two arrows at once, aiming just past the trucks. Laurel had to squeal to a sudden stop, though, as the SUVs drove forward and took down the fence, allowing the trucks to drive on, past a groaning Imra as she tried to sit up. Malcolm jumped from the bike, changing targets and firing both arrows into the first SUV, the explosives in the arrowheads detonating the second they hit the car. Laurel swerved the bike and rolled off it, sending the bike forward and into the other SUV. It stopped the car dead, and Laurel jumped on the bike and onto the roof of the SUV, screaming down onto the roof, caving it in and hitting the gunmen inside.

Malcolm hurried past the SUVs to help Imra, who was holding her head in her hand, whimpers of pain coming from her. "Are you OK?" he asked, bending down.

Imra swallowed, taking his hand and letting him help her up, though she swayed when she was on her feet. "I will be," she answered.

Laurel ran down the SUV, panting as she looked to see the four trucks had split up, and she gritted her teeth. "Shit."

* * *

 ** _Mon-El/Oliver Queen_**

Mon-El heard it all through his comms, though he had other things to concentrate on. Mainly, it was lifting all the concrete off of the Kryptonian he was sure was buried underneath, all while trying to not let the frequency still blasting from the intercoms stop him.

He was moving the second to last piece when he heard footsteps race in behind him. He grimaced and turned to see who it was, then saw a green arrow fly past and into one of the intercoms, multiple gunshots taking out the other. He sagged in relief when the frequency stopped, pushing the concrete block away. "Oh, my God," Dig stared in horror as he and Oliver hurried over.

"Hang on," Mon-El got a grip on the last block. "Just this one . . . and . . . "

He shoved it away, and Oliver hurried to check on his fiancée, Dig keeping his gun at the ready. "Kara?" Oliver asked worriedly, brushing the concretre rubble off of her.

She whimpered in response, slowly uncurling herself from the ball she rolled into, her hands still over her ears. "Hurts," she slurred, eyes fluttering.

Oliver exhaled slowly, carefully pulling her into his arms and hugging her to him, Mon-El standing up and raising his hand to his comms. "We got Supergirl," he reported, watching her eyes close as she slipped unconscious.

"We have Saturn Girl," Malcom responded.

"But no bomb," Laurel finished.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Vincent Sobel/Evelyn Sharp_**

When Dinah came to, she immediately started gasping for breath. She tried to sit up, then gasped further, finding herself pinned to the ground by a concrete slab lying over her torso. A few feet away, Vincent managed to get to his knees, groaning through the pain he received from the blast. "Hang on," he managed to say, starting to crawl towards her.

"Vince," Dinah grimaced, trying to push the concrete off her.

"I'll get you free," he promised.

"Oh, I highly doubt that."

Vincent froze for a single second, then turned to see Cayden staring coldly at him, Talia on his left, Evelyn on his right. Vincent stumbled to his feet, but Talia nodded, and Evelyn screamed at him, the collar around her neck lighting up. The mock Canary Cry catapulted Vincent backwards, and he shouted in pain when he was pinned to a stake in the wall, going right through his chest.

Dinah gasped in horror, trying harder to get the concrete off her. Cayden took one look at her, then scoffed and walked towards Vincent, eyeing the stake. "Your ability to withstand extreme punishment is impressive." Vincent grimaced, trying to loosen the stake, but it did nothing. He chose instead to glare at Cayden, who didn't cower at all. "But we all have our limits," he drawled, looking behind him. "Let's find Mr. Sobel's."

Talia turned as well, raising an eyebrow expectantly. Evelyn finally tore her gaze away from Vincent to see them looking at her, and she balked, eyes wide. "Me?" she mouthed, face draining of color.

"Why not?" Talia asked simply.

"Don't make me doubt your loyalty, too, Ms. Sharp," Cayden threatened.

Evelyn stared from him to her mentor, who looked back at her with a steely gaze. Realizing she wasn't going to get help from her, Evelyn swallowed hard, looking hesitantly back at Vincent. Finally, she swallowed again, slowly making her way towards him, her heart starting to beat faster. "No," Dinah whimpered, watching her go. "No, please, please, please! Don't!"

Evelyn looked over at her, seeing her try to push harder than ever to get the concrete off her, then bit her lip, stopping just to the side of Vincent. She took a few deep breaths, finding them uneven. This . . . this was someone she had been working with, and she was expected to kill him? "Evie . . . " She paled as Vincent looked up at her, eyes full of pain. "Evie, please . . . "

Evelyn's mouth tried to form words, but she couldn't speak. Talia treated her as a student, Cayden expected her to be compliant with everything he said, and Anatoli and Diaz looked down on her because of her age. Of all of them, Vincent had been the one who tried to make her feel comfortable. She took a deep breath, starting to take a step back. She couldn't do this, not to someone who treated her like a friend. No, no, she couldn't, she _wouldn't –_

The collar around her neck suddenly buzzed, and Evelyn spasmed as electricity laced down her back. Before she could stop herself, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, the shocks going through her body not letting up. She heard Vincent grunt weakly and feebly reached up to try and grab her collar, but the shocks increased, and Evelyn found herself somehow screaming even louder.

And suddenly it stopped, and Evelyn dropped gracelessly to the ground, her body trembling as she reached up to her neck, fingers twitching as she touched the collar . . . when did Cayden make her Canary Cry a _shock collar?_

The rest of the world started to come back to her as she saw Cayden's boots stop in front of her, Dinah's pained whimpers increasing. Then Cayden walked up, and Evelyn flinched when she felt Talia put her hand on her shoulder. "Well done," she said softly.

Evelyn swallowed hard, then forced herself to look up at what she had done. Once she looked, she couldn't look away, even as she felt her stomach churn in disgust and horror. Vincent's body was lifeless, his head drooping, and his face was as grey as the concrete he was pinned to. Evelyn didn't know how long she stared at him for, only aware that her heart was thumping loud enough that someone else had to hear it, the only thing going through her mind the saying _my fault, my fault, my fault._

Talia had to pull her away and lead her off because she couldn't make her feet move.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez/Dinah Drake_**

Curtis and Rene ran around the corner when they heard the screaming, and Curtis faltered in his steps, staring in horror at the corpse pinned to the wall. "Oh . . . my God."

Rene's head whipped around when he heard more whimpers, and he started when he saw Dinah thrashing against the concrete she was under. "Hey!" he hurried over.

Curtis joined him, the two men lifting the concrete just enough for Dinah to scramble out from under it. The second she was on her feet, Dinah raced over to Vincent. "Baby," she whispered, hands trembling as she reached for him. "Baby? Baby, wake up. Oh, babe, please . . . baby, _please_ wake up." But nothing she did as she gently shook him made him move. "Wake up!"

A hesitant hand touched her shoulder, then Rene whispered, "He's gone, D."

Dinah closed her eyes, dissolving into tears. "No," she sobbed, leaning her head against Vincent's, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, my God, no, baby, not again!"

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez/Dinah Drake_**

Back at their headquarters, Curtis and Rene respectively hung back by their computers as Dinah sat at the conference table, staring blankly into space. "She hasn't moved or said a word in over an hour," Curtis finally said quietly.

"After my wife was murdered, it took me days," Rene defended her.

Curtis conceded with a nod. "What do we do?"

"Nothing," Dinah finally said quietly, making them look over. "I'm fine."

"You're definitely not fine," Rene shook his head, he and Curtis walking closer.

"How can we help you, Dinah?" Curtis asked.

"You already have by having my back," she answered, then tilted her head towards them, though she didn't face them. "Did they get the bomb?" Curtis and Rene exchanged uneasy looks, and Dinah finally turned to look at them. "Tell me."

Curtis sighed. "Felicity called," he said, shaking his head. "There was nothing they could do."

Dinah's breath hitched, her eyes filling with tears. "Vince died . . . for _nothing?"_

Rene swallowed and looked away, and Dinah slumped back in her chair, stunned.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak/Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen_**

When the elevator doors opened, Felicity and Querl immediately hurried over, both with a first-aid kit in their hands. Mon-El and Malcolm were the first out, supporting Imra between them; Oliver was directly behind them with Dig, Kara cradled in his arms bridal style. "I'm sorry," Felicity stammered, moving to help Oliver as Querl took Malcolm's place in helping Imra.

"How many tricks does the devil have to play?" Laurel ground out, pinching the bridge of her nose as she stormed up into the tech area, Oliver carefully laying Kara down on one of the metal tables, checking her ears for any bleeding. "Every time we bring more numbers, he has a way to take out our best! _Every time!"_

"Hey!" Malcolm grabbed her arm, and Laurel whirled around, teeth bared in a snarl, but she froze when she heard a faint whimper from Kara. "You're not going to help her," Malcolm finished quietly.

Laurel seethed, then took a deep breath and nodded. Malcolm nodded back, squeezing her arm sympathetically. Slade sighed, watching Querl look Imra over, and Dig looked at Felicity, who was anxiously wringing her hands as Oliver checked Kara. "What about the other team?" he asked.

Felicity swallowed. "I wish it was better news."

That got every conscious person's attention. "Vince?" Dig swallowed.

"He didn't make it," Felicity shook her head miserably.

Laurel closed her eyes in disbelief, shaking her head and freeing herself from Malcolm's grasp, pacing the tech area, running a hand through her hair. "Damn," she muttered.

"How is Dinah?" Oliver finally asked.

"As good as she can be," Felicity shrugged helplessly.

Oliver sighed, and Slade looked over at him. "Don't blame yourself, kid," he shook his head. "It was a choice between the entire city or one man. You chose the city. That was the right call."

Oliver nodded silently, and Querl cleared his throat, stepping away from Imra. "I understand your thoughts may be that this was all for nothing," he said, looking around the room. "However, while you were finding the bomb – "

" _Trying_ to find it," Malcolm muttered.

Querl ignored him, heading for his computer. "I found something else. I have been working the data haul from Cayden James' servers."

"What'd you find?" Oliver asked, reluctantly stepping away from Kara to follow him.

"The supposed evidence that he received in Corto Maltese," Querl answered, pressing a few buttons and gesturing to the large screen. "The video of his son's murder." The rest of the team joined them to look, and Imra winced when she saw "Oliver" fire an arrow into a young man sitting at a table. "Facial recognition confirms," Querl looked at Oliver. "It is Owen Post, listed as Cayden James' son."

"Guess we know why he hates you so much," Malcolm quipped.

"Not the time, wizard," Slade gave him a look.

Before Malcolm could retort, Laurel reached up and put a hand over his mouth, making Malcolm blink and look at her in surprise. "This is fabricated," Oliver scowled, ignoring them as the assassin reached up and pulled Laurel's hand away. "It didn't happen."

"This could not have been you," Felicity agreed. "You were in Hub City."

"Yeah, but Owen Post was still murdered supposedly by the Green Arrow," Dig pointed out.

"If it was the Green Arrow, wouldn't SCPD be all over this?" Mon-El asked.

"Or the FBI?" Imra added. "They're investigating Oliver."

"The records in the case were wiped clean," Querl shook his head.

"Right," Oliver rolled his eyes. "So Cayden wanted me all to himself and didn't want anyone to get in the way."

A pained noise came from behind them, and Oliver whipped around to see Kara's head loll to the side, then she weakly raised her hand pinched the bridge of her nose, face twisted in a grimace. "Almas?" Malcolm asked as Oliver hurried over, Slade behind him.

"I'm OK," she mumbled, about to sit up when she cringed and covered her eyes. "Oh, Rao, no, I'm not."

"Easy, little one," Slade slowed as Oliver reached Kara, putting an arm around her back to help her.

"You were buried pretty deep," Mon-El nodded.

"I can feel that," Kara winced, putting her arm around Oliver's shoulders as he carefully helped her sit. She took a few deep breaths, then looked up. "I can guess how we did," she said, seeing their faces. "The others?"

Dig cringed, and Imra silently shook her head. "Vincent is dead," Mon-El broke the news.

Kara closed her eyes, bowing her head. "And I couldn't hear," she whispered. "Poor Dinah."

"It's not your fault, Kara," Oliver whispered.

Kara swallowed, nodding a bit. Oliver kissed her forehead, and she took a deep breath, looking up. "Any other news?"

"Other than footage showing 'Oliver' killing Cayden's son?" Laurel griped. "No."

"Oh," Querl blinked, looking at them. "Did I bury the lede again?"

Oliver looked over at him, confused. "What?"

"I did, apparently," Querl frowned adorably, turning back to his computer. "I must stop doing that."

Felicity patted his shoulder sympathetically. "We're working on proving this is fake, but there is something super interesting about this," she told them. "The digital alteration of this is consistent with that of the bogus surveillance photo of you in the Green Arrow suit."

"We thought Cayden James leaked that image," Dig frowned.

Felicity was shaking her head halfway through his sentence. "Whoever doctored this leaked that photo."

"To make you think you killed his son," Dig looked at Oliver.

"So whoever planned this knew exactly how Cayden would react," Laurel frowned.

"Which means that person is close to Cayden," Malcolm continued, eyes lighting up in realization.

"If that's true, Vince wasn't the only traitor that Cayden has to worry about," Oliver realized.

Laurel huffed in annoyance. "Wonderful." She was about to leave when she saw Querl fidget a bit, and she frowned at him. "Something wrong?"

"Er . . . " Querl exchanged nervous looks with Felicity, then cleared his throat and stood. "There is something you need to know."

Laurel frowned. "OK . . . what?" Querl hurried away from the others, and Laurel followed close behind. "It can't be that worse, can it?"

Querl fidgeted even more. "I believe it is," he told her.

"Spit it out," Laurel scowled.

Querl took a deep breath. "Dinah was the only member of the other team to kill Vincent."

Laurel tilted her head expectantly. "And?" she prompted.

"Laurel," Querl swallowed. "It was Evelyn Sharp." Laurel stared blankly at him for a few seconds, and Querl blinked, waving a hand in front of her face. "Laurel?"

She abruptly turned on her heel and strode towards the exit, as fast as she could without running. "Laurel?" Slade frowned.

"Siren?" Malcolm called after her. She didn't turn around, only slammed the door behind her. Felicity jumped at the sound, and Malcolm looked at Querl, narrowing his eyes. "What did you tell her?"

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Malcolm Merlyn_**

Laurel slammed the door shut behind her, then leaned back against it, closing her eyes and sinking her teeth into her lip to avoid screaming like she wanted to. Chances were if she did, her sonic scream would kick in because of how all over the place her emotions were. That would not be good for any of them.

She faintly picked up the sound of footsteps from behind the door, and already guessing who had come after her, she pushed herself away from the door, trying to rein herself in as she paced restlessly. That failed miserably when the door opened and Malcolm's voice asked, "Laurel?"

"Leave me alone," Laurel snapped, flinching at the harsh tone in her voice.

Malcolm stopped short, then chose to lean against the wall. "Do you really want me to do that?" he asked quietly.

Laurel kept pacing, one hand over her mouth, the other on her hip. She finally stopped and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. She finally swallowed hard and shook her head. "No," she croaked.

In two strides, Malcolm was in front of her, and Laurel rushed the rest of the way, Malcolm wrapping his arms around her. Laurel took one last breath before she choked on a sob, and she buried her head in Malcolm's shoulder, clinging to him tightly. "I'm sorry, Siren," he whispered, stroking her hair in what he hoped was a comforting motion.

"What did I do to get this wrong?" Laurel sniffed, her body shaking. "How did I get it wrong?"

"Take a deep breath, Siren," Malcolm told her. "Just take a deep breath, OK?" He felt her nod, then heard her try and even her breathing out. "There you go." When he heard her calm down, he pulled back a bit, tilting her chin up. "We don't know," he told her. "Maybe you got this wrong. Maybe you didn't. All we know is what Dinah, the only person who's told us anything, said happened. And considering how much she cared about Vincent, she may be very biased about what happened." Laurel chewed her lip, thinking his words over. "We don't know Evelyn's side of what happened," he continued. "And until we know, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt." He gave her a small smirk. "This coming from the man with over five hundred deaths on his rep sheet."

Laurel choked on a startled laugh. "Don't use that to try and make me feel better."

"Did it work?" Malcom raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on his face.

Laurel gave him a tired look. "Yes," she finally muttered, sniffing and reaching up to wipe her eyes.

"But I mean it," Malcolm told her, face turning serious. "We weren't there. We don't know what happens. Dinah does, and Evelyn does. Keep being optimistic about her until we know her side of what happened."

Laurel took a deep breath, then swallowed and nodded. "OK," she whispered. "And thank you."

"Of course," Malcolm nodded, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. "I've got your six, always."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Oliver Queen_**

Dinah collapsed on her couch that night, her eyes bloodshot from crying as she fiddled with the matchbox and rose Vincent had left the night she had been protecting Pollard. She sniffed, feeling more tears in her eyes, then froze when she heard knocking on her door. Her entire body tensed like a bowstring, and she put the matchbox and rose down, reaching for the gun on the table next to her. She cocked it and walked over to her door, pushing back the curtain and aiming.

When she saw who was outside, she sighed angrily, but pushed her door open anyway. "You shouldn't be here," she told Oliver.

Oliver took a deep breath, looking Dinah over, from her messy hair to her smudged makeup. "Dinah, please give me a chance to explain."

"You lost that right when you decided to leave Vince on his own to die," Dinah accused, glaring at him.

"I'm truly sorry about what happened to Vince, because I know what he meant to you," Oliver told her. "But this was his call, and he knew what he signed up for."

Dinah stared at him, then scoffed in disbelief. "Wow," she muttered, turning around and walking back into her apartment. "You are really bad at apologies."

"I'm not here to apologize," Oliver shook his head, walking in and closing the door behind him.

Dinah scowled, putting her gun down and turning to look at him. "Of course you're not."

"I'm here to explain that this wasn't all for nothing," Oliver went on. "Felicity and Brainy have been going through the data that Vince pulled out, and for the first time . . . Dinah, for the first time, we have some viable options."

" _Viable options?" Dinah_ repeated softly, eyes narrowing. "You know, I used to tell Vince his way of seeking justice wasn't _viable._ I convinced him to change just how you convinced me. But you know what, Oliver?" she asked, walking forward. "Vince was right. The only way to bring justice to this city is with a _bullet."_

"No," Oliver shook his head. "Dinah, I need you to listen to me – "

"I'm going to make sure Vince didn't die for nothing," Dinah hissed darkly, eyes flashing with the promise of murder, and Oliver swallowed, the horrible feeling of dread growing as he guessed where this was going. "I'm going to kill _every last one of them_ . . . starting with Evelyn."

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp_**

Cayden's men were clearing every piece of equipment that Vincent used from headquarters, supervised by a stone-faced Cayden. "Good riddance," Diaz muttered, Talia simply observing with Anatoli.

Evelyn could only watch for so long before she swallowed hard and turned around, taking another long gulp from her water bottle as she rushed to where she was staying in headquarters. She closed her door behind her, and she finally let out the whimper she had been holding in since she had seen Vincent's corpse. She slid down the door, managing to put her water bottle down upright before she covered her mouth with both hands, stifling her sobs. This entire time, she had just been Talia's student, an enforcer for Cayden who mainly used the Canary Cry he made for her for intimidation purposes only.

And at eighteen years old, she had just been forced to kill someone she considered a friend and had discovered her Canary Cry also seemed to double as a shock collar.

Evelyn finally got to her feet, moving enough to get to her bed, and she dropped down on it, reaching for what she had managed to grab before Cayden's men had gone through everything. She picked up one of Vincent's visors, and swallowing hard, she ran trembling fingers over it. Laurel's shatterpoint was William . . . maybe this was hers.

"Vincent," she whispered brokenly, her tears still falling. "What the hell have I done?"

* * *

 **A/N: Poor Vincent, and poor Evelyn. As I believe the saying goes, crap has hit the fan.**

 **And it's about to get worse, because the next episode is Arrow's "The Devil's Greatest Trick!"**


	64. The Devil's Greatest Trick - Part One

**And here's where the fun begins. Cayden has a trick, but so does Brainy, and Kariver and company get to race against the clock.**

* * *

 ** _John Diggle/Oliver Queen_**

A helmeted head poked around the corner of a hallway, then Dig emerged, followed by Oliver, their weapons drawn. "We're clear," Dig reported.

"Clear here," Kara added from where she was hovering above the building. "Way too clear."

"All right, keep moving," Oliver nodded at Dig.

His friend opened the double doors they were approaching, and Oliver led the way in. Dig took one last look down the hallway, then followed Oliver in, both looking around the very empty IT room. "I guess Cayden James and his friends knew we were coming," he muttered.

"Oh, yes," Cayden's voice answered, and the two vigilantes turned to see several screens turn on, broadcasting Cayden to them. "Once I learned of Mr. Sobel's treachery, I had to assume this location was compromised." The monitors shut off, but his voice continued to speak, and Oliver looked over his shoulder to see another set of monitors show Cayden. "Speaking of which, I didn't appreciate your alliance with him. Made me think we no longer have an understanding."

"You need to know something," Oliver began to say.

"Many things, I'm sure," Cayden drawled, and as the monitors shut off again, Oliver and Dig rotated as Cayden's image appeared on a large monitor behind them. "But I doubt very much that you're the man to teach them to me."

"We almost have proof that I didn't kill your son," Oliver said.

Cayden chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. "A desperate gambit."

"Cayden, give me more time!"

The monitor shut off, and once again, Cayden's voice came from behind, from one last monitor. "Time, I'm afraid, is a commodity you and your city have run out of," he declared coldly. "Mr. Sobel's betrayal convinced me that there's little good in delaying matters further. Accordingly, I will be detonating the thermobaric bomb over Star City at midnight. My son will find justice in the ashes of your beloved city."

Oliver swallowed hard as all the monitors switched off, Dig looking at him worriedly.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Cayden is going to detonate the bomb in four hours," Oliver ground out as he, Dig, and Kara hurried back into the bunker. "Where are we with the video?"

"Well, we're running our photographic analysis algorithm to reveal the original footage," Felicity answered.

"How long will that take?" Dig asked.

"Unknown," Querl answered. "This algorithm works quite impressively on a still image, but this video is 24 fps."

"Right," Oliver blew out his breath. "Cayden just told us that we are running out of time." He paused, seeing Querl fidget uneasily. "What is it?" he asked.

"Uh," Querl cleared his throat. "If I may be blunt?"

"By all means," Oliver gestured.

"Yes," Querl turned to face him, steepling his fingers. "Correct me if I am wrong, because I do not believe I am, but we are putting all of our chips on a bet, so to speak, that Cayden James will spare Star City if he thinks you are not responsible for his son's death."

"That's because it's the only play we have, Brainy," Dig nodded.

Querl frowned, then sighed. "Very well," he nodded. "I am simply informing you that you could be trying to reason with a man who is beyond reason."

Oliver just nodded, watching the Coluan return to work with Felicity.

* * *

 ** _Cayden James/Evelyn Sharp_**

"As you are well aware, Arclight is now in its final phase," Cayden announced from the staircase at his new base that evening. "And now it's time for us to take our leave."

"Words much appreciated," Anatoli raised an eyebrow. "But how are we to get out of city?"

"Stay close to your phones," Cayden answered. "You will be airlifted from the city before the bomb goes off. After it does, your individual shares of the ransom will be wired into offshore accounts that have been set up for each of you."

"Sounds fair," Anatoli nodded, then muttered, "Lucrative."

Talia's lips quirked up in a smirk from where she and Diaz were leaning against the table; from where she was sitting atop crates of equipment, Evelyn barely looked up from her clasped hands, which she rested her chin on. "Thank you for helping to see this project to fruition," Cayden looked around his four remaining loyalists. "I don't think I need to stress – " He swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. "How _personally_ important this has been for me. Thank you for all you've done to get justice for my boy."

Evelyn barely reacted.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

"Yes!" Quentin exclaimed from where he sat on Captain Hill's back table, he on his cell phone, Hill on her own desk phone. "Yes, exactly! Please!" He took his phone down, looking up at Thea and the man she was speaking to. "Listen, we need SCPD radios linked with emergency services right now, OK? Now!"

Thea's phone buzzed, and she stepped away to answer as the other man turned away to make the call. "Where the hell are you?" she demanded.

"Did you get my message?" Oliver asked in return.

"Yeah," Thea sighed, nodding and giving her report. "OK, we rallied the troops, and everyone's panicking a little."

"Gather a list of essential personnel, clergymen, doctors, as many people as you can mobilize," Oliver ordered.

"Wait, how – " Thea lowered her voice as others passed her by. "How are we gonna explain how you have access to the Arrow's bunker?"

"We have bigger problems right now, Speedy," Oliver sighed. "Besides, this is the only place in the city I can think of that could possibly withstand that blast, aside from evacuating everyone to Earth-38."

"Which would probably cause even more panic," Thea closed her eyes, nodding. "OK."

Oliver sighed in relief. "You have eyes on – "

"William, of course," Thea nodded. "I got it."

"Thank you," Oliver said gratefully.

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp_**

Evelyn flinched when the sound of metal stabbing wood ripped through the air again. Thankfully, someone else said something before she could. "Do you have to keep doing that?" Anatoli growled.

"It keeps me calm," Diaz answered as if he was speaking of the weather, pulling his knife out of the table and examining it.

"Do not worry," Anatoli said. "Cayden James will not let his friends die with the city."

"You're damn right," Diaz agreed, standing up and heading for the stairs. "But I'm not gonna stick around to find out."

Evelyn paused, her form stiff as he walked past her. "Where are you going?" she asked, proud of herself for keeping a tremor out of her voice.

"Someplace I won't get blown up," he answered, turning around to face his allies. "The three of you haven't noticed? The airlift that Cayden promised? It's more than a little late."

Evelyn chewed her lip, then Talia stood up from her spot at the table. "I hate to say it, but I think he's right," she admitted. Anatoli gritted his teeth, then moved off himself. "Prepare to leave," Talia told Evelyn as her student finished walking down the stairs. "We won't wait, either."

Evelyn slowed, then turned around to look at her. "Did you know?" she asked.

Talia paused, looking up. "I beg your pardon?"

"This," Evelyn reached up and tapped the collar she still wore. Evidently, it was now locked around her throat and she had no idea how to take it off. How convenient for someone pulling strings. "About it being a shock collar. Did you know?"

Talia considered her, then finally said, "Any technology in Cayden James' hand is a weapon for him to use as he sees fit." She nodded at her. "Hurry."

As she walked up the stairs, she didn't see Evelyn stare after her, her jaw hanging open . . . because Talia hadn't denied it at all.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

"I noticed that Dinah didn't show up for work today," Thea murmured to Quentin as they walked.

"Well, after what happened ot Sobel, you really expecting her to?" Quentin pointed out.

"No," Thea admitted. "I just . . . from what Oliver told me, I – I don't really think that she's exactly just grieving."

Quentin grimaced. "You think Oliver would just, what, let Dinah kill her?"

"No," Thea shook her head instantly. "I – I just don't think that that's what's on his mind right now."

"Right," Quentin nodded. "Well, you know, if it comes down to Evelyn against Dinah, then I'm betting on someone else entirely."

Thea nodded. "Laurel."

"Uh huh," Quentin nodded in agreement, turning around to take a sip of his coffee. "Laurel."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Rene Ramirez_**

A group of thugs tumbled down the stairs when they were hit by a Canary Cry, and Dinah jumped over the railing, making quick work of a gunman firing at her. She tossed him over the next railing, and he crashed to the ground of the floor of Cayden's abandoned headquarters. Dinah hurried down the stairs, grabbing one of the guards and pressing him against the wall, her staff to his neck. "Tell me where I can find Evelyn Sharp, or the next bone I break is your neck!" she snarled.

"Lady, if any of these people told me where they were going, I'd be with them," he stammered.

Dinah growled, then threw a sharp right hook, knocking him out, seething angrily.

"I guess that's one way to _not_ get information."

Dinah spun around, staring when she saw Rene and Curtis walk into view. "What are you two doing here?"

"Looking for you," Curtis answered. "SCPD says you weren't in today."

"We were wondering if you were gonna do something stupid," Rene nodded. "Guess we were wrong."

"I am looking for _her_ to get justice for Vincent," Dinah sneered.

"Why do you say justice like it's cold-blooded murder?" Curtis frowned.

"I know you're hurting, D," Rene sighed as he took off his mask, "but Felicity called. We've got till midnight before James lets his bomb do its thing. As much as we feel for you, that seems like the priority."

"He's right," Curtis nodded in agreement. "Now is not the time to go off the deep end."

"I can't let this go," Dinah shook her head, walking through them both. "I'm sorry."

"D!" Rene protested, turning to go after her.

"I love you both," Dinah looked at them. "But stay the hell out of my way."

Rene and Curtis watched her walk off, then exchanged worried looks of their own.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"We need to consider the ARGUS airlift option," Oliver paced restlessly.

"Oliver, we've already talked about this," Dig sighed. "James will see it coming."

Oliver fidgeted. "We need to consider _something,"_ he amended.

"Eureka!" Querl suddenly announced in excitement.

Kara perked up from where she was sitting on one of the tables. "Ask and ye shall receive," she beamed at Oliver, running over to the Coluan. "What is it?"

Oliver frowned, seeing Querl pull up the entire footage on four screens. "I've seen this," he said. "It's bogus."

"Yes," Querl nodded. "Completely. All of this is one massive deception. Owen was not collateral damage like Cayden James was made to think. He was the real target the whole time."

He made a gesture on the screen, and Kara blinked, squinting as she looked at "Oliver's" face reconfiguring into someone else's. "Who's that?"

"What she said," Oliver pointed at his fiancée. "Who is that?"

"Facial recognition just picked him up as Karl Iscove, paid assassin," Felicity answered, looking up from her tablet.

"With a bow and arrow?" Dig asked in surprise.

"Talia's men," Oliver pointed out.

"No, he's not affiliated with Talia," Felicity shook her head. "It's not his usual M.O. I'm guessing it was a special request by whoever hired him to kill Cayden's son."

"All to set you up," Dig looked at Oliver. "We need to have a conversation with this Iscove, find out who hired him."

Oliver grimaced. "He's dead."

Dig did a double take, and Felicity nodded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the assassin was assassinated not long after Owen Post."

"And this has been over a year in the making," Kara whispered in disbelief, shaking her head. "I'll never understand some humans. No offense meant."

"None taken," Oliver shook his head in agreement. "We need to know where Cayden James is right now."

"I have him," Querl told him.

Felicity looked over his shoulder and snorted. "Well, I'm guessing Cayden doesn't care about people knowing his location now that his bomb is about to go off."

"He is almost on the I-86," Querl peered at his screen.

"He's psycho, but he's smart, meaning he doesn't want to be anywhere near the boom when the boom goes boom," Felicity nodded.

"We'll never catch him," Dig sighed. There was a moment of silence in the room, then he realized what he just said and closed his eyes, feeling four gazes simultaneously turn to look at him. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did," Kara smirked.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Cayden's van screeched to a halt as Kara landed on the street in front of it, Oliver tightly in her grasp. Cayden got out of the passenger's side, glaring at the two. "We need to talk!" Oliver barked.

"Questionable judgment, Mr. Queen," Cayden scowled, even as he walked up to the two of them. "If you wanted the bomb to go off _before_ midnight, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a better way than taking me into custody."

Oliver just held out the tablet Querl had given him. "Watch this."

Cayden raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Would that be the 'proof' you alluded to earlier?"

"Just play the video," Kara folded her arms, past trying to keep her temper down.

Cayden finally reached out to take the tablet, and he tapped a key to start the video. Just as it began, he started shaking his head. "No, I'm not watching this again."

"No, Cayden, you're not," Oliver shook his head as well. "Now we're watching the real video for the very first time."

Cayden's gaze drifted to Kara, who nodded in confirmation. "Oliver didn't kill your son," she said as Cayden pressed the key to continue the video. "Which means someone else did."

"The assassin's name is Karl Iscove," Oliver explained. "He was instructed to use a bow and arrow so the video could be manipulated, and they could make it look like me."

"It's the same tech used to out Oliver as the Green Arrow four months ago," Kara added, frowning as she watched Cayden tap away on the tablet, no longer watching the video. "Someone's gone through a lot of work to put you two on a collision course."

"Oh, yes," Cayden frowned darkly, not looking up from the tablet. "Someone within my organization."

"How do you know?" Oliver asked.

"The metadata on the forged video file confirms it is the work of the same person who manipulated that photo in October," Cayden answered.

"You lost a man a month ago," Kara reminded him.

"Killed by the traitorous Mr. Sobel, but I highly doubt it was Mr. Sheck," Cayden shook his head.

"That leaves Evelyn, Diaz," Kara began.

"Talia and Anatoli," Oliver growled.

"I'd like to speak to my former colleagues," Cayden mused, then turned to them. "And that's where you come in."

Kara's eyebrows shot up, and she seemed unable to speak for a few seconds as Cayden headed back to his car; Oliver had no such problems. "No!" he growled. "We're not rounding them up to be executed."

"No," Cayden agreed, turning to look at them. "I just want a pointed conversation. Bring them to me, all four, alive. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to stay the course. I still have a very powerful bomb, and I'd be perfectly happy to take out Star City right along with whoever orchestrated the death of my son." He looked at Kara, raising an eyebrow. "I wonder how many people your fiancée could manage to save before the rest of the city burns."

Kara tensed as Cayden returned to his seat. "And if I try and go for the bomb itself, it could potentially go off if I tried to move it." She looked at Oliver. "We're actually going to do this, aren't we?"

Oliver just sighed.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers/Malcolm Merlyn/Mon-El_**

"OK, wait," Winn pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced by where Querl and Felicity were, the rest of the team, excluding Lena, James, and Alex, gathered in the bunker as well after receiving Oliver's and Kara's call. "Are you kidding me?"

"Why would we kid about this, Winn?" Kara asked.

"The only way to stop James from destroying the city is by delivering him his people," Oliver nodded.

"Lead them to the slaughter, you mean?" Felicity scowled.

"What utter faith you have in us, Ms. Smoak," Slade snorted.

Felicity flushed in embarrassment, even as Winn looked up at them. "I mean, are you _sure_ one of them did it?" he asked. "From what you've said, none of them were working for Cayden James when he received the video."

"But they were working for him when he received the doctored photo," J'onn pointed out.

"It has to be one of them," Malcolm agreed. "It is either Diaz, Knyazev, Talia – "

"Or Evelyn," Laurel closed her eyes.

"We hope," Winn mumbled.

"Winn does have a point," Querl nodded. "Cayden James could be lying."

"Well, we got bigger problems than that," Felicity argued. "I mean, what makes you think that _we_ can find Cayden's BFFs if _he_ can't?"

"If they're smart, they're out of the city by now," Dig agreed.

"We use everything and everyone we have," Oliver looked around, focusing on Kara, J'onn, and Querl. "They're smart, but so is he. He grouped them together by promising to fly them out before the blast."

"Potentially still in the city," Mon-El realized.

"How wonderful," Querl turned around, heading back to his computer. "Parameters to work with."

"Small favors and gullible bad guys," Winn blew out his breath in a rush, going to his own station. "Whoopee."

Oliver tilted his head side to side, tempted to agree with his friend. "But now they're worried that James might not make good on that promise," Dig grumbled.

The elevator dinged open, and Oliver and Kara turned to see Thea and William come out, James and Alex behind them with duffels over their shoulders. "Raisa wanted to go to one of the city shelters so she could be with her family," Thea explained.

"We thought we'd make sure they got here OK," Alex gestured between herself and James.

"Thank you," Kara smiled appreciatively.

"Of course," Alex nodded.

"Just wish we could have been here before," James gave Oliver an apologetic look.

"Thank you, James," Oliver nodded gratefully.

"No problem," James clapped a hand on his shoulder, going to join Winn.

"What's going on?" William asked, looking around. "Why did we have to leave the safehouse? Why not National City?"

Kara chewed her lip, looking at Oliver. He sighed, then walked forward. "Cayden James is threatening to detonate a large bomb in Star City, and this is the safest place for you," he answered.

William took another look around. "Where's Aunt Lena?"

Winn let out a startled laugh, quickly turning it into a cough. "Oh, I'm telling her he said that," he giggled under his breath, then yelped when the blunt end of Malcolm's bow smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"

"You know where she is, buddy," Oliver sighed; he saw Kara flinch out of the corner of his eye, and he reached for his fiancée, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "She's working on helping Sam."

William deflated, nodding his understanding. "How's Ruby?" he asked.

"I'll check when I get back," Kara promised. "OK?"

He nodded in response, and Oliver squeezed Kara, kissing her temple. "Guys?" he asked, turning to tech support.

"Well, we are running facial recognition, and Cayden James has given us back satellite control," Querl reported. "However – "

"Our usual tricks aren't working," Felicity finished.

"Yes, that," Querl pointed at her.

Oliver looked up and over everyone. "Suit up," he ordered. _"Everyone._ We need all hands on deck."

"The other team?" Dig asked.

"No," Laurel said sharply, making Dig scowl at her. "Dinah's not going near Evelyn. That would mean Curtis and Rene would be right behind her."

"We do this ourselves," Oliver agreed. "As soon as you're prepared, head out. Cover all the city that you can. Let's find them."

"Copy that," James nodded, leaving to change into his suit as J'onn morphed into his Martian form.

William looked around, looking lost before he settled on Oliver. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"We need to go look for a few people," Oliver answered.

William looked between him and Kara. "Can I come with you?"

"No, William," Kara shook her head, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You need to stay here."

"I want to stay with the two of you!"

Kara closed her eyes, then felt Oliver's hand on her shoulder as well. "It is too dangerous out there, bottom line," he told William softly. "We'll be back as soon as we can be."

William swallowed, then lowered his gaze and nodded. Kara gave him a quick hug before taking a deep breath and walking over to Laurel. "If Dinah's going after Evelyn – "

"She is," Laurel interrupted.

"Right," Kara nodded. "Then we better get to her first."

Laurel did a double take, looking at her in surprise. "You're sure?"

"Yeah," Kara nodded. "I'm serious. People with more red in their ledgers than her have turned their lives around." She paused. "No offense."

"None taken, almas," Malcolm shook his head. "We made that argument ourselves."

"So let's go get her," Kara nodded, looking at Laurel.

She smiled faintly. "Thank you."

"Thank me when we find her," Kara shook her head.

Malcolm turned to look at Slade, but the Australian shook his head. "I'm staying with Oliver," he said. "Stick with Siren, wizard."

Malcolm rolled his eyes in annoyance. _"Magician,"_ he grumbled, even as he followed Kara and Laurel.

Mon-El watched him go with a frown, then turned to look at Winn. "How long has that been a thing?"

"Way too long," Winn answered.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"You have any luck?" Curtis asked as Rene paced anxiously.

"You think I would?" Rene raised an eyebrow, pulling his phone away from his ear. "She was pretty clear about where she stood, Hoss."

"So basically the city's gonna get destroyed and our friend's gonna commit murder, and there's not a damn thing we can do about either?" Curtis huffed.

Rene made a helpless gesture, then frowned when he saw Curtis's computer. "What kind of person has a thermal energy reading like that?"

Curtis turned back to his computer, then blinked. "Well," he leaned forward and tapped a few keys. "A Martian does."

"Martian?" Rene parroted, looking over his shoulder. "J'onn's here?"

"Apparently so," Curtis nodded, widening the heat scan search. "Could have used him."

Rene snorted. "Where Kara goes, he goes. But what's he doing here now?"

"Searching for the bomb, most likely," Curtis shrugged. "Why else?"

Rene narrowed his eyes. "I'll keep trying to get D. Keep an eye on them."

"You sure?" Curtis asked.

"Better safe than sorry, Hoss," Rene nodded, dialing Dinah again.

Curtis sighed, then nodded and turned back to his program, eyeing J'onn's heat signature as he did.

* * *

 **A/N: A bit of deviation from canon here. Who's looking forward to which episode more: this one or "Collision Course?"**

 **I hope to get the rest of this episode done over the weekend!**


	65. The Devil's Greatest Trick - Part Two

**So I've learned original content takes way more time to write as seasons start to close because of how massively AU it starts to get. Must remember that from now on.**

 **Evelyn has a lot to tell, Cayden's cabal quartet all get rounded up, but the Outsiders know something is up.**

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara hovered above Star City, eyes closed, her hearing focused solely on her fiancé's city. Somewhere below her was a teenager who was possibly the reason Cayden James' son was dead, or she possibly needed their help. Ever since Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel had proven time after time that they could change after what they had done in the past, changing their legacy from bad to good, Kara couldn't think of any reason why Evelyn didn't deserve a chance like they did. She just hoped Laurel had gotten through to her like she hoped she had.

Her ears twitched, and her head shot up as she registered a familiar voice. "I hear her," she said.

"Where?" Laurel was quick to ask.

Kara turned her x-ray vision to the buildings below, narrowing her eyes as she focused on one in particular. "Five buildings down from the warehouse the bomb was previously stored at," she answered, then blinked when she saw another person approaching. "Wait . . . someone else is there, too."

Laurel cursed. "Who?"

"We can grab two in one go," Malcolm looked on the bright side.

Kara's breath hitched. "Black Canary doesn't make two."

Laurel cursed even louder.

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp_**

 _Remember – as quick as you can._

Evelyn stared for five seconds at her phone before scoffing and turning it off. "Yes, ma'am," she muttered sarcastically, grabbing another wad of bills from the bin she was digging through. Satisfied she had enough, she was about to close the bin when she found something in the bottom of it. Hesitating for only a second, she timidly reached inside, took the paper, and pulled it out.

It was one of the few photos she had left, and she never knew why she had kept it. She knew why it was at the bottom, though – it was from her early time with Team Arrow, complete with the entire team from then – herself, Rene, Curtis, Rory, Oliver, Dig, and Felicity. She stared long and hard at it for a second, then clenched her jaw and put the photo in her bag next to Vincent's visor, hastily zipping it up. She slung it over her shoulder and hurried to leave, debating on whether to return to Talia or not.

The worst-case scenario turned out to happen as she rounded the corner and came face to face with someone she didn't want to see at all. She froze in her tracks, eyes wide like she was a deer in the headlights. "Vince told me everyone had a to-go bag stashed," Dinah said quietly, steel in her voice. "It took me a little while to figure out where _yours_ was."

"Dinah," Evelyn stammered, staggering backwards. "Please – "

"You don't get to beg!" Dinah snapped, rushing towards her.

Evelyn quickly rolled to the side, running for the door. Talia it was, then, if it meant she could get away from the Canary. She almost made it to the door when Dinah grabbed her from behind; she had just enough time to cover her face as she was hurled through the window nearby.

Evelyn crashed through it, crying out in pain as shards of glass cut through her hands. She did manage to get to her feet, though, swiftly ducking underneath the frenzied swing Dinah took. That was a benefit of being shorter than her – she could duck swings like those easily. If she could just tire Dinah out . . .

No, that wasn't going to work, Evelyn realized as Dinah fought with everything, not just her staff. Evelyn was doing everything she could just to make sure Dinah didn't sweep her feet out from under her. Finally, she took a deep breath and reached up, pressing her fingers to the collar around her neck. She heard it whine as it activated, and ignoring the frantic pounding of her heart, she took a deep breath and screamed.

Dinah countered just in time with one of her own, and both were catapulted backwards as their screams met. Dinah's back hit the floor, and Evelyn slammed into the wall behind her. With a gasp of pain, Evelyn slumped to the ground, wincing as she tried to get to her knees. She froze when she felt the cool end of Dinah's staff poke her in the neck. "You can't stop me," Dinah hissed. "This ends tonight. _You_ end tonight!"

"Please," Evelyn sobbed. "I didn't want to, I didn't!"

Dinah snarled angrily, and Evelyn closed her eyes, hearing the metahuman take a deep breath, probably intending to scream until she was dead.

In the next second, the lights above them exploded, and Evelyn heard Dinah flinch away from her. Then her own body was moving – not falling, but somehow moving. Evelyn instinctively flinched, then a grip on her tightened.

Everything around her stopped, and Evelyn stumbled, almost pitching forward. "Hey," a familiar voice said, holding her by the shoulders. "It's OK, it's OK. Take a few deep breaths." Evelyn closed her eyes to stop everything from spinning, doing as she was told. "There you go," the voice said, and Evelyn's eyes flew open when she realized who was talking to her. "Evelyn?" Kara asked, looking at her in concern. "Is that better?"

Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. "No," she finally choked out, shaking her head wildly.

Kara's face softened, then the Kryptonian silently held out her arms. Evelyn didn't even care that just a few days ago, this woman had been her enemy; she just ran forward blindly, right into her arms, letting her tears fall again as Kara hugged her.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Everyone's comms went live a few minutes later. "We have Evelyn," Malcolm reported.

"Dark Archer?" Oliver frowned, hearing the tense tone Malcolm was using.

There were a few seconds of silence, then he sighed. "Dinah was about to kill her when I took out the lights for Kara to get in there."

"Damn it," Oliver gritted his teeth.

"That means the others could interfere now," Imra said.

"They aren't who I'm worried about," Oliver shook his head.

"He's right," Mon-El agreed. "There's three others that are still in the wind."

"Correction," Felicity's voice came on. "Ricardo Diaz _was_ in the wind. Cayden's satellite just picked him up headed south."

"Oh, thank God," Winn spoke for all of them, and Slade snorted when he heard what sounded like the techie thumping his head on what had to be the table.

"I want Diaz," Alex volunteered at once.

Oliver didn't argue. "Go get him."

"Sending you the GPS coordinates now," Felicity reported.

"Martian Manhunter, Guardian, go with her," Oliver ordered. "Valor, Saturn Girl, the two of you go after Talia."

"Copy that," Mon-El nodded.

"The three of us will be ready to get Anatoli," Oliver finished, looking at Dig and Slade, both men nodding. "Overwatch, put me through to Cayden."

Cayden picked up rather quickly. "Mr. Queen, have you fulfilled my request?"

"We have Artemis," Oliver told him. "Where do we take her?"

A snort came over the line. "The last time I checked, it took more than one huntress to make up a quartet."

"Cayden, we don't have time for games!"

"Then I suggest you find my former compatriots as soon as you can."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Diaz was running down a dark alleyway in Star City when a figure in black stepped out in front of him. "Where do you think you're going?" Alex narrowed her eyes. "I want a _rematch."_

Diaz stared at her, then turned to run in the opposite direction, only to run right into a shield. As he stumbled backwards, Alex marched forward and kicked him in the shin, sending him to his knees. As J'onn landed and approached, James looked down at the fallen criminal and smirked. "Leaving town?" he asked sarcastically.

Diaz just spat on the ground in frustration as Alex grinned.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez_**

"Where's Kara?" Dinah growled as she stormed into her team's headquarters.

Rene looked up from trying to call her again, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, guys, I'm sorry I didn't pick up, is there anything I can help with?" he muttered, slipping his phone into his pocket.

"Kara just let Evelyn get away!" Dinah snapped. "This is not a time for jokes, Rene!"

"Wait, what?" Curtis did a double take, looking at her.

"I had her!" Dinah ranted, pacing angrily. "I had Evelyn _right there,_ and then someone did something to the lights, and Evelyn was just gone! It _had_ to be her!"

Rene paused, looking at Curtis. "Or J'onn," he said slowly.

"I have literally been on J'onn since you told me to," Curtis shook his head. "He wasn't anywhere near Dinah."

"J'onn's here, too?" Dinah stopped in her tracks.

"Yeah," Curtis nodded.

"Something's going on," Rene scowled.

"And we're out of the loop," Curtis narrowed his eyes. "I don't like that."

"Me, neither," Dinah agreed at once.

"So what're we gonna do about it?" Rene looked between his two teammates.

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp/Laurel Lance_**

"And . . . there," Malcolm finished what he was doing, stepping back.

"You did me a favor," Evelyn muttered, leaning her chin on her knees, which felt slightly uncomfortable given her hands were individually cuffed to the pole behind her.

"Did I?" Malcolm asked in surprise, looking at the collar he had just disabled.

"Yeah," Evelyn nodded. "I'm surprised you didn't just take it off."

"Don't need to if you can't reach up to turn it on," Kara shook her head, Laurel pacing restlessly.

Evelyn snorted. "Knowing Cayden James, he could probably turn it back on anyway."

"Well," Laurel walked to stand in front of her and crouched down. "Do you plan on using it on us?"

Evelyn tried to hold her gaze, then blinked and licked her lips, looking away. "No. It's not you I'm worried about."

"Yourself?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "It can't do anything to you, can it?"

A bitter laugh came from Evelyn. "Is that what Dinah Drake said?" she sneered, then sniffed and sat back. "Go on. Tell me what she said. I want to know how much of it she actually told you, or how much she actually got right."

"That you killed Vincent," Laurel said simply. "That's it."

Evelyn stared at her. "That's _it?"_

"Evelyn, Dinah lost her boyfriend," Laurel put her hand on one of Evelyn's knees. "Her story was gonna be skewered anyway. But she didn't work with Prometheus when you did. _I_ did. I don't think that's the full story."

"Evelyn," Kara said quietly, making the dark-haired girl look up at her. "You were scared of Dinah. I heard you say you didn't want to kill Vincent. What happened?"

Evelyn swallowed hard. "I got a call to return to headquarters a bit after I left," she said slowly, eyes flickering to where Malcolm was standing behind Laurel. "That Cayden had found a traitor, and he wanted me and Talia to help break him. When I saw it was Vince . . . " She gulped. "I screamed to get him away from Dinah. I didn't mean to pin him to a stake in the wall. And then Cayden . . . he told me to find his breaking point. I didn't want to do it, then Vince begged me not to. And when I stepped back to say no . . . " She gulped and ducked her head. "He turned the collar on," he whispered.

"But you have to scream to use it," Laurel frowned.

Evelyn sniffed, looking up. "It's not just a Canary Cry. It's a shock collar, too."

Laurel's face drained of color, and Malcolm stiffened. "What?" he asked sharply.

Kara quickly hurried to Evelyn's side, peering at the collar, a grimace on her face. She reached up, and Evelyn flinched away. The pained look on Kara's face made Evelyn want to apologize, but the Kryptonian shook her head. "I'm going to take it off," she said. "And see if there's a way to disable the shock collar. Can I do that?"

"Please," Evelyn blurted out, blushing at how quickly she answered.

Kara gave her a small smile, then carefully undid the collar. As soon as it was off, Evelyn sighed in relief, slumping a bit. "I'll get this to Brainy, see if he can do something to it," she told the other two.

"If he really is a 12th-level intellect, he better be able to," Malcolm muttered.

"I didn't want to kill him," Evelyn sniffed as Kara headed out the door. "Check in my bag if you don't believe me."

Laurel nodded, standing back up to look. "What happened today?" Malcolm asked, walking forward a bit, staying a respectful distance away.

"Cayden said we'd be airlifted by the time the bomb went off," Evelyn answered as Laurel unzipped her bag to look through it. "Then we weren't, and Talia told me to be ready to leave. When I asked her if she knew about the collar being a shock collar . . . she didn't answer, she just deflected. So I got out of there as fast as I could, packed my bag as fast as I could . . . but Dinah found me before I could leave. You know the rest."

Laurel inhaled sharply, and Malcolm turned to see Laurel had pulled out one of Vincent's visors, but she was staring down at a picture she held in her hand. Malcolm peered over her shoulder, and he sighed when he saw a picture of Evelyn and Vincent together, both looking remarkably happy for being in a criminal cabal. "I'm sorry, Evelyn," Laurel whispered.

"He was always looking out for me," Evelyn ducked her head. "I was just Talia's student, Cayden just wanted me because I knew how to use a Canary Cry, and because I'm a teenager, I'm not enough for Anatoli or Diaz. He was like my older brother . . . and Cayden turned my cry into a shock collar and made me kill him."

Laurel swallowed, putting the picture down. "I believe you."

"Me, too," Malcolm nodded, turning back to Evelyn.

She side-eyed her cuffed hands. "So why am I like this?"

"Because someone in your little group was actually the one who killed Cayden's son," Laurel answered. "Not Oliver."

Evelyn blinked. "What?"

"The footage was altered," Laurel nodded. "Someone in Cayden's group had him assassinated."

Evelyn blanched. "Wasn't me. I had just started working with Chase at the time, I didn't even know who Cayden James was until he got me from Lian Yu."

"OK," Malcolm nodded, crouching down in front of her. "We have people going after Diaz right now. Do you know where Talia or Anatoli could be?"

Evelyn licked her lips nervously, then took a deep breath. "Anatoli would probably be able to get his own ride out of the city because of his connections. Talia . . . she'll be like a ghost. But we were supposed to meet close by the port."

"Good," Malcolm nodded. "Thank you."

Evelyn nodded timidly, curling back up against the pole. Laurel looked up at Malcolm as he walked back over, she texting on her phone. "You sound like you're trusting her."

"Getting there," Malcolm nodded.

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "Do you trust me?"

"With my life," Malcolm answered at once. "That's why I'm going out on a limb to trust Evelyn."

Laurel smiled. "Who knew I could get the magician to change his mind?"

"Well, one out of two of you getting it right," Malcolm exaggerated rolling his eyes. "I'll take it."

Laurel just laughed, sending the text. "Two down."

"Two to go," Malcolm nodded.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton/Kara Danvers_**

"Aha!" Winn cheered, making William jump from where he was anxiously pacing between his and Felicity's computers. "Valor, Saturn Girl, got a lead on Talia, courtesy of a little bird. Check the port."

"On our way," Mon-El answered.

"Felicity, start checking higher up," Winn added, cracking his knuckles. "Anatoli might try and get a ride of his own."

She nodded and started a new search. William fidgeted, then walked over to where Kara was watching Querl fiddle with what looked like another version of Alex's howl. "Where's my dad?" he asked quietly. "He said he'd be right back."

"I know," Kara nodded, turning to him. "And he will. It's just . . . like so many other times, things aren't going as planned tonight. It's taking a long time. But all of us working together, we're gonna get this done, and when we do, I'll make sure he comes back. He's gonna be OK." She smiled at him. "I promise."

William smiled faintly back at her. "Thank you."

Kara held out her arms, and William gave her a hug. "You don't need to thank me for looking out for my two favorite boys."

"Hey!" Winn whined from the computers.

"Need I remind you I have a fiancé and a soon-to-be stepson, Winn?" Kara tossed over her shoulder without looking.

"Yeah, they trump you, sorry," Felicity grinned at him.

"I do believe that should do it," Querl straightened, examining the collar he held.

"It's safe?" Kara asked, stepping forward.

"Yes," Querl nodded, handing it to her. "I have disabled the electric shock capabilities. Perhaps Cayden James won't realize it has been and will attempt something, and if he does so, he could be caught offguard enough to be taken out."

"Huh," Kara mused thoughtfully. "Not bad. Thanks, Brainy."

The Coluan inclined his head, accepting the praise. "Oh, oh," Felicity perked up, making Kara turn. "I've got eyes on Anatoli and a few of his friends! Looks like they got themselves a helicopter."

"Of course," Kara rolled her eyes, looking at William. "I've got to go."

"OK," William nodded, biting his lip.

"And I've got the port," Winn added. "Talia's there."

"Two birds with one stone," Felicity grinned as Kara took off. "Go Team SuperArrow."

* * *

 ** _Talia al Ghul_**

Talia gritted her teeth, checking the time one last time before concluding Evelyn had either abandoned her or was too scared to show up. That was fine by her if her student was still not over Vigilante's death.

She stepped out of the shadows, heading for the boat that was at the port to take her out of Star City, when she walked smack into a shimmering wall of blue energy. She stopped in shock, turning to look around. She was completely surrounded by the wall, which turned out to be like a hamster ball . . . and she was the hamster.

"Talia al Ghul," a male voice said, and Talia turned to see two figures in combat suits walk up – one a dark-haired man with a beard in a suit of black, the other a dark-haired woman in a suit of dark purple and black, an insignia of Saturn on her belt. "Nice to finally meet you," the man gave a shark-like grin. "I think not."

The woman with him smirked, waving the hand she held outstretched. Talia glared at them in response.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/John Diggle_**

Anatoli grumbled in annoyance as he walked across the building rooftop towards where the helicopter would land. "Next I come back to city, I hope it is ash," he declared, shielding his eyes from the spotlight shining down from the helicopter.

He heard a metal thwack, then an explosion triggered just a few feet away. Shortly after, both of his guards went down with arrows in their shoulders. The helicopter flying above veered off rapidly, and Anatoli swallowed, drawing a gun and circling. "Kapiushon!" he shouted. "Show yourself!"

A gunshot went off, and Anatoli yelped as his gun was knocked out of his hand. He hissed in pain, wringing his hand out, then looked up when footsteps approached. "City is about to become crater," he scowled as Oliver walked up. "You want to put me in prison? Fine. Just out of town, please."

"The bomb's not going off, Anatoli," Oliver growled. "Because I'm going to deliver Cayden James the truth: _you."_

"You have finally snapped," Anatoli narrowed his eyes. "Took a few more years longer than I expected."

"You set me up," Oliver accused. "The photo, the doctored video."

"I already told you, that was not me," Anatoli shook his head.

Oliver huffed, looking slightly past him. "Well, forgive me if I don't want to take you at your word."

Anatoli turned to see what he had and was just in time to see a gauntleted fist swing at his head. He crumbled like a sack of bricks to the ground, unconscious, and Slade looked down at the Russian. "That felt satisfying."

"That's why I wanted to do that," Oliver grumbled.

On the next level above them, Dig held in a snort as he listened to the two, choosing to speak into his comms instead. "Overwatch, Telle, Brainy, we got him."

* * *

 ** _William Clayton_**

"Valor and Saturn Girl just checked in," Winn said as he pushed away from his computer. "They've got Talia."

"And Wolf, Guardian, and Martian Manhunter got Diaz," Felicity added. "With Supergirl, Dark Archer, and Siren on Evelyn, that makes us four for four."

William was twirling one of his dad's arrows in his hand when Thea walked up and sighed. "William, give that to me," she ordered.

William offered it back with a sigh, and Thea took it, joining the techs. "Call James," Oliver ordered, and William perked up when he heard his father's voice.

A cold voice came through the comms next, making William listen attentively. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

"We have all four," Oliver said. "Where do you want them?"

"Meet me at the abandoned theater on Jefferson Avenue," Cayden answered.

"I'm on it," Felicity turned around.

"Perhaps I can go aid them," Querl turned around. "It is always possible Cayden has them meet right by the bomb."

"Could you disarm it?" Felicity asked hopefully. The look Querl gave her made William bite his finger to avoid laughing ridiculously hard; he didn't know such an intense bitch face was possible. "Right," Felicity cleared her throat, turning around. "12th-level intellect from the 31st century disarming a 21st century bomb. Why did I even ask?"

"I'll tell Quentin what's going on," Thea pulled out her phone.

"I'll get in touch with Siren and Dark Archer," Winn volunteered.

"I will inform Valor and Saturn Girl," Querl nodded, turning and leaving as he put on his Legion Ring.

"And that leaves me with the Earth-38ers," Felicity picked up her phone.

William watched the four of them move around, then saw Querl leave for the theater. As soon as the Coluan was gone, William went over to his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and hurried up the stairs to get to the theater as well.

He had to get to his dad and Kara.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"You gotta be kidding me," Rene stared at Curtis's screen in shock.

"I don't think technology can kid like this," Curtis shook his head, equally stunned as he looked at the satellite images he had picked up all over Star City. "What are they _doing?"_

"Diaz, Anatoli, Talia, Evelyn . . . " Dinah gritted her teeth as she looked at images of Team Arrow rounding up Cayden's cabal. "But where's Cayden?"

"That's a good question," Curtis tapped on his keyboard. "But given that they are all headed the same place . . . I think he is . . . here."

Rene's eyebrows shot up as Curtis showed them. "Really? That old theater?"

"That's where they're all going," Curtis nodded.

"I can't believe it," Dinah shook her head in disgust. "They're working with Cayden James?"

"Come on, they can't be _that_ stupid," Rene snorted.

"I don't care," Dinah shook her head, grabbing her staff. "That's where Evelyn's going to be. That's where I'm going, too."

She was almost to the exit when she heard the scraping of Curtis's chair and the sound of footsteps behind her. "Then we're coming, too!" Curtis stated, Rene grabbing his mask from the table as he followed.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Evelyn Sharp_**

"Here," Kara landed on the sidewalk as Malcolm and Laurel escorted Evelyn to the van they drove. "One Canary Cry sans electric shock."

Evelyn stared at the cry in surprise. "You really did that?"

"Well, Brainy did," Kara shrugged, walking up to her. "The thing is, do I put it on or not?"

Evelyn held up her cuffed hands. "Not like I'd be able to turn it on, right?"

Kara pursed her lips. "Here's my question. When this is over and done, are you going to go back to being on the wrong side of the law with Talia, or would you like a way out? That depends on whether you get this back or not."

Evelyn chewed her lip, then took a deep breath. "My shatterpoint was when Cayden made me kill Vince and my teacher knew about it. I'm not going back to either of them."

Laurel smiled proudly, and Kara nodded, reaching up to put the cry around Evelyn's neck. "Brainy actually had a rather nice idea," she began to say, only to freeze. "Wait . . . " Her face drained of color. "Oh, my God."

"Almas?" Malcolm frowned.

"I'll meet you there!" Kara took off down the street, then leapt up into the sky.

The three remaining looked up and watched her go, then Malcolm and Laurel exchanged uneasy looks. "That can't be good."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Brainy," Oliver blinked in surprise as he, Dig, and Slade approached the theater with Anatoli, arriving just in time to see Querl land, clad in his Legion suit. "Didn't know you were coming."

"It occurred to me that you said, and I quote, 'all hands on deck,'" Querl answered, putting his fingers together in the upside down triangle shape he seemed to favor as they walked inside. "I believe it would be best for me to be here. After all, there is a 97.9403% chance Cayden James has his thermobaric bomb here."

Oliver took a deep breath, then nodded. "Thank you."

Querl nodded in acknowledgment as they stepped into the theater. Sure enough, Cayden was on the stage, standing with the bomb as they walked in. "Prodigious timing, gentlemen," he said. "It's almost midnight."

"We're not here to play games, Cayden," Oliver growled.

"And yet here you are," he countered, eyeing Anatoli with distrust. "And what of Mr. Diaz, Ms. Sharp, and Ms. al Ghul?"

"They'll be here," Dig answered.

Cayden nodded, then raised an eyebrow and turned towards the other side of the theater. "And what of this young man?" he asked, and Oliver almost got whiplash turning around to see William hesitantly walk in, putting his backpack in the seats. "I don't believe your son was invited, Oliver."

Oliver swallowed hard, rushing to William, Slade stepping forward to take Oliver's place on Anatoli's other side, opposite Dig. "What are you doing here?" Oliver demanded quietly, fear lacing his tone.

"I want to be with you and Kara," William swallowed, looking up at him. "I'm scared."

"William, just listen to me," Oliver began.

"It's just like on the island," William interrupted, making Oliver pause. "Kara just _barely_ saved us. I lost my mom when it seemed like it was safe. Now that it's this dangerous . . . I don't want to lose you. _Either_ of you, even if Kara's invulnerable." Cayden opened his mouth to remark on that, but a sharp head turn from Slade in his direction made him think otherwise, even though he was the one standing closest to the bomb. "Please," William begged. "I want to stay with you."

Oliver swallowed, too. "Come here," he whispered, holding out an arm. "Come here." William hugged him immediately, and Oliver's arm went around him, holding him close. He took a deep breath, then spoke out loud. "Kara? Come here."

A second passed, then there was a gust of air blowing sheets and trash everywhere. "Oh, my God," Kara's eyes were wide as she ran past Slade, Dig, and Querl to get to Oliver and William. "I told you – !"

"I know what you told me," William interrupted, ducking his head. "But I want to be with the two of you."

Kara gulped, looking at Oliver. He nodded in response, and Kara took a deep breath, nodding as well. "I'm just glad you're OK," she whispered.

Cayden watched the three of them, then stepped down off the stage. "It's all right."

Oliver tensed, then pulled back, putting a hand on William's shoulder. "Stay with Kara," he ordered.

William nodded, and Oliver released him. William shuffled immediately to Kara, who put her hands protectively on his shoulders, holding tight as Cayden examined William. "This started with my son," he said. "Yours should be here for the end. It's a beautiful symmetry, don't you think?"

"He has _nothing_ to do with this," Oliver hissed.

"I don't disagree," Cayden admitted. "But it appears your son has other plans." He looked past Oliver to William, who tensed. "Hello, William. My name is Cayden James."

"You're the guy who wants to blow up the city," William frowned.

"I suppose," Cayden shrugged as Querl slowly started to move towards the bomb. "It's a long story. And it concerns my own son."

"Where is he?" William asked.

Cayden paused. "Passed away, I'm afraid."

"It's a little late," a male voice piped up, and Querl quickly stood in place as Cayden turned. "And you probably won't believe me, but my condolences."

"Ah," Cayden eyed the newcomers as Oliver nodded to the incoming trio. "Ms. al Ghul. Welcome."

"I don't feel very welcome," Talia deadpanned, eyeing Anatoli in cuffs similar to hers, stopping when Mon-El gripped her arm.

"And your new friends, Oliver," Cayden tilted his head. "I don't recognize them."

"You wouldn't," Kara spoke up. "They're with me."

"Yes, I suppose Saturn would give it away," Cayden examined Imra's belt. "What do I call the two of you?"

"Nice try," Mon-El snorted. "Valor."

"Saturn Girl," Imra offered her codename.

"No real names," Cayden frowned. "A pity."

"We're not here to be friends," Mon-El scoffed. "You won't get them."

"Two down," Cayden looked between Anatoli and Talia. "Just two to go."

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Malcolm put the van in park, looking up at the old theater. "I don't like this," he finally said.

"What don't you like?" Laurel looked at him as she undid her seatbelt. "Bringing Cayden James his 'friends,' bringing Evelyn here, or the fact we're walking right into a room that could end up being a ticking time bomb?"

"Yes," Malcolm gave her a look.

Laurel sighed, sitting straight. "We'll get out of this, Malcolm." She looked behind them to where Evelyn was sitting in the back, fiddling with her fingers. "We all will." Malcolm looked back as well, then Laurel took a deep breath. "The picture with her and Vincent . . . that wasn't the only photo she had."

"What else did she have?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"Team Arrow before Evelyn betrayed the team," Laurel answered quietly. "She didn't do this, Malcolm."

"I know she didn't," Malcolm assured her. "If anyone's making it out of that theater with the slightest chance to redeem themselves, it's her."

"Agreed," Laurel nodded, opening her door.

Malcolm did the same on his end, and Laurel opened the back of the van. Evelyn looked up and swallowed. "This is it?"

"Yeah," Laurel nodded, holding out her hand. Evelyn held up her arms, and Laurel grasped her forearm, hauling her up and out of the van as Malcolm scanned the area. "You're not the one who has to be worried, though," Laurel told her. "It's whoever was really behind this."

Evelyn licked her lips. "And I really have a chance to get out of this?"

"You do," Laurel nodded. "Believe me, if Malcolm, Slade, and I had the chance to, you can get one, too." A small smile formed on Evelyn's face, and Laurel counted it as a win. "How does it look?" she asked Malcolm. She saw him frowning in one direction, and Laurel tensed, following his gaze. "Malcolm?"

He finally turned back around. "Thought I saw something," he muttered. "But we're clear. Let's go."

Laurel nodded, she and Evelyn following Malcolm into the theater.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"Another chance, my ass," Dinah growled as she listened through the bug Curtis had set up on the entrance to the theater.

"I've got four alien signatures in the building, one matches Supergirl's," Curtis reported. "Seven human signatures, others approaching."

"What the hell is going on in there?" Rene muttered.

"Whatever it is, they clearly plan on letting Evelyn walk scot free," Dinah seethed. "I guess if Cayden James doesn't kill her, I sure as hell am gonna take my shot."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, Dinah, you may run into a problem with that.**

 **I want the final part of this episode to be up by the end of MLK weekend, so keep an eye out!**


	66. The Devil's Greatest Trick - Part Three

**Everyone's all accounted for, but then everything falls apart. Both teams have their eyes on the same person, and the devil's greatest trick is convincing the world he didn't exist.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Laurel Lance/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Quite a brave young fellow you have here, Mr. Queen," Cayden remarked. "Brave . . . and foolish. Much like his father."

"William?!" Alex's surprised voice came from behind Cayden.

"What're you doing here?" Laurel protested.

"None of your concern, Ms. Danvers, or yours, Ms. Lance," Cayden turned. "Ah, and the rest of our guests have arrived."

Oliver nodded in acknowledgment to the other two groups, their prisoners between them. "These three freaks say that you think one of us killed your boy?" Diaz pointed between Alex, James, and J'onn.

"In point of fact, Mr. Diaz, I _know_ that one of you killed my boy," Cayden confirmed. "I intend to find out who."

"You believe people in masks over people you do business with?" Anatoli scoffed.

"I'm with the Russian," Diaz nodded.

"Oliver has proven time and time again he would do anything to save those he cares about," Talia threw him a dirty look. "Just look at who he got for Lian Yu."

"And you know how that ended up," Malcolm gave her a dirty look right back. "Or you could ask Adrian Chase." He blinked in mock surprise. "Oh . . . but you can't. Because he's _dead."_

Talia glared at him but didn't respond. "I don't trust anyone's word," Cayden interrupted, drawing attention back to him. "I put my faith in data, information. Ones and zeroes never lie." He held out his tablet, showing it to everyone. "Here's digital proof that one of you has betrayed me." He took a deep breath. "Only two of you in this room know what it feels like to lose a son." Malcolm immediately tensed, and Evelyn winced as his grip on her arm tightened. The archer quickly released her, clenching his bow tighter instead. Similarly, Slade was just on edge, though he didn't release his grip on Anatoli's arm at all. Kara gave them concerned looks, shifting from foot to foot, ready to get over there as quickly as she could if she needed to. "A piece of yourself, gone. It's like a phantom limb. No, it's _worse_ than that . . . it's like a piece of your soul lost as if it had never been there. Lost – no, stop," he shook his head, turning away to gather himself for a second. "I keep reminding myself that I have not _lost_ my son. He's been _taken_ from me."

"Hey," Diaz leaned forward. "You're losing it! Your grief is making you crazy."

James reached out and put a firm hand on Diaz's shoulder, pushing him back. The others all braced themselves to reach for weapons as Cayden held up his hand, revealing the trigger for the thermobaric bomb behind him. "What if it has?" Cayden didn't deny it.

"Just look at him," Dig hissed. "He wants to kill everyone in this room."

"Just be ready to move," Oliver whispered back.

"Someone distract him," Querl's quiet voice came over the comms. "I need to get to the bomb."

"Who killed your boy?" Diaz snorted. "Why don't you ask your pretty little songbird over there." Evelyn's gaze whipped to Diaz as he smirked at her. "She's the one who took out your little traitor problem."

"I agree," a cold voice said, and everyone turned around to see Dinah stalk into the room, her eyes locked on Evelyn, who shrank back at the sight of her, Rene and Curtis sheepishly following. "You want your killer? There she is."

"So says the one who's not thinking clearly since you want her killed anyway!" Laurel snapped, standing so she was protecting Evelyn from view.

"I do not believe you were invited, Ms. Drake," Cayden frowned as Kara tugged William back. "Or you, Mr. Ramirez, Mr. Holt."

"They weren't," Oliver glared at them.

"Oh, Sprock."

"I don't like the sound of that," Mon-El muttered, side-eyeing where Querl was examining the bomb.

"What's wrong?" J'onn asked.

"Nothing with the bomb," Querl swallowed. "But it is interfering with another frequency in this vicinity."

"I'm afraid I must tell you, Mr. Diaz, that you are wrong," Cayden said, and Querl ducked down to hide from view. "It was not Ms. Sharp who killed my boy. You, after all, did not see her very clearly hesitate to execute Mr. Sobel. She didn't want to do it. That is why I forced her to."

"And we're supposed to take your word for it?" Curtis asked.

"That's it?" Evelyn pushed past Laurel to glare at Curtis, even though she did stop when Malcolm put out an arm to stop her from getting too far away. "You're automatically going to assume that just because I killed someone, it means I _wanted_ to do it?"

"This coming from the one who betrayed our team," Rene scoffed.

Evelyn burst out laughing. "Oh, this coming from the one who outed Oliver's identity to the FBI? Talk about calling the kettle black!" Rene jerked back, and Laurel bit her lip to hide a smirk. "I never even knew who Cayden James was because yes, I was working with Prometheus," Evelyn continued, narrowing her eyes with laser focus on the intruding trio. "I had no idea who he was, so how the hell was I supposed to know who his son was? If anything, look at her!" she gestured at Talia, who looked at her sharply. "She's the one with the skills to do it!"

"I do not waste my time on those who do not deserve it," Talia said coldly.

Cayden's gaze hardened, and Anatoli stiffened. "You doom us," he glared at Talia.

"Sprock!" Querl hissed. "Her collar!"

"Whose?" Alex looked down at her neck, confused. "No, mine's fine."

Kara's gaze fell on Evelyn's neck . . . which was alternating between turning on and off. "No, Alex . . . not yours."

Evelyn's collar finally whirred to life, and she looked down at it in surprise before looking back up. Cayden's eyes went to her, and he narrowed his eyes further before tapping something on his tablet. Evelyn braced herself, as if expecting something to happen, Malcolm reaching for an arrow as Laurel took a deep breath. But nothing happened, and Cayden looked down at his tablet in shock as Evelyn let out a sigh of relief. "But that's," Cayden began.

"Well, well, well," Evelyn grinned. "Isn't this interesting?"

Cayden fumbled for the detonator, but Evelyn wrenched her way out of Laurel's grasp and screamed at him. The cry catapulted him away, and Dinah made to rush forward. Evelyn screamed at her in response, knocking Dinah into Rene and Curtis. Diaz wrenched out of James's grasp, using his cuffed hands to wrap around his head and bring him hard to the ground. Evelyn used her cry on everyone, trying to aim as best as she could for Diaz, Talia, and Anatoli; however, her cry was nowhere near as accurate as Laurel's or Dinah's screams, taking others out as well.

Laurel stood from where she had crouched when Evelyn began screaming, then zeroed in on where Dinah was stirring. Looking around at everyone else, she gritted her teeth, then took the key to Evelyn's cuffs out. "Come on," she said, inserting her key into the lock.

"What?" Evelyn asked in genuine surprise.

"You outed Talia and Anatoli, you just took down Diaz and Cayden, and Dinah's out for your blood," Laurel said quickly, unlocking Evelyn's cuffs. "Get out of here. I'll be right behind you." Evelyn still didn't seem to comprehend it, even as her cuffs fell to the ground. "Go!"

Evelyn finally burst into action, running for the exit. Dinah scrambled to her feet, but Malcolm quickly drew an arrow and fired it at her, making Dinah have to swerve to avoid being hit. When he looked behind him to find everyone else, he caught the tail end of Talia leaving. "Damn it," he seethed. "I'm going for Talia!"

"Go," Oliver nodded curtly. "J'onn, Dig, and Alex on Diaz, Mon-El and Imra on Anatoli. Go!" The two took off, and as Kara peered up from where she was with William, Oliver raced over to where Querl had stood, examining the bomb. "Can you disarm it?" he asked.

"That is what I'm working on," Querl nodded, rubbing his hands together.

"Kid!" Slade barked, raising his gun.

Oliver turned to see Rene raise his own gun and shoot at Slade, making the vigilante duck. That gave them time for Dinah to rush out and pursue Evelyn. "What are you doing?" Oliver growled at Rene.

"She's a killer, Hoss," Rene glared at him as Curtis followed Dinah.

"She's a teenager!" Kara countered. "A _scared_ teenager at that!"

"Siren," Slade put a hand up to activate his comms as Rene left as well. "You have incoming!"

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Malcolm entered the hall he had seen Talia go down, arrow nocked in his bow, ready to fire when he saw her. He kept his breathing quiet, eyes darting from corner to corner, trying to find where she was.

A weight dropped on him from above, and Malcolm went into a somersault as soon as he felt it. Two hands wrenched his bow from his grasp, and Malcolm rolled into a crouch, drawing his sword as he did. Across from him, Talia got to her feet, narrowing her eyes. "My father would be ashamed of who took his mantle," Talia snarled.

"Guess we'll never know," Malcolm narrowed his eyes right back, raising his sword in salute. "He's dead."

Talia leapt forward, and Malcolm rushed at the same time, bow and sword clacking at the same time.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"Well, there's one upside to this," Mon-El mused as he and Imra swept backstage.

"What could possibly be an upside to this?" Imra frowned, eyes flicking up.

"We're going up against all of Cayden's little criminal group."

Imra paused. "True."

Mon-El stopped in his tracks, then swung around and raised his hand. Anatoli's eyes widened in shock as Mon-El grabbed the chainlink connecting his cuffs, and Mon-El smirked. "Nice effort," he said, throwing a sharp punch and knocking Anatoli flat on his back.

Imra watched him fall, then frowned and looked up at Mon-El. "This was . . . what do you call it?"

"Anticlimactic?" Mon-El suggested.

"That."

Mon-El frowned, looking down at Anatoli. "It kind of was."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig slowly approached the lower level of the theater, gun raised and ready to fire, when Diaz lunged from the stairs on the left and wrapped the chain of his cuffs around his gun, twisting hard enough that Dig lost his grip. He quickly dodged a punch from Diaz, but the criminal moved fast enough to come up with another punch.

Alex ran into view, and Dig quickly ducked around Diaz, leaving him open to her. Alex screamed, the sound activating her howl and hitting both Diaz and Dig. Both men went flying, but J'onn flew into view and caught Dig before he crashed into the wall. Diaz hit the railing of the stairs with a groan of pain, and J'onn planted one foot on Diaz's chest, narrowing his eyes. "You're not getting away," the Martian declared.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Malcolm and Talia were still in their deadly dance, Talia managing to fight extremely well with her hands still bound. Malcolm gritted his teeth, trying to find an opening to take her down.

He didn't have to wait long as just as Talia made to swing again, he was encased in a swirling sphere of energy. Talia hit the forcefield conjured up, and with a curse, she dropped his bow. "Fooled you twice," Imra grinned behind her before knocking her out with a punch.

Malcolm sighed as the forcefield winked out. "Thank you."

Imra nodded, picking up his bow and holding it out to him. "You're welcome."

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Evelyn Sharp_**

Laurel saw Evelyn burst out of the theater, and when Laurel was clear of the doors as well, she turned to see who was coming behind her. The second she saw Curtis, she took a deep breath and screamed at him, making Curtis jump behind the closest wall. Laurel took a short second to smirk. That was one out of three.

Then Evelyn shrieked behind her, and Laurel whipped around to see Dinah run into view, a cruel smirk on her face. Laurel quickly dove at Evelyn, knocking her out of the way of Dinah's incoming scream. She rolled onto her feet, placing herself in front of Evelyn as Dinah stepped forward. "Don't," Laurel warned, holding up a hand, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good.

"She killed Vince!" Dinah snarled.

"And how many people did _he_ kill?" Laurel retorted.

Dinah roared angrily, rushing blindly without thinking. Laurel grabbed Dinah's staff when she swung, grateful for all the time she had spent training with Slade; she wouldn't have been able to use Dinah's momentum to alter her course and end up using the staff to throw Dinah end over end, making her slam into the wall behind them. "Whoa," Evelyn's eyes bugged open.

Laurel grinned, twirling Dinah's staff as the other metahuman gawked at her. "Guess I know which team has the better combat trainers," she goaded. Dinah shot to her feet and ran at Laurel, who twirled the staff and nimbly ducked under Dinah's desperate swing. "You want revenge for him," Laurel continued to taunt her as Evelyn backed up so she was behind the truck parked out back. "Your _boyfriend._ How many people did _he_ kill before he tried turning his life around?"

"You don't have the right to say that!" Dinah yelled.

"No?" Laurel countered, panting for breath. "Criminal on Earth-2, lieutenant of Zoom, enforcer for Prometheus. _Until_ I got set straight again. Vincent had the chance to get set straight. And now you're going to deny that to a _teenager_ who is _scared to death_ of you?!"

"She should be!" Dinah charged.

Laurel shook her head in disbelief, resigned to what she needed to do. She took a deep breath, then pulled another trick she had learned, this time from Malcolm; she jumped onto a crate nearby and kicked off the wall, swinging both Dinah's staff and kicking at the same time. She hit Dinah in the head both times, and the metahuman crashed unconscious to the ground. Laurel licked her lips, leaning down to check Dinah for a pulse, then looked up as Evelyn carefully stood up from where she was hiding. "What was that?" she asked in disbelief.

"I train with amazing guys," Laurel answered, dropping Dinah's staff back by her. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Evelyn nodded, hurrying to join Laurel, when a gunshot rang out, and Laurel had just enough time to place herself in front of Evelyn, pulling her to the side. She caught a glimpse of Rene's mask before she jerked backwards, pain flaring in her side. "Laurel!" Evelyn screamed as she fell to the ground.

Laurel grimaced in pain, trying to get back up before she groaned, reaching for her side. Evelyn looked back to see Rene approach, both of his guns aimed at her. "Hands up," he ordered.

"Rene," Evelyn swallowed. "Please."

"I said hands up!" he snapped. "Now!"

Evelyn looked back down at Laurel, then took a deep breath. She turned around and screamed at Rene, her cry activating. Rene got one more shot off before her cry slammed into him, knocking him backwards.

Evelyn stumbled when Rene's shot grazed her, reaching for her shoulder. Her fingers came away red, but not nearly as bloody as she thought they would be. She was lucky. Swallowing, she hurried to check on Laurel, seeing her suit stain red quickly. "Laurel," she whispered.

Laurel swallowed as well, forcing her eyes to meet Evelyn's. "Run," she croaked.

"What?" Evelyn's eyes widened.

"Curtis," Laurel managed to say. "Go!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

" _Go!"_

Evelyn bit her lip, then looked behind her when she heard footsteps. Taking a deep breath, Evelyn raced for the nearest fire escape, scaling it as quickly as she could, even with an injured shoulder.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

How Cayden had managed to hold onto the detonator when Evelyn's cry hit him, Kara had no idea. All she knew now was that Cayden's finger was literally on the trigger, his eyes on her and Oliver, watching for any single bit of movement. "William," Slade said quietly, walking around to join them. "Step back."

"Back away," Oliver finally did as well, letting Kara keep her eyes on Cayden. "Come here. Come here, William."

William finally was within distance for Oliver to wrap an arm around him, and William curled into his father's side, eyes on Cayden. Kara was quick, she was, but even he knew the moment she moved, Cayden would try and detonate the bomb. "Cayden," Slade stopped by Kara. "Your son wouldn't want you to do this."

"The person responsible for his death is in the vicinity, and I intend to drag them to hell with me," Cayden declared. "I owe it to my son."

Oliver swallowed hard, bringing William closer to him. "Cayden," Kara said quietly, stepping forward; she stopped when Cayden's grip tightened. "Your son was innocent. He didn't deserve what happened to him. But how many other innocent sons are you going to kill if you detonate that bomb?"

Cayden paused, looking at her with wide eyes, as if that thought had never come to mind. "A father's job is to protect your child," Slade nodded, gesturing to where William was clinging tightly to Oliver. "I failed there, I admit it. And there is nothing worse than the pain of knowing you have failed in protecting who means the most to you."

Cayden swallowed hard. "I had an obligation to protect my son," he croaked. "But I failed. I failed him utterly. All this time . . . the man responsible for his death . . . was me."

"Got it!" Querl shouted from behind the bomb.

Oliver launched a flechette, and Kara moved the moment it smacked into Cayden's wrist, causing him to drop the detonator. Slade lunged for it, grabbing it before it hit the ground, and as Querl stood up, a bundle of wires in his hands, Kara had an arm around Cayden's neck. "Don't move," she ordered, eyes narrowed.

Cayden just swallowed, staying still as ordered.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"I can't believe he was ready to blow up the whole city," William shook his head as he looked around the bunker that evening.

"Yeah," Oliver sighed. "He lost his boy. I don't even want to imag – "

"You're going to make _me_ start to imagine," Kara said as she walked over, arms around herself.

Oliver cleared his throat, knowing exactly what she meant. "Yeah." He looked down at William, sighing. "What you did was very dangerous."

"I know," he ducked his head in embarrassment. "And I'm sorry."

Oliver put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. "I am never gonna let anything happen to you, William," he promised. _"Ever._ And I am promising you that I will do everything that I can to make sure nothing happens to me."

"You can't make that promise," William swallowed.

"I _can_ make that promise," Oliver countered. "I just did. I am right now."

"Oliver's been doing this a long time, William," Kara smiled. "If anyone can make that promise, it's him. Besides, I'm going to make sure nothing happens to him, too."

"So trust me, OK?" Oliver asked.

William nodded. "OK."

"Thank you," Oliver nodded as well.

"OK," Kara held out her arms. "Both my boys made it out. Come here."

Oliver chuckled, shaking his head fondly, even as he held out his arm for Kara to come in and hug him. "Why are you so huggable?"

"Because it's Kara," William had an answer for that, smiling as he hugged her, too.

"Exactly," she beamed. "Get used to it, Oliver."

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me," Oliver smiled, kissing the top of her head. Kara hummed in agreement, resting her head on his shoulder, then Oliver sighed. "On to less happy tasks . . . we have to go talk to the others."

William winced, already having a feeling how that was going to go. "Be careful."

"It's not us who need to be careful," Oliver shook his head, he and Kara leaving William to head into the very tense area of the bunker.

"We're lucky," Winn told Oliver as they approached, standing up from his computer. "Anatoli, Diaz, and Talia are being taken to SCPD right now."

"And Cayden's being walked through booking right now," Thea hung up her phone.

"We got _very_ lucky," Oliver agreed, folding his arms and looking around. "How's Laurel?"

"Malcolm took her back," Slade answered, throwing Rene a nasty look. "Hopefully it's not too severe a gunshot."

"I wasn't aiming for her," Rene scowled.

"No," Kara fumed. "You were aiming for Evelyn. A teenager."

"You sound like a broken record," Dinah snorted.

"So do you," Kara countered. "And you're not seeing clearly."

"You weren't there when she killed Vince!" Dinah snapped. "And since she's all that's left, she's our priority now!"

"You clearly weren't either, since you didn't seem to tell the whole story," Kara narrowed her eyes, stepping forward.

" _I was there!"_ Dinah yelled, storming forward so she and Kara stood toe to toe, Oliver bracing himself to get in and pull Kara back, Rene and Curtis about to do the same with Dinah. "She killed him!"

"After Cayden James used the cry _he_ made her as a _shock collar_ to _make_ her scream!" Kara yelled right back.

There was silence in the bunker as everyone took that in. "He did _what?"_ Dig's eyes were wide.

"He did," Querl nodded. "I disabled the shock myself."

"So we can't just find her and ask to make sure that's right," Curtis frowned.

"Are you _kidding_ me right now?" Alex looked at him in shock. "You just heard Evelyn was forced into murder, and _that's_ your response?"

"Or did Evelyn really manage to blind you that much?" Dinah glared at Kara.

"I agree with Dinah," Oliver spoke up, and Kara turned to stare at him in shock. "Evelyn is our first priority." Dinah smirked triumphantly, but Oliver looked Kara in the eyes. "She's been failed by too many people. I'm not going to make that mistake again."

Dinah's smirk froze. "What?" Kara whispered.

"We find her, and we make sure she's OK," Oliver nodded. "I heard what Cayden said. Unlike some people in this room apparently, I'm not deaf. People on this team have done worse things than Evelyn and have gotten a chance to leave a better legacy behind. Evelyn deserves that, too."

Kara sighed in relief. Dinah, on the other hand, shook her head. "Unbelievable," she muttered, turning and storming off.

"She's betrayed us before, Hoss," Rene looked at Oliver.

"To quote her," Oliver looked him dead in the eyes. "That's the pot calling the kettle black."

Rene set his jaw, then headed after Dinah. Curtis left without saying another word. "And you worked with those three?" Mon-El couldn't help but ask.

"Key word is _worked,"_ Winn grimaced.

"Well," James rubbed the back of his head. "We saved the city, and we got not only Cayden James, but also Ricardo Diaz, Talia al Ghul, and Anatoli Knyazev."

"I think that's a nice win," Felicity smiled.

"I agree," Dig nodded.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded as well, even though he had an unsettled feeling in his stomach as he put an arm around Kara's shoulders. "It's a win."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver walked into Cayden's interrogation room the next day, closing the door behind him. "I must say, this visit is somewhat predictable," Cayden remarked.

"Well, I needed to look you in the eyes, Cayden," Oliver walked over to the table he was cuffed to. "I need to know that this . . . _surrender_ of yours isn't some sort of ploy. I've had bad luck with that tactic."

"Your fiancée, her friend, and your brother in arms prevented me from doing the unspeakable last night," Cayden said. "I'm sure Owen would have been ashamed of me . . . but then, he always was." He took a sheet of paper and pushed it towards Oliver. "This is the account number to a bank in Corto Maltese where I placed all the money I embezzled from the city."

"Thank you," Oliver nodded, taking the paper and looking down at it.

"I would ask one thing in return," Cayden said, making Oliver raise an eyebrow. "Permission to visit my son's grave."

Oliver didn't hesitate. "I can arrange that," he nodded, heading for the door.

"Be a better father than I was, Oliver," Cayden called after him as he opened the door.

Oliver paused in the exit, then stepped outside, silently vowing to do so as he did.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"First Vincent, now Rene," Malcolm shook his head as he helped Laurel put a sweater on, the blonde grimacing. "At least it wasn't much of a shot."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't aiming for me," Laurel grumbled. "Guess we just got lucky."

"He's running out of it," Malcolm said darkly as the door to the apartment opened.

"He is," Slade nodded, shutting the door behind him. "All three of them are."

"What mess did they leave?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"Dinah thought she could out-reason Kara," Slade answered.

Laurel snorted loudly. "As if."

"And Oliver made it clear he wants to help Evelyn, too," Slade added.

"Oh, thank God," Laurel sighed in relief.

"Wasn't too hard to convince the others once the words 'shock collar' were uttered," Slade nodded, walking over to join them. "Except for the terrible trio."

"Terrible trio," Malcolm snickered. "I'm using that."

"Feel free," Slade shrugged. "As they put it, rather convenient that Brainy disabled the shock aspect."

"Of course," Laurel pinched the bridge of her nose. _"Of course_ that's what they think."

"It doesn't matter what they think," Malcolm shook his head. "What matters is that we find Evelyn fist and make sure they don't get to her."

"I could see blood on her shoulder before I told her to go," Laurel bit her lip. "I just hope she's safe."

"I think she is," Slade assured her.

"You do?" Laurel looked up at him.

Slade nodded, taking a slip of paper from his jacket pocket and holding it out. "This was outside the door."

Malcolm's eyebrows shot up as Laurel took the paper gingerly. _Keep this safe to return to me_ was written on the back, along with the initials E.S. Laurel blinked, then flipped it over.

On the other side was the picture of Evelyn and Vincent, both smiling widely. Laurel's own smile formed when she saw it. "She's made her choice," she said brilliantly.

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp_**

A few blocks away, Evelyn sat in the shade of a tree, looking down at the second picture she had had in her bag. She shifted a bit, wincing as the pain in her shoulder flared. She was just lucky she had a graze and was simple to clean up. That didn't mean she resented Rene Ramirez any less. If anything, she resented him more.

That was why, as she looked down at the picture in her hands, she tore it down the middle, keeping the portion with her, Oliver, Dig, and Felicity. She smiled hopefully down on it, then stood up and took her duffel bag, heading for the sidewalk. As she passed a trashcan, she tossed the half of the picture with Rory, Rene, and Curtis inside. She would do her best to prove she was done making bad decisions in her life.

And she knew the best place for her to start.

* * *

 ** _Cayden James/Ricardo Diaz_**

Why Cayden was still in his interrogation room, he didn't know. He was about to call for an officer when he heard equipment whir. He lifted his head to look at the sole piece of machinery in the room; when he did, the red light on the camera turned off. He blinked in confusion, then turned to the door when it opened.

Ricardo Diaz stepped into the room, looking at him with an expressionless face as he closed the door. "Didn't think we'd end up here," he said, walking over and taking a seat across from Cayden. "SCPD custody. You know, I saw this playing out a lot of ways. I got to tell you, I wasn't expecting this."

Cayden frowned as Diaz chuckled. "I assume it would be foolish to think that this is a rescue operation." After all, he had been quite certain all his former allies except for Evelyn Sharp had been recaptured.

"You were always the smartest guy in the room," Diaz avoided the question, choosing to lean forward instead. "You thought you always had everybody pegged. You put everyone in your little boxes. You always understood what they were thinking, how they'd react. But you're realizing now you didn't really know anything, did you?"

"I'm afraid I don't take your meaning, Mr. Diaz," Cayden shook his head.

"Is that so?" Diaz asked, a smirk on his face. "You're supposed to be the smart one. You made some moves, then _I_ made some moves. Queen is under indictment now. The bond between his former team and new is fractured more than ever. His fiancée will always put him first over anything else. And this city . . . oh, this city . . . it's primed for a takeover. You see, guys like you never understand these things. Why destroy a city when you could take it over?"

Cayden swallowed nervously. "I suppose this accounts for your presence here."

Diaz hummed in agreement. "The new police captain? She's on my payroll, along with a few other city officials." He stood up and walked up behind Cayden, making him stiffen. "Arclight was a big help in thinning the herd for me."

"I suspect you're not done . . . _thinning the herd."_

"Talia and Anatoli aren't a concern," Diaz told him, patting his shoulder. "But you . . . well, you were always talking about how much you miss your son." Something sharp jammed into his neck, and Cayden's jaw fell open, and he gurgled in pain, reaching for the knife Diaz had stabbed him with. "In case you didn't know, _I'm_ the one who had him killed."

Diaz pulled the knife out, and Cayden fell forward onto the table, completely limp. Diaz stepped around the table, looking down at his work in satisfaction. Anatoli could be useful. Talia was a wildcard. Evelyn was in the wind, but it wouldn't take much to find her and decide what to do with her. Cayden, on the other hand . . . there was nothing left for him.

"Tell your boy I said hello," he said, turning his back on Cayden's corpse and walking out of the room.

* * *

 **A/N: So I finished this at 3:00 in the morning, and the episode literally ends with a shot of Cayden's corpse . . . that was not a good thing to end on. I had literal chills down my spine. Congratulations, Diaz - you did manage to scare me.**

 **Now the race is on to find Evelyn, but you won't get to see what happens to her next. It's over to Earth-38 for "Schott Through The Heart!"**


	67. Schott Through The Heart - Part One

**A fun night is ruined by not so fun news, Earth-1ers come to be supportive, and it turns out to be one mess after another.**

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara set her jaw as she paced in front of her friends and family at the alien bar. "I know some of you are scared," she said. "I know some of you have never done this before. I know some of you are ready to get out there and prove yourselves. But just remember why we do this." She walked past James, Alex, J'onn, M'yrnn, and ended up in front of Winn. "We do this for the people."

Winn smirked and held up a mic lighting up in different colors, and Kara grinned, grabbing it.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/James Olsen_**

That was how she ended up on stage singing to the Beastie Boys and dancing like a maniac. _"Well, now, don't you tell me to smile, maybe stick around, make it worth your wile. Got numbers beyond what you can dial, maybe it's because we're so versatile!"_

"Please tell me you're sending this to Oliver," James snickered.

"Oh, most likely," Winn laughed, trying to keep his phone steady.

" _Style, profile, I said it always brings me back when I hear 'Ooh, child,'"_ Kara continued belting out, almost making Alex fall out of her seat laughing. _"From the Hudson River to the Nile, I run the marathon to the very last mile."_

She caught sight of Mon-El entering just as she started dancing the robot, and he grinned and laughed when he saw her, Kara returning his smile. She just strutted down off the stage and held the mic out to James. "Your turn," she said smugly.

James grinned in response, took the mic, and headed to the stage.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

As it turned out, James was much better than any of them anticipated. _"What went wrong?"_ he sang smoothly, making Kara's jaw drop and her sway to the beat. _"Baby, seemed like we were going to take this further. Further. Same old song, and the juice we got from the squeeze wasn't worth it."_

"Take your shirt off!" Winn called.

Kara laughed as James smirked. _"Worth it!"_

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

" _No one can move me the way that you do, nothing erases the feeling between me and you!"_ Alex sang, even though she was close to falling off the stool she was sitting on.

"Oh," Kara frowned. "Who let her pick this song?"

" _I drove all night to get to you,"_ Alex continued, then held up a finger and took a sip of her drink, making Kara wince.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/James Olsen_**

" _I get so emotional, baby,"_ J'onn tried his best, making Alex grin and Kara rock side to side. _"Ain't it shocking what love can do."_ He stopped, then held out his hand. "Here we go, come on, Pops!" Alex, James, and Winn immediately raised their glasses in agreement, cheering M'yrnn on. "Pops, come on!"

M'yrnn rose to the challenge, surprising all of them. _"Don't you know we're caught in a trap I can't walk out,"_ he sang, making Kara gawk and mock bowing as Alex giggled. _"Because I love you too much, baby."_

James chuckled and headed to the bar to refill his drink, meeting Mon-El over there. "Hey, so I've been meaning to ask after seeing what Imra can do," James said. "So she's telepathic?"

"No, it's kinetic," Mon-El shook his head. "She moves stuff, not reads minds. Unless it's really broadcasted, I guess."

"That's kind of a cool party trick," James smirked. "Can she move you?"

Mon-El snorted. "Yeah, she's pretty impressive."

"Well, she's gotta be," James nodded. "You never were into wallflowers."

Mon-El nodded. "So, what about you, huh?"

"You know, same old same," James shrugged. "You know, work is work."

"You seeing anybody?"

"No," James shook his head.

Mon-El nodded as he took a drink. "So you have the same reason to be checking your phone every fifteen seconds as everyone else?"

"Lena," James nodded. "Sam's had such an impact on everyone, and to know that she's . . . you know."

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded immediately. "I get that. Has she said anything?"

"No," James sighed. "And when she _has_ said anything, it's been really short."

"Well," Mon-El held up his beer bottle. "Here's hoping she'll have something soon."

"Here's hoping," James agreed, tapping his bottle against Mon-El's.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

The bar erupted in cheers as M'yrnn finished, then Winn grabbed Kara's arm. "I gotta pick a song. Come on, come on, help me!"

Kara scurried after Winn as M'yrnn came down from the stage, hugging J'onn when he did. "See?" J'onn grinned proudly. "I told you you had nothing to worry about!"

"Karaoke is not for the weak," M'yrnn declared as he sat down. "It requires either great courage or a complete lack of shame . . . but I _like_ it!"

Alex laughed, putting her drink down. "You do a killer rock star."

"I listen to it sometimes while I look after the apartment," M'yrnn explained.

"Oh, yes, yes, you have a stunning apartment," Alex smiled, then eyed J'onn. "That I haven't been invited to yet."

J'onn blinked, pausing in lifting his drink, then hastened to explain. "Oh, we're still getting it together."

"It's been _three months,"_ Alex deadpanned. "OK, I think it's time for a housewarming party."

"I don't think so," J'onn shook his head.

"Yes, the house's temperature is quite comfortable," M'yrnn nodded.

J'onn turned to look back at Alex, who kept looking at him, and he finally caved. "Well, we _could_ do dinner."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Oh, you know me well," Winn grinned as Kara giggled, pointing out a song in the book. "Yes, that's the one. Here we go!"

"It's gonna be so good!" Kara squealed, barely holding in her excitement as Winn went up to the stage.

"Hey, hey," Mon-El hurried to reach her.

"Hi," Kara smiled at him.

"Hey, can we talk real quick?" Mon-El asked. "It's, uh, kind of important, and with everything that happened in Star the last few days . . . "

"Yeah, yeah, of course, in a second," Kara nodded, turning around. "Uh, Winn's about to melt our faces off."

"Right," Mon-El nodded, turning around to watch as well.

"Wait staff, you are appreciated," Winn said. "Fellow drunks!" The crowd cheered, and Winn smiled in satisfaction. "Yeah, there it is. Mr. Karaoke Man, if you please, thank you very much."

The music started to play, and Kara whooped as Alex raised her drink with a cheer, both recognizing the song. Winn snapped his fingers, moving back and forth to the music to get in the groove, when something caught his eye and caused him to freeze. Kara followed his gaze, and with a start, she straightened when she saw the TV. "That's Winn's dad," she gasped, looking at the channel declaring Winn's father dead in prison. "Guys!"

They all turned to look, similar expressions of concern forming. Feedback sounded through the speakers as Winn dropped the mic, and J'onn stood as he burst off the stage, heading outside. "I got this," James held up his hand, stopping anyone from moving. "I got this one."

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

"OK," Winn was pacing restlessly when James stepped outside. "Hey, I'm OK," he told James tightly. "It's OK. Just – "

He cut off, taking a deep breath. "Do you mind if I stay out here for a second with you?" James asked.

Winn fidgeted, then turned. "Like, he's just gone, right? That's all. I mean, it's not like anything's gonna change. I never talked to him, I never saw him, I – "

"That doesn't mean you never felt him," James pointed out.

"What's that – I'm supposed to be feeling something, right?" Winn asked. "I don't feel anything . . . I don't think. Um . . . " He huffed in frustration, leaning against the dumpster. "Just go inside."

James shook his head, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm not going back in."

Winn gulped, looking at him, then sighed. "OK," he nodded numbly, and James squeezed his shoulder supportively.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Whoa," William grinned as he and Thea watched the video Winn had sent of karaoke night while Felicity laughed as she watched over their shoulders. "Kara can sing!"

"You should've heard her sing for Iris," Oliver smiled as he, Dig, and Quentin rounded the counter, drinks in their hands.

"Oh, she was so good!" Thea gushed. "Until, you know . . . Nazis."

"Yeah, don't remind me," Oliver grimaced.

"Any luck with Evelyn?" Quentin asked.

"No, I haven't heard anything," Oliver shook his head. "I know Laurel's hard at work trying to find her, though."

"Yeah, nothing's come up from my end, either," Felicity added.

"Well, here's hoping the other team hasn't found anything yet," Thea sighed.

"Agreed," Oliver nodded, then reached for his phone when it rang. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the Caller ID, then answered. "Hello?"

"Hey," Kara answered.

"You OK?" Oliver instantly frowned, hearing her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kara assured him. "I just won't be able to get back as quickly as I thought."

"That's fine," Oliver set his beer bottle down, focusing on the conversation. "Is everything OK over there? Did something happen?"

"Nothing that I need any other team members for," Kara sighed. "It's just . . . Winn's dad was found dead in prison. It just broke the news."

"Oh, no," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "How's Winn?"

"What happened with Winn?" Felicity's head whipped to him, her ponytail almost smacking Dig in the face.

"As good as can be expected," Kara answered. "I just want to make sure he's OK before I come back over. Is that OK?"

"Kara, of course it's OK," Oliver shook his head instantly, even though she couldn't see him. "He's your friend, his dad just died. I'd want to be there for him, too."

"OK," Kara said, and Oliver looked up to see William's eyes had widened, and Felicity and Thea were exchanging concerned looks. "Thank you. He's just really shaken."

"I bet," Oliver nodded, then tilted his head thoughtfully. "Actually, one question."

"Shoot."

Oliver looked at Felicity, who looked the most concerned, and raised an eyebrow as he asked, "When's the funeral?"

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Are we ready?" the priest asked the next snowy afternoon, looking at the six gathered around the Toyman's coffin.

Winn was about to answer when Kara peered past him. "Just about," she answered. "We're waiting for them."

Winn's head shot up, turning to follow Kara's gaze. His jaw dropped when he saw Oliver, William, Felicity, Dig, Thea, and Quentin approaching, all six of them dressed for the weather. "Guys," he began, his mouth clicking shut when he heard his voice crack. "You didn't have to come."

"We wanted to," Felicity gave him a sad smile and a hug.

Winn hugged her back, looking up at Oliver as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," he finally said.

"Any time," Oliver smiled, squeezing his shoulder. "What are friends for?"

"We have your back," Thea smiled as well.

Winn let out a shaky breath, then nodded. Oliver nodded as well, William giving Winn a quick hug before they joined Kara, she automatically linking her arm with Oliver's. Thea joined Alex as Quentin and Dig joined J'onn, James, and Mon-El, Felicity staying with Winn. He finally nodded at the priest. "We're ready."

The priest nodded back. "Winslow Schott, Sr. was a man with many demons," he spoke. "As we lay him to rest, we may not celebrate his life, but we can examine it, and perhaps forgive a troubled soul its transgressions. Would anyone care to speak on behalf of the deceased?"

All eyes went to Winn, who clenched his jaw. Kara reached over and rubbed his back comfortingly, then looked at the priest and shook her head. The priest closed his Bible and lowered the coffin into the hole into the ground, no one else saying a word.

Winn broke away from Felicity and Kara to pick up a handful of dirt, tossing it into the grave without saying a word. Felicity watched him walk away with concern, but it was William who frowned. "Kara?" he asked quietly. "Who's that?"

Kara's head turned quickly to see a brunette woman with short hair cautiously walk through the graves to where Winn was standing, his back to the grave. "Winn?" the woman asked, waiting for him to look at her before walking closer. "Do you remember me? It's been a while."

"I know how long it's been," Winn scowled as Oliver nudged Thea, who nudged Alex in response. "You just missed."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," the woman shook his head. "I never missed him. I'm not here for him."

"Oh, so you're here for me?" Winn scoffed. "Wow, Mom, it's a little late."

"You have every right to be furious with me," Mary McGowan began.

"Oh, thank you," Winn cut in sarcastically. "Thank you for your permission.

"But I am so happy to see you," Mary went on, as if he hadn't said a word. "Honey, you odn't understand it yet, but we're finally safe."

Kara frowned, then William blinked and tilted his head. "Is that 'Pop Goes the Weasel?'" he asked.

"What?" Oliver frowned in confusion.

Kara narrowed her eyes when she heard it, too. The moment she heard where it was coming from, her eyes widened, and she pushed William to Oliver, changing into her Supergirl uniform and flying to Winn and Mary. "Everybody, get down!" she yelled.

Oliver immediately grabbed William and Felicity, yanking them to him and away from the coffin, the others reacting as well. The coffin exploded into a massive fireball, Oliver trying to shield both William and Felicity from flying shrapnel. He heard a surprised yelp from Mary and a pained grunt from the opposite side of the hole, but it didn't sound like anyone was seriously hurt.

When he looked up, he saw Alex and Thea crouched, ready for action. J'onn was helping the priest up, Mon-El and Dig helping James and Quentin respectively. Winn coughed as he got up from the ground, Mary glaring at the grave behind them. "Bastard always wanted to go out with a bang," she grumbled.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"OK," Alex nodded, finishing Mary's exam and clicking off her flashlight.

Winn watched silently from outside, then turned and walked away. Kara pushed off the railing to join him, heading for the stairs. "I hate to ask, but I have to," she began.

"He's dead, Kara," Winn answered before she even asked.

"Are you sure?"

"He's dead!" Winn exclaimed. "Look, I had the warden and two separate medical examiners sign off on the body. I had them cross-check his dental records and his fingerprints, just to be sure. The dude in the box was my father, OK?"

"So why blow himself up at his own funeral?" Kara wondered as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Maybe for the headline?" James suggested.

Felicity, who had taken her usual computer at the D.E.O., clicked her tongue, leaning back and thinking. "'Toyman's Last Trick,'" she imagined.

Winn scoffed. "Sounds about right."

"I still think we should run a full mass spectrometry on the explosive residue, Winn," J'onn said. "It may tell us who's helping your father."

"No one is helping him!" Winn exploded, spinning around to look at everyone gathered in the room. "Seriously, he was a crazy person! Crazy people do crazy things like, oh, I don't know . . . mass murder!"

"I can vouch for that," a voice behind them said.

Oliver quickly turned, blinking in surprise. "Slade," he greeted, standing up from where he was leaning against the table.

"Hey, kid," Slade nodded, holding up Oliver's extrapolator. "Quentin and Dig decided they would stay back, keep working in Star City."

"Malcolm and Laurel?" Oliver asked, taking his extrapolator back.

"Still looking for Evelyn. I decided to come and help however I could."

"We may need it," Oliver admitted. "Thanks for coming."

Slade nodded in response, looking around. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No," Alex answered as she walked over. "I'm happy to report that Mary has a clean bill of health. She wants to talk to you," she added to Winn.

"Yeah, she's had twenty years to talk to me," Winn muttered, sitting down next to Felicity to work.

She chewed her lip, reaching over and rubbing his back. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's tough having a supervillain for a dad."

"Yeah," Winn rubbed his face with one hand. "No kidding."

"My son!" Everyone else looked up when M'yrnn hurried into the room, carrying a pizza box in his hands. "May I borrow ten of your Earth dollars? The strike team tackled the deliveryman when he entered the lobby. I think I should tip him well."

Thea snorted loudly, hastily turning it into a cough. "Deliveryman?" J'onn repeated in surprise. "But we're having dinner with Alex and Kara."

"That's why I bought a tomato pie," M'yrnn held the pizza up.

"Dad, we're cooking," J'onn frowned. "We got the ingredients earlier on."

M'yrnn blinked, a confused look on his face. "So, we should get to your place ASAP and get that roast in the oven," Alex smoothly intervened, walking over and leading M'yrnn off. "Don't worry, tomato pie is my favorite hors d'oeuvre."

J'onn watched them go worriedly, and Kara patted his arm. "Go," she said. "Go be with them. The analysis will take hours. I'll stay here."

"What about the Worldkillers?" J'onn frowned uneasily.

"Alex has every available agent looking for them," Kara shook her head. _"Go._ Eat."

"All right," J'onn nodded, turning and walking off. "Mon-El," he said.

"J'onn," Mon-El nodded back, walking into view. "Hey, Kara. We, uh . . . we never talked."

Kara blinked, then Oliver cleared his throat. "I should tell William we could be here for a while."

"OK," Kara nodded, kissing his cheek and walking after Mon-El.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

He led her into the conference room, taking a deep breath. "Hey, I, uh . . . I owe you an apology."

"For what?" Kara frowned. What had he done recently that deserved one that he hadn't already apologized for?

"When we were together, I never really got how it must have ben for you to find out that I'd been lying," Mon-El explained, making Kara look down and bite her lip. "About being Daxam's prince, about a lot of stuff. And I am sorry that I did that to you."

Kara took a deep breath, leaning on the table. "I do really appreciate you saying that," she told him.

"Of course," Mon-El nodded, looking down.

Kara frowned. "Are you OK?"

"Uh, yeah, Imra . . . " He sighed, plopping down in a chair nearby. "Imra lied to me." Kara's eyebrows shot up; he and Imra had seemed fine during the time they had helped them in Star City against Cayden James. "About, um . . . about something big with Legion business, and Brainy was in on it, too."

"Oh," Kara did a double take. "Wow."

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded in agreement. "When your wife conspires with your best friend – "

"It feels like garbage," Kara finished.

Mon-El winced because that was exactly what he was thinking. "Hey, can we, uh . . . could you and Oliver meet me for a drink later?" he asked. "After all the Winn stuff is handled, I mean. There are some things that I think both of you should know."

Kara blinked in surprise. "Yeah," she nodded. "I'll check with Oliver, but yeah, sure."

"Thanks," Mon-El smiled.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

Thea smirked, carefully tip-toeing behind Winn and whispering in his ear. "I'm telling my father you _do_ have a fidget spinner."

Winn yelped and fumbled with the fidget spinner in his hand, making Felicity burst out laughing from his other side. "Thea!" he protested, spinning around as the brunette grinned unashamedly. "What was that for?!"

"Oh, please tell him," Felicity grinned at Thea. "I wanna know what he says."

"Oh, will do," Thea pulled out her phone, about to do just that.

"So you work with _Supergirl?"_ Thea nearly dropped her phone in surprise, spinning around, along with Winn and Felicity, to see Mary walk into view. "You should sit up straight, be proud."

"You cannot be down here!" Winn hissed.

"Oh, please," she snorted. "They're allowed down here."

"Because we've been given permission by the director," Thea frowned.

"Months ago, actually," Felicity nodded in agreement.

Mary shrugged. "If anyone asks, I'm just looking for the bathroom."

"Around the corner to the left," Felicity pointed.

"Bye now," Winn nodded.

"Yeah, I tried that one, but it was closed for 'enhanced interrogation,'" Mary joked.

Thea scowled. "Not funny."

"Oh, a little gallows humor never killed anybody," Mary rolled her eyes.

"Except the people hanging from the gallows," Felicity pointed out.

Winn gritted his teeth. "What do you want?" he asked.

Mary bit her lip, then sighed.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Winn escorted Mary into a training room that wasn't in use at the moment, shutting the door behind them. "I just wanted to see your face, Winn," Mary told him. "I wanted to hear your voice. I wanted my son back. I have spent twenty years imagining this moment and now I – " She took a deep breath, trying to find the words she wanted to use. "Leaving you, it _gutted_ me. And I've carried that with me every day of my life. But I had to, Winn, because your father – "

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, let me guess," Winn held up a hand. "He threatened your life."

"No, Winn," Mary shook her head. "He threatened _yours."_ Winn stared at her, and she continued. "He told me that if I went near you, ever, that he would kill you. And when he died, I thought it was safe. But I was wrong. You're still in danger."

"I don't believe you," Winn scowled.

"You saw what your father did at his own funeral!" she protested.

"I saw the last grasping prank of a lunatic," Winn retorted. "And now what I'm hearing is an excuse twenty years in the making." Mary gaped at him, and he scoffed. "Hey, I had twenty years to think, too. You want to know what I think about the most? Let me set the scene for you. It's the night Dad finally snapped. And I'm sitting in the police station, freezing cold, because I'm in my pajamas. When the police came and picked me up from home, I was asleep, remember? In bed, _alone._ And the nice officer, he drapes the coat over my shoulders. I feel a little better. So I'm sitting there, and my cold little feet are dangling in the air, and I'm waiting. I'm waiting for my mom to pick me up." He swallowed hard, tears starting to clog his throat. "'Cause they said that they called you. Yeah. Yeah, they said it was just gonna be, like, an hour, and then they'd explain everything. And then it was _two_ hours, and then it was the next morning." He took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure. "When I lie in bed at night, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep, I'm not wondering why Dad finally, suddenly snapped. No, that doesn't haunt me. What haunts me is _you._ You, who left me when I needed you the most, with no explanation, no goodbye."

Mary swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't care anymore," Winn shook his head, heading for the door.

"Winn – !"

"I don't need your excuses," Winn cut across her. "You wanna keep me safe? Great. You know what you should do?" He opened the door, glaring at her. "Leave again!"

He turned to leave, only to come face to face with Thea. "We have a problem," she said.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Out in the D.E.O., Kara hurried to join Oliver, James, and Slade, looking out in the sky, words being traced in the sky. "What the hell is that?" James frowned.

"It's a message," Mary frowned as she, Winn, and Thea came out, looking up at the message writing itself in the darkness: _Surrender Mary._ "For me."

Oliver squinted, seeing blurs move closer. "I doubt it's from a wicked witch."

"No," Kara shook her head, squinting as well. "It's . . . " She blinked, bracing herself for a fight, Oliver, Slade, and James doing the same on either side of her. _"Flying monkeys."_

* * *

 **A/N: I'm going to put here that the channel I used to watch Supergirl Season 3 on has had its videos deleted, so if there is ever a delay in Supergirl episodes, it's because I'm trying to find a way of watching them. For some reason, the DCTV shows on Amazon, except for the one season I have bought already (Arrow Season 6), are unavailable, so I'm improvising for now. Just bear with me, because I am determined to get this written.**

 **The rest of the episode will come when I get the chance to write it!**


	68. Schott Through The Heart - Part Two

**Little fun - match the song to which pair would sing it: "Born To Be Wild" and "Viva La Vida," Barry and Sara, Barry and Kara. I'm in the classic rock mood, and the punny episode title isn't helping any.**

 **The D.E.O. isn't in Kansas, James and Felicity have words of wisdom for Winn (I apologize if I got any of Felicity's story wrong, I don't know much backstory for her except for what I find on wikis), and Alex discovers something about M'yrnn.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Thea Queen/Winn Schott_**

The swarm of monkeys flew through the open space leading to the D.E.O. balcony, but also crashed through the glass window above it, leading Kara to cover James, Oliver and Slade shielding their heads as glass rained down on them. The monkeys flew into the D.E.O., and Slade growled, looking up. "Of course when we could use the wizard's archery, he's not here!"

"I feel the need to say this on behalf of my father," Thea poked her head over one of the desks. _"Magician!"_

"We'll handle the small ones!" Oliver shouted to Kara. "Get _that_ one!"

Kara nodded, seeing the large monkey Oliver pointed at, then flew into the sky. "I am _so_ happy I don't work here," James decided.

"Never a boring day, that's for sure," Oliver muttered, grabbing onto the stair rail and flipping over it, kicking one of the monkeys down in the process.

Thea looked around, and when she noticed one agent unconscious on the ground, she slid across the floor, grabbing his gun. She clicked the safety off, aiming at one of the monkeys flying towards Winn and Mary. Winn instinctively ducked, then heard the monkey shriek when Thea's shot connected. "Quickly!" he grabbed Mary's arm. "Under the desks!"

"Come on!" Felicity gestured wildly, even as she worked rapidly on a tablet to see if she could hack the monkeys.

"What are you doing?!" Mary gawked at him, even as she followed him. "We've gotta stay down!"

"This is my _job,_ Mom!" Winn snapped.

One of the monkeys smacked into Mary, knocking her away from Winn, and another grabbed Winn, throwing him over the center console. "Winn!" Felicity cried.

Winn grimaced, trying to sit up, then froze when three monkeys hovered in front of him. "Oh," he said weakly. "You came for me."

Two green flechettes embedded in the eye sockets of one of the monkeys, causing it to screech and short out, knocking into the other monkey nearby. Thea quickly aimed and shot the third, running over to grab Winn and get him to safety. "Speedy!" Oliver held up another gauntlet of the short, dart-like arrows. Thea held up her hand, and Oliver tossed the gauntlet to her. "You OK?" he asked Winn.

"Yeah," he nodded rapidly. "I'm – "

"Look out!" Felicity shrieked.

Winn turned to see another monkey fly forward, then Mary lunged and grabbed its ankle, stopping it from flying further. "Get away from him, you nightmare!" she spat.

The monkey was destroyed by heat vision, and Oliver and Thea exchanged looks before running to join the fight on the main floor. Slade and James were joined by Kara, who was wielding what looked like an electric pole like a staff. For every one monkey the two humans destroyed, she destroyed two more, whether by using the pole or by using her heat vision. She ended the fight quickly by flying into the air and whirling around in a circle, shattering the monkeys with the force she used. She impaled the last one with the pole, then slammed it into the ground, panting and watching it spark.

Slade glowered at the last monkey he had skewered, pulling his combat knife out of its neck. "Bloody monkeys," he grumbled.

"I agree," James nodded, looking around at the carnage.

"You guys all right?" Oliver looked back towards the command area.

"Yeah!" Felicity scrambled out from under the table, yelping and jumping away from a sparking monkey. "Fine!"

"This is your _job?"_ Mary looked around incredulously. _"This_ is?!"

"In his defense, there usually aren't attacks by flying monkeys," Thea held up a finger, then paused and looked at Kara. "There usually _aren't_ attacks by flying monkeys . . . are there?"

"Not unless we suddenly moved to Kansas," Oliver muttered.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"OK," Alex nodded as she listened to Kara's call. "Well, keep me posted."

"Problem?" J'onn asked as Alex returned to the table.

"Oh, there was a minor kerfuffle, but no one was hurt, and Kara's got it handled, so you just keep relaxing," Alex patted J'onn on the shoulder, who chuckled as she sat down. "So, some of that old time rock 'n' roll, huh?" she smiled, causing J'onn to laugh. "That was an _epic_ karaoke performance."

"Indeed," M'yrnn grinned as both Alex and J'onn applauded him. "But a problematic genre."

"Been on the Internet?" Alex guessed.

"Yes," he nodded. "Many of the pioneers of rock 'n' roll were humans of color who did not receive the fame or fortune their white counterparts did."

"Have you faced many challenges in your human form since you've been here?" Alex asked in concern.

"No," M'yrnn shook his head. "My relative isolation has its silver linings. My son has found goodhearted friends in his time on this planet. You all treat me like family."

Alex smiled fondly. J'onn was family to them, so of course J'onn's family was family to them . . . though that did bring up something she wanted to ask. "You've chosen to live as a black man in America, which is a harder existence in and of itself," she looked at J'onn. "Why?"

"You know, I was forced to become Hank Henshaw out of desperation, but now I choose this face," J'onn answered. "I like it. And I wouldn't want to live in a world where I need to change the color of my skin to feel safe, to feel seen, to feel like I'm not a target. I'd rather change the world."

"And whatever my son's fight may be, I choose it as well," M'yrnn nodded.

"And I have your backs," Alex smiled, raising her wine glass in acknowledgment.

"Let's drink to that," J'onn grinned, lifting his wine glass.

Alex chuckled as M'yrnn raised his as well, the three of them clinking their glasses together. "Cheers."

When they finished drinking, M'yrnn eyed Alex's glass. "Alex, you need more . . . "

Alex looked up when M'yrnn didn't finish the sentence, and she raised an eyebrow, seeing him appear to struggle with the next word. "Wine, Dad," J'onn supplied for him. "Your English is fantastic, don't worry about the occasional slip-up." Both Martians chuckled, J'onn patting his father on the shoulder as he stood up. "I'll go get some more wine."

"I hope you still have room," M'yrnn smiled at Alex. "J'onn has made chocolate pie for dessert."

Alex nodded, a distracted smile on her face.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"Well, your mom's right," James sighed, following Winn as he hauled monkey parts over to the main console. "Someone is definitely helping your dad out."

"I just honestly wish she would leave," Winn sighed, putting a large hunk of monkey on the console, making Felicity look up from where she was arranging all the pieces. "Like, who the hell does she think she is anyway, huh? Like, she just doesn't get to walk back into my life after twenty years. I did not get a say in her walking out, I _definitely_ get a say in her walking back in."

"It's a fair point," James nodded.

"Yeah," Winn nodded, then paused when his friend didn't say anything else. "You think that I should?"

"Well," Felicity trailed off, wincing.

"No!" Winn shook his head. "No! Don't think that I should!"

"Brother, it doesn't matter what we think," James shook his head. "It matters what you need."

"You know what?" Winn growled. "Even if – even if my dad threatened to kill me, she could have done a thousand other things. Gone to the police, the FBI. No, instead, she decided to abandon me. And you know what? She has to deal with the consequences." He huffed. "You know, if she'd have stayed, then maybe, you know, we could have had a . . . you know, a great relationship."

"Ah ah ah," Felicity held up her hands. "You keep thinking that, it's just going to keep pissing you off."

"Not a good idea," James agreed with her. "When my dad died, my mom did everything for me and my sister. She worked night and day, she busted her ass, and I still blamed her, because she was the only one there. And that was rough. We got over it, though. You know, took a long time, and a lot of forgiveness and me taking responsibility for my part in that. You can't change what happened, but she's here now. It's up to you what you wanna do with that."

"Yeah, similar with me, but my dad was a super cybervillain," Felicity nodded. "I never knew the full story about why he left until later, and it was just me and my mom for a long time. She had to do it all, and because my dad wasn't there, I felt abandoned and had a lot of insecurities. And because my mom worked as a cocktail waitress, working so many hours to try and raise me herself, I feared I would become like her, which made our relationship worse. It wasn't until years later that I was able to fully understand what happened at all, and I'm thankful I still had a chance to make things up with my mom." She scooted closer and put her hand on top of Winn's stopping him from working for a few seconds. "What we have in common is that our dads were supervillains and our moms were affected by it," she told him. "I'd give her a chance."

Winn said nothing; he just nodded thoughtfully, looking down at the monkey parts.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"No, they were robots, but yes, they were flying monkeys," Oliver said into his phone as he walked out of the conference room. "We're OK, just hang tight. We'll be back soon." He hung up and walked up to where Mary was leaning on the railing, watching Winn work with Felicity and James. "Are you doing OK?" he asked.

"Mmm?" Mary looked up. "Oh, yes, I'm fine," she nodded quickly, returning to look back down at Winn. "I'm just worried about Winn."

Oliver nodded, leaning next to her. "I feel that way every time a family member is caught in something like this."

"We all do," Kara said softly, walking up on Mary's other side.

Mary sighed. "I always knew he was brilliant and capable, but I worried when I left that he'd go the same way his dad did."

"He worried about that, too," Kara nodded sadly.

"I should have been here to tell him that he and his father were worlds apart," Mary muttered bitterly, then looked up. "Did his friends tell him?"

"We did," Kara assured her.

"Thank you for that," Mary sighed in relief.

"Well, it was easy," Kara shrugged. "He doesn't always get the credit, but he keeps us going around here. He's always the one with some crazy idea that no one else would possibly dream of."

"He has a positive vibe that some of us can rarely match," Oliver added. "We need that around here." He sighed. "Especially in Star City nowadays."

Mary nodded. "My son works with Supergirl," she thought out loud, grinning. "It's just such a _relief._ He saves lives." The smile faded from her face. "I just wish he'd let me tell him how proud I am of him."

"I think he will," Kara told her. "Eventually."

Mary nodded, then snorted softly, gesturing to the rubbish the D.E.O. was still cleaning up. "Sorry about the mess."

Oliver snorted loudly. "Oh, this?" Kara grinned as Oliver chuckled. "This is – that's not your fault."

"This is nothing," Oliver agreed.

"Can I ask?" Mary bit her lip. "Uh . . . when it comes to your day-to-day, on a scale of one to ten, how big of a pain in the ass are flying monkeys?"

Oliver tilted his head, thinking. "Three?" he guessed.

"I was thinking maybe a two," Kara told him.

"Two to three," he nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Mary blinked, relaxing a bit.

"Does that make you feel better?" Kara grinned.

"Yes," Mary nodded. "Very much so."

"Good," Kara giggled.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"Pie in three minutes!" J'onn called from the kitchen.

"OK!" Alex called back, and as M'yrnn stood and walked over to a record player, she stood up to join him. "Well, thank you for having me tonight. The place looks wonderful."

"Oh, the pleasure was mine," M'yrnn smiled warmly. "You mean a great deal to J'onn."

"Well, he's very important to me, too," Alex told him.

"I know we are new friends, but I hope, in time, that we can be the kind of family you and J'onn have become," M'yrnn told her.

"That would be lovely," Alex smiled widely.

M'yrnn smiled fondly back. "I have always wanted a granddaughter."

Alex froze, thinking that over. "You mean besides K'hym and T'ania?"

M'yrnn looked at her blankly. "Who?"

"Your granddaughters," Alex answered. M'yrnn stared at her for a few seconds, then turned away. Alex took a deep breath, trying to decide how to approach this. "My grandmother was a music lover as well," she finally said. "Especially later in her life. It just seemed to always give her that extra spark . . . even when she started forgetting things. Like, little things at first. It was just words, you know, why she'd walk into a room . . . and eventually, people. I think you might be exhibiting similar symptoms."

"Please don't tell him," M'yrnn told her.

Alex blinked. "You already knew?"

"On Mars, we called it Za-alet," M'yrnn said. "Translated roughly, it means 'decay of memory.'"

"Dementia," Alex whispered.

"I am losing myself," M'yrnn nodded.

"As it progresses, you're gonna need help," Alex told him.

"He has helped me enough," M'yrnn shook his head.

"No, you're gonna need more than that, because you could hurt yourself or others," Alex argued. "You have to tell him!"

"He just got me back, I can't ask him to watch me disappear inch by inch," M'yrnn argued right back. "It's too cruel."

"Well, that could happen no matter what," Alex countered. "So the sooner you tell him, the sooner he can get help. I'm sorry, M'yrnn, but if he asks me . . . I mean, I don't think I could lie to him."

"You will say nothing!" M'yrnn growled and took a threatening step forward, making Alex take an unconscious step back. "He is _my_ son, and I choose how best to protect him, not you."

"I'm sorry," Alex swallowed. "I didn't mean – "

"Get out," M'yrnn ordered angrily. "Get out of my house!"

Alex quickly stepped past him, hearing J'onn call from the kitchen just before she shut the door behind her. "Dad, everything OK out there?"

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

Winn yelped when the monkey he was working on sparked, and he backed away, wringing his hand out. "That is an angry monkey corpse," Mary remarked as she walked into the lab.

"I was hoping to access this thing's inner workings, but it's like a game of Operation," Winn grumbled. "Every time I get close to cracking it, it just zaps me."

"Can I try?" Mary asked, walking forward to join him. "I love Operation."

Winn blinked, watching her get a few tools to work with. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but it's, like, a top-secret government facility in here."

"Oh, nobody cares," Mary scoffed. "Are you paid enough to care?" she asked someone walking by. "No, of course not. You should unionize, by the way."

"Mom, that's," Winn began.

"Did I ever tell you I was once your father's apprentice?" Mary interrupted, coming back to the monkey.

Winn looked at her in surprise. "I thought you two met in Ivy Town."

"Uh, we were both students, yes, but that's not where we met," Mary told him, starting to work on the monkey. "I kept the books at the local toy store and your father was the genius stock boy, and he taught me about the math in the machine. One and one is two. It's simple, it's elegant . . . " She lifted the chestpiece off the monkey. "It's clean, just like a wind-up toy. Your father's mind was a wind-up toy. I know what made it tick."

Winn frowned. "So then you knew how to stop him from going crazy and killing a bunch of people."

Mary froze, then bit her lip. "Um . . . do you remember when I took you to Disneyland when you were nine?"

"Do I remember?" Winn grumbled. "Yeah, we drove overnight 'cause you wanted to be there the second it opened, and then we get into a car accident at two a.m. in the morning, and Dad has to come and pick us up and takes us home. We never actually went to Disneyland."

"No," Mary nodded. "We were never going there. We were going to a domestic abuse shelter, and he ran us off the road." Winn blanched as his mother continued. "Stole a car, sped down the highway, ran us into a ditch. You sat dazed in the backseat with a _concussion,_ and he and I had it out on the shoulder of the interstate. That's the night that he threatened to kill you, his only son, just to hurt me. Your father didn't just go to bed normal and wake up the next morning a monster. He was paranoid, he was controlling, he – he was mean."

Winn swallowed hard. "I never saw it."

"I didn't want you to," Mary said simply. "And I'm sorry, Winn. I'm sorry that I couldn't get us out from under his shadow, that I couldn't save you."

"That's not on you," Winn shook his head.

"Maybe not," Mary conceded. "But the last twenty years? Those were, and you were right about that. But I just wanted you to understand why."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"Alex!" J'onn called, hurrying to catch up with the woman in black at the D.E.O. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, pretending she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Did he, um . . . " J'onn fidgeted. "Offend you? Say something?"

"No!" Alex hastened to assure him. "Of course not. No, your father is wonderful."

"So then, what went so wrong?" J'onn asked. "You know, we were having such a lovely time, and now my father has completely closed himself off for some reason. Why?"

Alex bit her lip. "You're gonna have to talk to him about it," she answered. "It's not my place. I'm sorry. But, for the record, I had a lovely time, too."

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

James snorted, hanging up his phone as he walked towards the labs. "Funny."

"What is?" Thea asked, jogging to catch up to him.

"Oh, I was just telling Lucy what was going on," James answered, rolling his eyes. "Her first question was 'well, you're definitely not in Kansas.'"

Thea snorted. "I need to meet her."

"Oh, you'd get along like peas in a pod," James snorted as well as they walked into the lab Winn and Mary were working in. "Any luck on figuring out who's behind the Toyman attacks?"

"No, but we've discovered a thousand ways how not to make a flying monkey," Mary responded.

"And also a few ways to make better flying monkeys," Winn added.

"Oh, the wiring on these is amateurish at best," Mary agreed.

"Alas, we are no closer to finding out who actually built them," Winn sighed, rummaging through a few tools.

Mary suddenly cleared her throat, and Thea looked over to see her smile tightly. "I could use a break," she said. "I'm gonna head downstairs, rest for a little bit."

The trio watched Mary leave, then Winn shrugged and went back to rummaging through tools. Thea bit her lip, then pulled out her phone, sending out a quick text. _I think Mary may know something._

She had to wait a few seconds, then Oliver responded. _I'll see if I can find her._

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen/Winn Schott_**

"I can't find her," Oliver said when Thea returned to the main floor.

"What?" Thea blinked.

"She's not here," Slade answered.

"Who's not here?" Mon-El asked.

"My mom," Winn answered as he hurried into view.

"I thought you two were putting Humpty Dumpty together again," Mon-El blinked.

"Or did he have another great fall?" Felicity asked.

"No, she's not here," Oliver shook his head.

"And neither is the side panel from the monkey's gear chamber," Winn added.

Electronics whirred, and Felicity stood up from her chair. "Guys, look at this."

The team turned as a video message popped up on the main screen. "I have your mother, but you can trade your life for hers," a female voice said, and Winn balked when he saw his mother in a huge claw similar to those in games where toys were grabbed. "She's hanging around at the old Wiggins Game Company factory. But hurry, Junior . . . the pressure is on."

"Winn, don't come here!" Mary shouted just before the transmission cut out.

"I'll go," Kara instantly volunteered.

"And me," Oliver nodded.

"Agreed," Slade added.

"Me, four," Mon-El said.

"Make it five," Thea pulled out the gun she had kept.

"Make it six," Winn growled.

"That's exactly what she wants," James frowned.

"I've spent my entire life trying to fight off the part of me that's like my dad," Winn scowled. "But now . . . now I can use it. Let's go!"

"I'll man comms!" Felicity called as the seven hurried off.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I'm most likely going to have this done before the weekend ends. And hoo boy, is it going to be a wild ride for a good few episodes after this.**


	69. Schott Through The Heart - Part Three

**And once again, I massively underestimate how much I'll have written for the last part of an episode. I really need to stop doing that.**

 **It's Team SuperArrow to the rescue, and it's karaoke night part two complete with a few friends and a not-so-friendly face, and we finally see what Lena's been up to.**

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Kara Danvers_**

"Well, this is your territory, Telle," Oliver looked around as the seven walked into the factory. "Any ideas?"

"She was in that claw apparatus," Mon-El recalled.

"Suspended from above," Winn nodded grimly.

"We'll find her," Thea promised.

A buzzing came from behind, and James and Thea turned, raising their flashlights to see what was following them. "What is _that?"_ James squinted.

"Is that a plane?" Mon-El blinked.

"No, it's not," Winn blanched. "It's a bomb!"

"Get down!" Slade yelled.

Oliver grabbed Thea and pulled her down behind Slade, James crouching behind Kara, Winn behind Mon-El. The plane exploded just ahead of them, but the three still standing and covering the four bent down didn't budge from their positions. Kara lowered her arm from her face, watching more planes fly towards them. "Go," she ordered. "Find Mary!"

Winn scrambled to his feet, taking off first, followed by James and Thea. "Go," Mon-El nodded to Oliver and Slade, picking a pipe off the ground to use. "We've got this."

"Be careful!" Oliver called, he and Slade running after the others.

A few planes tried to veer off after them, but Kara fired with her heat vision, taking three down in quick succession. "Not my boys!" she growled.

Mon-El smirked as he whacked another plane hard enough to make it explode. _"Your_ boys, huh?"

"They totally are," Kara grinned.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen/Winn Schott_**

"Whoa!" Thea blinked rapidly, trying to shield her eyes as fluorescent purple lights triggered around them. "What the hell?"

The female voice that had delivered the message to the D.E.O. came over the speakers. "Welcome, welcome, to the Willard Walter Wiggins Game Company!"

"We don't care!" Slade growled.

The roar of flames caught Oliver's attention, and he risked a quick glance behind him. "We might want to care about that!"

Winn yelped, looking back at the truck-mounted flamethrower as well. "We got a thing on our twelve!"

"That's our six!" James yelled back.

"I'm very stressed right now!"

The flamethrower suddenly stopped, then the truck started firing at them. Thea dodged one, grunting in annoyance. "Literal Hot Wheels!"

"Can't one of you take care of that?!" Winn looked at Oliver and Slade.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Mon-El_**

"So glad Junior brought his friends," the female voice said as Kara and Mon-El finished destroying the planes.

Kara narrowed her eyes, looking around, then locked onto a figure running through the factory. "There she is," she scowled, hurrying off.

She moved through the shelves, frowning as the voice continued. "Heat vision, freeze breath, and so many points of articulation? I think I'll keep you." Two claws suddenly slammed plastic around Kara, and she gagged for breath, struggling to move. "It's so rare to find a vintage superhero in mint condition."

Kara tried firing her heat vision to no avail. "Supergirl!" Mon-El called behind her.

Kara kept trying to breathe, and Mon-El ran towards her, only for something green and definitely not an arrow to whip past him. Mon-El dropped to the floor and rolled onto his back, staring at the very large toy dinosaur stomping towards him. _So . . . that was a tail._ He gulped, then kept rolling out of reach, avoiding the T-rex's stomps and bites, trying to get back to his feet and get to Kara before she choked.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Winn Schott_**

"Any time now!" Thea yelled.

Oliver reached up and grabbed an arrow from his quiver, turning around and firing. It hit the truck dead center, and with a click of a button on his bow, the arrow detonated, blowing the truck up with it. "Oh," Winn smiled weakly. "Thank you."

"Winn," Slade pointed with his sword.

Winn turned to see where he was looking, and he blanched. "Mom!"

Wheels on concrete made him turn, and the quintet saw the miniature trucks racing towards them. Thea took a deep breath, pulling the safety off her gun. "OK. Miniature trucks. I got this."

"We got this," James amended.

"We'll have your six," Oliver told Winn. "Go get your mother."

Winn gulped, then nodded and ran towards the claw, Oliver and Slade splitting up in different directions to watch his back.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Mon-El finally scooted back far enough that he could get to his feet without risking getting hit by the T-rex again. "Kara, I got you!" he yelled, running towards the toy casing. When the T-rex swung its tail, Mon-El veered to the right, and the tail broke through the plastic, making Kara fly out, the Kryptonian violently gasping for breath. "You OK?" Mon-El asked, stopping a few feet away.

Kara weakly gave him a thumbs up, and Mon-El nodded, turning his focus back on the T-rex. Something blue caught his eye, and he hit a smirk. _Gotcha!_ He ran in the opposite direction of Kara, jumping and rolling across the table in his way and grabbing the long blue cape-like cloth on it. The T-rex smashed through the table easily, but Mon-El came away with the fabric intact.

Kara got to her feet, watching in shock as Mon-El grasped the cloth with both hands, smacking the T-rex in the face with it, hard enough to bat it away. He did it once more before wrapping the cloth around its tail, pulling with all his might. The T-rex stumbled into the wall, and Mon-El hovered in the air, surveying his work before lashing out with the cloth. It wrapped around the T-rex's neck, and Mon-El yanked hard, bringing the T-rex down to the ground. It didn't move again.

Kara was still staring in shock, even as she hurried over to join him. Mon-El grinned at her stupefied face, then held up the fabric in his hand. "Cloth magic," he explained.

Kara grinned widely, giggling a bit as Mon-El dropped the cloth to the floor.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Oliver Queen_**

"Mom!" Winn called, running into the room his mother was held in.

"Turn around and leave right now!" Mary barked.

Winn shook his head, pulling a lever to release the claw. "I'm here to rescue you."

"Don't Luke Skywalker me," Mary snapped, climbing down. "This crazy woman is trying to kill you! Don't give her the chance!"

A bullet shot past Mary and shattered the screen showing an hourglass timer, and Winn gulped, turning around to see a blonde woman aiming a gun at him. "Well, if it isn't Toyman Jr.," she sneered. "Barreling headlong into danger. I see your father left you none of his brains."

"Oh, really?" Winn asked, seeing green out of the corner of his eye. "Well, first off, it's actually Telle, not Toyman Jr. And second of all, I see my father left you none of his showmanship. What, after all this, you're just gonna shoot us?"

"Most important thing your father taught me," the woman growled. "Stick the landing."

"Really?" Winn raised an eyebrow. "Because what I got was . . . more is more."

He clicked the remote he held in his hand, and the flying monkey he and Felicity repaired crashed through one of the windows and swooped down, knocking the gun from the woman's hand. Winn lunged to grab it, then heard a whizzing sound. A yo-yo swooped into his line of vision, and his eyes widened, realizing where it was headed.

From nowhere, a green arrow hit the yo-yo dead-on, knocking it off its course to wrap around Winn's neck. It veered right towards Slade who, with one swipe of his sword, sliced right through the string, making the yo-yo clatter uselessly to the ground, and the woman was left with a limp piece of string. She balked, staring down at it, then slowly lifted her gaze to the half-orange, half-black mask of Deathstroke. She actually staggered backwards as Oliver zipped down, landing on the crates above Slade and drawing another arrow. "A word of advice, and take it from someone who's been a madman," Slade growled, aiming his sword at her with one hand; Winn saw his other reach for the gun he always had with him. "Don't threaten a brother in arms."

The woman made a mad scramble for her gun, but Slade quickly drew his gun, and both he and Oliver fired at the same time. Oliver's arrow smacked into her knee with a meaty thwack, and Slade's bullet ripped through her hand. She screamed in pain, and Winn took several steps back, staring at the bloody mess of her hand as she stared at it. Even Oliver grimaced a bit as he jumped down from the crates, joining Slade as he holstered his gun. "That was a bit much," he said.

"Haven't we always said, kid?" Slade looked at him, ignoring the woman's whimpers. "Don't mess with our family."

Oliver tilted his head to the side, then nodded. "Good point." He walked over and twisted his arrow for good measure, making the woman choke on a shout, then pulled it out. "Be glad they weren't kill shots," he told her darkly.

"And you _work_ with these two?" Mary gawked at Winn in disbelief.

"Oh, believe me," Winn took a deep breath. "You get used to them. And they technically don't work with the D.E.O."

"Nope, just acquaintances," Oliver shook his head, walking up to the techie. "Are you OK? The yo-yo didn't get you, did it?"

"No," Winn shook his head, reaching up to rub his neck anyway. "No, you shot it in time." He took a deep breath, looking from Oliver to Slade. "Thank you, both of you."

"Well, it's like he said," Oliver smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No one messes with family."

Winn smiled back. "Thanks."

Oliver nodded, then heard running from the other direction. "Oh," Thea skidded to a stop, staring at the woman on the ground. "Uh . . . who – ?"

"These two maniacs," Mary was quick to point to Oliver and Slade.

"Huh," James blinked.

"So how bad did she piss you off?" Thea asked, tucking her gun back into the waistband of her pants as Kara and Mon-El joined them.

"A lot," Slade deadpanned.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"So which unfortunate soul had the misfortune of facing off against the Green Arrow and Deathstroke?" Thea asked, leaning against the console.

"Jacqueline Nimball," Felicity answered, showing them the image on her tablet. "Former maintenance worker at Van Kull Maximum Security Prison who got along with one Winslow 'Toyman' Schott Sr. and learned everything there was to know about toys, and after he died, promised to carry out his wishes."

"Which meant that if Mary tried to see Winn, he would be killed," Kara closed her eyes.

"Yep," Felicity popped the "p," turning her tablet off. "To quote my favorite fellow techie – "

"What a bitch," all three women said in unison before laughing.

"Oh, I'm glad that got figured out," Thea smiled in relief.

"Me, too," Kara nodded. "And I'm happy Winn no longer has to worry about his father."

"I think this means a celebration is in order," Felicity smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere any time soon," Thea shrugged. "Any ideas?"

A slow grin took over Kara's face. "Well . . . now that you mention it . . . "

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Winn Schott/Mon-El/Kara Danvers_**

"Oh, they did _not,"_ Alex's jaw dropped in shock.

"Oh," Oliver grinned, taking the beer Slade handed to him, both men grinning as Thea and Felicity almost doubled over in hysterics. "They totally did."

" _Shot through the heart!"_ Kara and James belted out at the top of their lungs on the karaoke stage. _"And you're to blame!"_

" _Darlin', you give love a bad name!"_ Winn completed the lyrics.

"Ah, Bon Jovi," Mon-El snickered, he and Alex clinking drinks as they watched the original Superfriends sing with no care in the world. "Gotta love it."

"Oh, this is the _best!"_ Thea practically cackled as she took her phone out to record the song.

Oliver shook his head fondly, grinning as he turned to look at the other woman at the table. "How are you doing after today?" he asked.

"Oh, me?" Mary raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm just happy Winn and I have that bastard out of our lives."

"I'll bet," Oliver nodded, taking a sip of his beer. "It's good to know he's safe."

Mary bit her lip. "Thank you," she said, turning to look at him. "And you, too, Mr. Wilson."

Slade raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Mary snorted. "You could have at least used voice modulators when you showed up."

The two men exchanged looks, then Oliver chuckled and shook his head. "It's like we said," he told Mary. "Winn's family. We look out for our own."

"Now, just to ease a mother's soul," Mary peered past him to Slade. "When you said _used to be_ a madman . . . "

"It was a serum that turned me into someone I wasn't," Slade told her. "And unfortunately, it took a long time for a cure to work. But it did, and I'm as sane as I was before the mirakuru."

"Though how sane that was to begin with is up for debate," Oliver muttered under his breath, taking a drink.

He nearly choked when Slade punched him in the arm. "Watch it, kid," he growled warningly before looking at Mary, who seemed amused by the interaction. "But I paid the price for my actions, both before and after I had the mirakuru. I lost my son three times – once on the island I was stranded on years ago, once when he saw me on mirakuru, and again when I sided with my brothers and sister over him. I hope I can get him back, but it will take work. Now that his father is gone, you have a chance to reconnect with your son. I would take that chance if I were you."

"Agreed," Oliver nodded, looking at Mary. "You should be proud of him."

Mary smiled faintly. "I am. I'm very proud of him."

" _Oh!"_ Kara, James, and Winn sang in unison.

But the rest of the chorus came from behind the group at the table. _"Shot through the heart!"_ Barry and Sara yelled out, and everyone spun around as the rest of their friends from Earth-1 poured into the bar. _"And you're to blame! You give love a bad name!"_

Thea whooped, everyone in the bar clapping along as Kara, James, and Winn cheered on stage, clapping as well as they sang along to finish the song. _"I play my part and you play your game! You give love a bad name!"_

"Now _this_ is what I'm talking about!" Sara cheered, dancing over to the table.

"I never thought I'd see you at a karaoke bar," Barry joked, walking over to Oliver.

"Blame my fiancée," Oliver laughed.

"Oh, I will," Barry nodded, giving him a hug. "Good to see you."

"You guys, too."

"All right," Sara turned to the Earth-1ers, her arm around Alex. "One rule – no butchering songs!"

"I'm out," Mick grunted. "I'll be at the bar."

"I'm stunned," Zari deadpanned, even as she followed him.

"Actually, this one still needs to go," Alex pointed at Mon-El.

"What?" he balked.

"Guess you just got volunteered," Cisco snickered.

"Wonderful," Mon-El sighed as the last notes of "You Give Love A Bad Name" trailed off, Sara wolf whistling as the superfriends hurried off the stage. "I'll be back."

"Hey, guys!" Winn waved as they rejoined them.

"Nice pipes, man!" Cisco held up his fist.

"Thank you!" Winn returned the bump. "Any of you singing?"

"Or are you pulling Micks and just getting drinks?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Barry's getting up there whether he likes it or not," Cisco smirked at the speedster.

"And he and Kara doing something is a must," Iris chimed in.

"Fine," Kara playfully sighed.

"Hey, _I_ claim a song with her, too," Sara declared, draping her other arm over the blonde Danvers sister.

"Oh, that I'm recording," Jax grinned.

"Oh, please do," Ray grinned back.

Winn's attention was drawn when his mother cleared her throat. "Uh, Winn? Can we talk?"

"Oh, sure," Winn nodded, smiling and waving again. "Nice seeing everyone here." He and Mary walked a few feet away, taking the drink she offered. "So what do you want to – "

He was interrupted by the chords of "Carry On My Wayward Son," then winced at Mon-El's horrendous singing. _"Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done."_

Mary, too, cringed. "This is unfortunate," she muttered.

"Oh, white-boy rock," Winn clicked his tongue. "Hey, rookie mistake, bud!" he called to Mon-El.

Mon-El continued to sing poorly, and Winn saw Nate groan and cover his ears, Amaya giggling and patting his shoulder sympathetically. "I'm so proud of you," Mary smiled.

"What, for shaming my friends?" Winn asked.

"No," Mary shook her head. "You came out from the darkness, you forged an _incredible_ life for yourself. I've spent so many years worrying about what had become of you, what the loss of your father – what the loss of _me_ – did to you, and you have not only survived, you have _excelled._ And I couldn't be happier."

"I'm so sorry," Mon-El apologized, walking off the stage and dropping his mic. "I'm so sorry."

"Someone _please_ redeem rock 'n' roll!" Nate groaned.

"Barry!" Cisco started chanting. "Kara!"

Sara took up the chant as well, making the Kryptonian blush as red as the speedster's suit. Soon all of the heroes took up the call, and Barry and Kara exchanged exasperated looks before Barry threw up his hands. "Fine!" he shouted. "Fine, we'll go!"

The two family members watched them go to the DJ and pick a song, the cheers of their friends urging them on. "Slade said something," Mary finally said. "I don't think you need me . . . but I'd like to stay for a bit."

"I'd like that, too," Winn nodded. "You're here, and I'd like us to get to know each other."

Mary grinned back. "I agree."

Winn smiled widely, then saw his mom's face change. "What?" he asked.

"So I hear you _do_ play with fidget spinners."

Winn shrieked, jumping almost a foot in the air. Slade's and Thea's laughter carried over from the main table, and Winn spun around to come face to face with a grinning Malcolm, Laurel hanging onto him for dear life as she dissolved into hysterics. "Don't _do_ that!" he protested. "But you scare me too much to say anything more than that!"

"I couldn't help it," Malcolm grinned wider, his arm around Laurel and holding her up, the metahuman about to collapse in her laughter. "Sorry, Winn."

"I hate you," Winn muttered.

"No, you don't," Laurel giggled.

"Here we go!" Alex's voice cut through the chatter of the bar.

Familiar guitar chords started up as Barry bounded up onto the stage, handing a mic to Kara as she joined him. "Oh, thank you, God!" Nate perked up immediately, Caitlin cheering.

" _Get your motor runnin',"_ Barry began.

" _Head out on the highway!"_ Kara continued.

" _Lookin' for adventure."_

" _And whatever comes our way."_

" _Yeah, darlin', go make it happen,"_ the two sang together, grinning as Alex and Iris cheered them on. _"Take the world in a love embrace. Fire all of your guns at once and explode into space."_

" _I like smoke and lightning,"_ Kara's voice dipped lower, making Cisco wolf whistle.

Barry almost burst out laughing at the glare Cisco got from Oliver in response, which made Felicity almost fall off her seat laughing at. _"Heavy metal thunder!"_

" _Racin' with the wind."_

" _And the feelin' that I'm under."_

"OK, let's get you another drink," Sara chuckled, gripping Oliver's arm and dragging him to the bar. "Cisco means well, you know that."

"Yeah, I know," Oliver shook his head. "It's just fun scaring him sometimes."

"I believe that," Sara smirked. "But Cisco is a grown man, even if sometimes he acts like a kid, and he knows Kara's never going to look at anyone else but you. Cut him some slack."

"Got it," Oliver smirked.

"Good," Sara patted him on the shoulder, then frowned. "Hang on, who's yelling?"

Oliver frowned, hearing what she did. " – because I was _so_ out of line!" a man's angry voice yelled.

"Over there," Sara pointed with her drink, and Oliver turned to see a dark-haired man in a dark red sweater vest angrily shouting at an alien girl, who looked like she was getting uncomfortable. "Do you know him?"

"No," Oliver scowled, getting the new beer he was offered. "But I'm ready to."

"Yeah," Sara nodded as well. "I think so, too."

"Look at you," the alien girl was saying as the two approached. "You are not OK!"

"OK," the man whirled on her. "I don't need your pity – "

The girl leaned back, and Sara quickly slid in. "Hey," she put herself between the two. "Everything OK here?"

"Yeah," the man seethed, backing off only a little bit.

"Good," Oliver nodded, joining Sara and looking at the alien girl. "You OK?"

"Yeah," she nodded, eyeing the other man.

He suddenly looked at Oliver and Sara critically. "You're not aliens. What're you doing here?"

Oliver's eyebrows shot up. "We're having karaoke night with our friends," he answered, pointing over his shoulder to where Barry and Kara were rocking out to "Born To Be Wild."

"Actually, I think Kara and I need to go next," Sara thought out loud. "I'm thinking Bonnie Tyler. That sound good? I don't know, maybe we could pull off Little Mix with just the two of us – "

"That's not really what I'm talking about," the man growled. "I'm talking about you two are human, and they are not, and they are dangerous."

"What do you mean by _they?"_ Oliver's eyes narrowed, his opinion of this man sinking lower by the second.

"Roaches," he hissed.

" _Excuse me?"_ Sara's voice took on a dangerous tone.

"You don't know what I'm talking about?" The man snorted, pointing at the girl behind Sara. "She does."

He went to move towards the girl, and Oliver deliberately put himself in his way. His shoulder dug into the other man's torso, and he grunted in pain, staggering away. "Don't touch an alien that doesn't want to be touched," he warned darkly. "In fact, don't touch _anyone_ who doesn't want to be touched. So keep your hands to yourself."

"And watch that mouth, or we'll watch it for you," Sara threatened. "There's the door. _Get out."_

"Got it," he grumbled, waving in disgust. "Yeah, Earth traitor."

Oliver and Sara glared after him. "I don't like him," Sara declared.

"Me, neither," Oliver grumbled.

"Thanks for the backup," the alien girl said gratefully.

"Any time," Oliver smiled kindly at her.

"And for the record?" she grinned at Sara. "I'm all for Bonnie Tyler."

Sara winked at Oliver. "I better go reserve 'Holding Out For A Hero,' then."

Oliver barely held in a snort. "Evil," he pointed at her as she hurried towards the DJ. "Evil, Sara!"

"What did she do?" Laurel asked, grinning as she walked over to join him.

"Oh," Oliver sighed, making sure to applaud and smile as Barry and Kara finished singing. "You'll see."

"So rumor has it we lost the chance to beat up someone going after our favorite tech agent from the D.E.O.," Malcolm walked up next, holding out a tumbler of alcohol for Laurel as Slade joined Oliver.

"You did," Oliver nodded, snorting as he watched Sara drag Kara over to the DJ, Barry shaking his head fondly as he watched. "It was very satisfying. But I went to incapacitate her. Slade just went to ruin her hand."

"Accomplished, kid," Slade smirked smugly.

"We leave you alone for a day, and this is what happens," Laurel smirked.

"You miss all the fun," Slade nodded. "Yes."

The opening chords for the next song came up, and Malcolm blinked twice before bursting out laughing. "OK, I agree with Oliver," he looked at the stage as Sara and Kara jumped up. "That _is_ a bit evil."

"Told you," Oliver sighed.

"So who's idea was 'Holding Out For A Hero?'" Mon-El asked curiously, taking a beer from the bartender.

"Sara's," all four answered at once.

" _Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?"_ Sara sang out, Zari and Jax cheering her on. _"Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?"_

" _Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?"_ Kara continued. _"Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need!"_

"Yeah, I believe it," Mon-El smirked.

"She has a _really_ good voice," Laurel smiled.

"Did you hear her at the wedding before it got crashed?" Oliver asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Laurel shook her head. "But I heard it was good."

"Barry asked her to sing the song he sang to Iris when he proposed to her," Oliver nodded. "It was gorgeous."

"I bet," Malcolm whistled.

"Any progress back in Star City?" Slade asked, looking at Malcolm and Laurel.

"Yeah, I actually came to ask about that," Mon-El nodded. "How's it going looking for Evelyn?"

"Still going," Laurel sighed, taking another drink.

"But when I've seen the others, they haven't made progress, either," Malcolm shook his head. "Which _that_ is good news."

Oliver sighed. "It makes me think Evelyn may not want to be found."

"Or she's trying to find a way to be found that doesn't lead Dinah to her," Laurel countered. "Unless she does something that says 'I don't want to be found,' I'm not going to stop looking for her."

"We won't," Malcolm assured her. "Take a deep breath, OK?"

"Relax a little, Siren," Slade agreed, gesturing around the bar, to where Kara and Sara were still rocking out on the karaoke stage, much to the amusement of their teams. "That's why we're all here."

" _I need a hero!"_ Sara and Kara sang at the end at the top of their lungs before almost collapsing on each other in laughter.

"Are you sure Kara didn't have any of that rum?" Mon-El asked Oliver.

"Trust me, she didn't," Oliver smirked.

"OK," Kara ran off the stage towards them. "So I just dared Sara to sing with Barry."

"You _didn't!"_ Laurel's jaw dropped.

"I did!" Kara nodded wildly. "Because I just sang three in a row, I need a _break!_ And Mon-El said we needed to talk, so . . . "

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded, clearing his throat. "Uh, I did come over for that, too. Both of you," he gestured between Oliver and Kara.

"Ah," Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"We'll leave you to it," Slade stepped back, Malcolm and Laurel following him back to the others.

"Not that I don't love Slade," Kara sighed as they walked to the bar, "but it's nice when all three of them are together, too."

"I've been meaning to ask," Mon-El said as he got on a bar stool. "Are Malcolm and Laurel a thing?"

Oliver choked on his drink. _"What?"_

"They just seem closer to each other than they've been with the rest of you," Mon-El shrugged. "And not in a sibling way."

"Malcolm and Laurel?" Kara blinked, then looked behind her to see that Slade had sat on Alex's spare side, Malcolm and Laurel pulling up chairs by Thea. "Huh."

"My best friend – Malcolm's son – and Siren's doppelgänger, my ex-girlfriend, dated," Oliver muttered. "It is too weird to think about Malcolm and Siren being together right now. Give me something else to think about, please."

"OK," Mon-El cleared his throat. "How bad was I at singing?"

Kara laughed. "I would just say maybe you should sing Kansas for yourself and not for other people."

"Agreed," Oliver smirked.

"Yeah, that's good advice," Mon-El chuckled. "So, what I wanted to talk to you about – "

"If it's about you and Imra, I think that's something you have to deal with between the two of you," Kara put out there right away.

"I wasn't actually gonna talk about Imra," Mon-El shook his head. "I mean, not about my feelings."

"What did she do?" Oliver frowned.

"She lied," Mon-El answered. "And the lie directly affects Kara, which in turn is something you need to know."

"Me?" Kara blinked in surprise. "How does it affect me?"

"Because the Legion didn't land here by accident," Mon-El answered grimly.

"You didn't?" Oliver did a double take.

"I thought you hit a disruption," Kara frowned.

"Yeah, we did," Mon-El nodded. "But Brainy and Imra hit it intentionally. And they hid the real mission from me because they didn't trust that I'd wanna come back to this time."

Oliver closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had a feeling he was going to need yet another drink after this. "What's the mission?"

Mon-El took a deep breath. "Well, the third Worldkiller, the one you haven't found yet, Pestilence . . . in a thousand years, she evolves into Blight."

Oliver swallowed. "That entity which killed your friend's planet, right?"

"Exactly," Mon-El nodded grimly.

"Whoa," Kara gulped.

"Yeah, so if we can find her now, in this time, then we can save everyone, today and in the future. And look, we have a common enemy now, so we can work together here on Earth-38 as well as Earth-1."

"Well, this common enemy has been your enemy for a lot longer," Oliver told Mon-El. "Looks like we can learn a bit from you."

"Uh, yeah!" Kara nodded eagerly. "Because you didn't see this guy fight! What was that back there with the T-rex?"

"Cape tricks," Mon-El grinned.

" _Cape tricks?"_ Kara squeaked as Oliver snorted.

"My old Legion uniform had one," Mon-El nodded.

Kara scoffed and pouted. "Well, I've been fighting with a cape for three years and all it seems to do is get in the way."

"No matter what we try to help," Oliver felt the need to add.

"Hey!" Kara playfully glared at him.

"I can help with that, if you want," Mon-El offered.

"I'd like that," Kara smiled.

"You said it was your old suit?" Oliver frowned, picking up on it.

"Yeah, it got damaged on Rimbor," Mon-El grimaced. "It's a long story."

"Well," Oliver smirked, pointing past him. "You have two choices of people to go to for a potential fixer."

Mon-El turned to look, smirking when he saw Cisco laughing as Sara literally dragged Barry up onto the stage, though the speedster was grinning as he dutifully took the spare mic, Winn laughing just as hard, Mary looking like she was enjoying herself.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"Ghost pepper mac and cheese with a side of jalapeño peppers," J'onn said, carrying two bowls into the dining room for himself and his father.

"My favorite," M'yrnn smiled.

"Yeah, I know," J'onn nodded, watching his father pick up his silverware to eat. "So, I, um . . . I spoke to Alex. She, uh . . . she wanted me to know that she had a lovely time." He picked up his silverware, not noticing his father's smile leave his face. "I hope whatever happened between you two, there are no hard feelings." When there was no response, and he heard the clatter of silverware hit the plate, J'onn looked up to see M'yrnn lean back. "Dad, what is it?" he asked in concern, standing up to round the table. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry, J'onn," M'yrnn swallowed as his son crouched by him. "I'm so sorry."

"What's up? What's wrong?"

"I want you to have a life," M'yrnn answered, putting a hand over his. "I don't want to keep you from your friends, keep you home, keep you locked away."

"You won't," J'onn shook his head. "You won't!"

"But I will!" M'yrnn insisted, making J'onn do a double take. He took a deep breath, then focused on his son. "I must tell you something."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

" _I used to roll the dice, feel the fear in my enemy's eyes,"_ Sara sang, she and Barry swinging back and forth almost in unison as they sang. _"Listen as the crowd would sing 'Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!'"_

" _One minute I held the key, next the walls were closed on me,"_ Barry sang along. _"And I discovered that my castles stand upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand."_

" _I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing, Roman Cavalry choirs are singing,"_ they sang together, Caitlin and Lily cheering at how good they sounded. _"Be my mirror, my sword and shield, my missionaries in a foreign field. For some reason I can't explain, once you go there was never, never an honest word, and that was when I ruled the world."_

"Added to the list of things I never knew I needed," Alex declared as Oliver, Kara, and Mon-El returned to the table. "Barry and Sara covering Coldplay."

"They're good," Oliver agreed.

"Hey, the three of you could do some solos and collaborations, make a multiversal album," Mon-El joked.

"Um, no," Kara shook her head as James, Thea, and Felicity laughed loudly. "That's not for me."

Thea giggled, picking up her glass to take a drink, then saw something past them and frowned. "Is J'onn OK?"

"What?" Kara turned to look.

Alex did, too, and saw J'onn step into the bar, looking around. When he saw her, he swallowed hard, and Alex quickly stood up. "Stay here," she said, walking over.

Oliver and Kara did, but watched in concern as Alex approached J'onn. When she was close enough, she hugged him tightly, and J'onn squeezed her back, burying his face in her shoulder, eyes closed. "Give them a moment," Oliver said softly, turning back around.

"Yeah," Kara nodded in agreement, doing the same and adjusting her glasses.

" _I know Saint Peter won't call my name, never an honest word, but that was when I ruled the world,"_ Barry and Sara finished together, grinning wildly.

"Encore!" Ray called jokingly as Barry and Sara hurriedly put their mics down and left the stage.

"You wish!" Barry playfully glared, pretending to hack.

"Oh, stow it, I survived three songs, you can survive two," Kara glared right back, playfully punching him in the arm.

"You know what I just realized?" Zari came around to join Sara, a small frown on her face as she tossed a peanut into her mouth. "We're missing someone."

The group looked around, and Jax frowned. "Yeah, we are."

"Where's Wells?" Nate asked.

Those from Team Arrow and Team Supergirl exchanged grim looks, already having a good guess as to where Harrison Wells was.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena lifted her gaze from the computer she was working on, hearing her phone chirp. The moment she saw what was on the screen, a small smile formed on her lips, and she tapped a quick response, standing up and minimizing the file she had in front of her. The door leading from the elevator opened, and Lena took one sniff and sighed. "I don't care if you work with the Flash – you're a real hero."

"That's a compliment coming from the best friend of Supergirl," Harry quipped, crossing the room and handing her one of the coffee cups he held.

"Well, I need coffee, so that makes you a hero," Lena told him, taking a long sip and closing her eyes. "Oh, that's better."

Harry nodded, looking at her with a critical eye. "How are you?" he finally asked.

Lena sighed, opening her eyes again. "Exhausted," she answered. "But I'm not giving up."

"I don't expect you to," Harry shook his head, holding out an arm, and Lena gratefully leaned into him for a hug. "But everyone's worried about you, too."

Lena smiled slightly. "It's nice to be worried about."

Harry kissed the top of her head, then raised his gaze to the unit in the lab. "And how's she?" he asked.

Lena swallowed, stepping away from Harry and into the unit. "I don't know yet," she admitted.

She heard Harry join her, then he finally asked, "How can I help while I'm here?"

Lena took a deep breath, looking down at Sam lying unconscious on the bed. "Just be here right now," she whispered. "I'll take what support I can get."

Harry squeezed her hand. "You got it."

* * *

 **A/N: And hello, Lockwood. I know he originally appeared before "Schott Through The Heart" actually happened, but I wanted Oliver to be around to meet him. Yes, this means there's a better possibility now that I'll go on to the current seasons, but no promises if it'll be practically every episode like I'm doing right now. Just don't ask me to make a decision right now when I'm not even done with these seasons - I'll make a decision when I've finished writing Seasons 3 and 6.**

 **And for those of you who possibly have wondered where Lena's been for the Arrow episodes recently, she's been trying to help Sam. She'll be out for the next few episodes, too.**

 **Because it's three Arrow episodes back to back next, starting with an episode I think people have possibly been looking forward to the most. Next time, it's "Collision Course!"**


	70. Arrow - Collision Course - Part One

**Oliver makes a promise to the city, is more than capable of delivering on a threat, and the girl of the hour reaches out, but probably not to who some people expect it to be.**

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

"Severed subclavian artery, no defensive wounds," Oliver read from Cayden's file in disbelief, then closed it and looked up at Hill. "How did this happen?" he demanded.

"Some time between transfer and intake at Iron Heights, an inmate caught James unaware," Hill answered, making Oliver sigh in frustration. "By the time the guards intervened, it was too late."

"Motive?" Oliver asked.

"The inmate was a headcase off his meds," she shrugged. "For all we know, he thought he was killing his mother."

"Well, the random murder of Cayden James, it – it doesn't feel very random," Oliver seethed.

"It was bad timing and even worse luck, Mr. Mayor," Hill shook her head. "That's all."

"All right," Oliver sighed, nodding.

"But Cayden James was my responsibility," Hill told him. "If a head has to roll for this, make it mine."

"That is not how I run things here," Oliver told her. "Just . . . check in with the others who came in with him and keep doing what you're doing."

He left Hill's office, mentally bracing himself for the meeting that was about to take place at City Hall.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Not to Oliver's surprise, it was Quentin who managed to shout over everyone in the conference room and get their attention. "One at a time! _One at a time!"_

That, coupled with Thea's iron glare and Oliver's raised hand, finally silenced everyone. "Thank you," he looked around. "I understand that you're angry. I am – I am angry, too, but we are not gonna solve any problems by yelling at one another."

"Last I heard, Cayden James is dead, but you still don't have the money he stole," the representative from the Teachers Union said.

"You mean the money he was _given,"_ the woman representing the Fire Department glowered.

"We are still in the process of recovering the money that was _extorted_ from the city," Oliver told her. "We just need a little more time."

Chatter erupted again, but the woman cut through the noise. "We're on the verge of financial collapse. Without an influx of cash soon, we _all_ have to shut down – schools, sanitation, emergency services, everything!"

Oliver refrained from gritting his teeth. "Fine," he said. "We will have those funds back in forty-eight hours. You have my word." He looked around the table. _"All_ of you have my word. Thank you."

He quickly stood and left the room, Thea and Quentin hurrying to catch up. "OK, um, not that I don't love your confidence and everything, but should we really be making promises like that?" Thea asked as they walked into Oliver's office.

"The accountant is on his way back from Corto Maltese with the money that was deposited into Cayden James' bank account as we speak," he told her.

"You could've just told them that, got those folks off your back," Quentin blinked.

"I'm not telling them anything concrete until that money is back in the city's bank accounts," Oliver shook his head. "My bigger concern right now is the concern Dinah has right now, and she is on the warpath."

"Evelyn," Thea murmured. "Any luck with that?"

"John is working a few leads, and your father and Siren have been working nonstop to find her in shadier ways," Oliver answered. "I'm being updated constantly. Nothing yet."

"Well, I'm looking on the bright side," Quentin snorted. "At least we don't have one of those Worldkillers in this city."

"Yeah," Oliver grimaced in agreement. "That's the last thing we need."

The intercom on his desk beeped, and his secretary spoke through it. _"The accountant's here."_

"Send him in," Oliver responded.

"All right, I'll take that as my cue," Quentin rubbed his hands together. "I got to head over to planning." He opened the door, and the accountant almost smacked right into him. "OK," he cleared his throat, stepping aside for the man to step by. "Welcome." He was about to head out again, only to stop and narrow his eyes when Dinah stepped in. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, he's carrying evidence," Dinah answered with a smirk. "I'm just, uh, making sure it doesn't get up and walk away."

"Good luck with that," Quentin scoffed, closing the door behind him as he left.

"Wasn't planning on seeing you here today, Lieutenant," Oliver scowled.

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, either," Dinah retorted. "But we've got a problem."

The accountant nodded. "Cayden James' Corto Maltese bank account has been withdrawn."

Oliver blanched. "What do you mean, it's been withdrawn?" Thea demanded angrily.

"It's empty," the accountant answered. "All seventy million. Somebody took all the funds out before we got access."

Oliver sighed. "Do we have any idea who?"

"No," Dinah shook her head, but a smug look was on her face. "But I _do_ have one guess."

Oliver gave her a warning look as the accountant continued to speak. "I put in a request for the withdrawal log, but it's a long shot."

"If we don't have those funds in forty-eight hours, this city's government services will shut down," Oliver told him.

"And I understand," the accountant nodded, "but banks in third world countries like Corto Maltese aren't exactly known for their transparency. I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver walked into the loft, pausing and taking a sniff. "Something smells good," he remarked.

Kara poked her head up over the divider between the living room and the kitchen, an iced sugar cookie halfway in her mouth. "Hi!"

"Hi," Oliver chuckled, stopping and looking at his fiancée, noting the apron she wore. "Correct me if I'm wrong, angel, but I thought the chef had to finish baking all the cookies before she ate one?"

"Good thing she's not the chef!" Felicity turned around from the counter, putting an icing bottle down, William looking up from his rack of cookies. "She's _horrible."_

"Hey!" Kara blushed. "I'm allowed to be . . . not so super at some things! I can do physics, mathematics, and chemistry on paper, that doesn't mean I can do thermodynamics in the kitchen!"

"So who wanted cookies more, Kara or William?" Oliver couldn't help but grin.

His fiancée and his son pointed to the other at the same time. "Yes," Felicity supplied the answer.

Oliver shook his head fondly, then frowned. "Don't you normally have tutoring after school, bud?" he asked William.

"We all got sent home," he answered. "Ms. Cho said it had to do with the budget. Is it true they might have to close the schools?"

"I'm working very hard to make sure that doesn't happen," Oliver assured him. "There's actually something that I need to speak with Kara and Felicity about."

Kara's eyes widened, and she quickly swallowed her bite. "I'll keep working on the cookies," William turned around.

Felicity patted his shoulder, and Kara nabbed another cookie before walking over to join Oliver. "Hey," she hurried to pass Felicity. "Hey, wait." Oliver paused, then smiled when Kara wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "You look like you need one."

Oliver sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, hugging Kara as well. "You know me well, angel."

Felicity smiled, keeping her distance before asking, "What's going on?"

Oliver cleared his throat. "The money that Cayden extorted from the city . . . someone emptied the account."

"Well, we have Diaz, Anatoli, and Talia," Felicity said slowly, a smile starting to form on her face. "That leaves the somebody as Evelyn."

"Or another player that we haven't seen yet," Oliver pointed out. "We requested the withdrawal logs from the bank, but – "

"It's Corto Maltese, it's taking too long, you want me to help expedite it," Felicity guessed.

Oliver nodded. "I need it to look like it's coming through official channels."

"Yeah, I know," Felicity smiled. "It's not my first rodeo with Corto Maltese. Give me about an hour."

Oliver nodded, watching Felicity go back to helping William with the cookies. "Funny timing," Kara mumbled.

"Hmm?" Oliver looked down at her.

"Cayden's killed, then the money goes missing," Kara looked up at him. "Maybe it's the same person who framed you for his son's murder."

"Could be," Oliver nodded. "The only thing I know for sure right now is that if I don't get that money in forty-eight hours, this city is going to have my head."

"Well," Kara leaned her head on his shoulder, taking a bite of her cookie. "They'll have to get through me first."

Oliver barked out a laugh. "I'd enjoy seeing that."

"Yeah, I bet you would," Kara grinned, holding up the treat in her hand. "Cookie?"

"Why not?" Oliver chuckled, taking a bite from it and making Kara giggle.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Well, one thing I know for sure," Malcolm locked the door behind him and walked over to where Laurel was flipping through files on a tablet, Slade looking up from his drink. "If there's one thing Evelyn learned to do, it was to hide. Every possible trail on her is colder than our love lives."

Laurel snorted loudly, giving him a dirty look. "Now _that's_ cold, Merlyn."

"Got something to tell us, then, Siren?" Slade quirked an eyebrow.

Laurel pursed her lips, looking back down at her tablet. "You're talking to a ghost, Wilson. It's hard to date someone that way."

"You live with another ghost," Slade smirked. "There you go."

"There's still good news," Malcolm cleared his throat, drawing away from that topic. "The other team is having the same trouble. I just made sure Rene didn't run into me."

"Let me guess, you shot him," Laurel drawled, not looking up.

Malcolm faked staggering backwards. "You wound me, Siren."

"That's what I'm here for," she smirked. "Bruising your ego."

Slade snickered. "We have the same job."

"In all seriousness, it means Dinah's going to get more wound up," Malcolm warned, making Laurel finally look up. "And that's going to make her more dangerous."

Laurel swallowed hard. "So we keep looking."

"I didn't plan on stopping," Malcolm assured her, then looked up when Slade's phone chirped. "Isn't that Oliver's tone?"

"Yes," Slade nodded, checking his screen, and he smirked. "Looks like there's a lead on the missing money."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"You're not gonna believe it," the accountant hurried into Oliver's office, placing his laptop down on his desk, Dinah shutting the door behind them. "The bank just sent over the withdrawal log we requested plus security footage."

"That is unbelievable," Oliver hid a smirk.

"What are we seeing?" Dinah asked.

"The account was accessed by this woman," the accountant pointed, and Oliver swallowed hard, seeing a very familiar young woman walk down the hall, her long, straight dark hair replaced by jaw-length, wavy blonde locks. "She's listed in the withdrawal log as Crystal Sparrow. Took the entire amount in bearer bonds."

 _Crystal Sparrow._ Oliver made the connection immediately – a gemstone just like a diamond, a bird similar to the mantle she had originally used. _Almas and canary . . . or siren._ He tore his gaze away from Evelyn on the screen to exchange looks with Dinah. "Some excellent work, Jay," he finally said. "OK, we'll take it from here. Thank you."

"Thanks," Dinah nodded to the accountant as he packed up and left. She watched Oliver round his desk, then checked to make sure the door was closed. 'I'm guessing Felicity had something to do with this."

"Yes, she did," Oliver confirmed, now just fine with giving her an annoyed look. "Thank you for inserting yourself into this, by the way."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Dinah scoffed. "Well, you never would've shared the information otherwise."

"No, I wouldn't have," Oliver agreed. "Because I don't trust you to do the right thing."

"And what is that?" Dinah sneered. "Politely ask Evelyn to give back the money?"

"Not kill her," Oliver answered bluntly. "Dinah, I understand that you're hurting. I get it. I also understand that I don't have the most credibility when it comes to telling people not to commit murder. But the city is on the verge of economic collapse, so get in your head that Evelyn is the key to fixing that."

"Evelyn is never giving you that money," Dinah growled.

Oliver actually snorted. "You sound like you know that."

"Yeah, I do," Dinah nodded, walking forward. "Because I know that when you look at her, all you see is a teenage girl putting on the mask of a victim – a classic scared teenager. And she's already manipulating you, and she'll keep doing it until you'll never be able to do what's necessary to get that money back."

"And you will?" Oliver countered. When Dinah lifted her chin defiantly, Oliver's eyes narrowed to slits. "You say she's wearing a mask. Unlike you, I saw the schematics Brainy ran of that collar Cayden created for Evelyn. She's not playing a victim – she _is_ a victim. She's been a victim too many times. I've failed her once. I'm not going to fail her again. So understand something, Dinah . . . if you want to cross that line, you're gonna have to go through me first."

Dinah narrowed her eyes right back. "If you're gonna threaten me, Oliver, you better be damn sure you can deliver."

She turned and headed for the door. "I've beaten Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson, and Adrian Chase," Oliver spoke up, making Dinah pause in her footsteps. "I killed Ra's al Ghul when I was his heir and became the Demon's Head for a short amount of time. I killed Damien Darhk because he killed the Laurel I knew before the one we have now. My hands were red with Cadmus blood when they tried to kill Kara. You, Rene, and Curtis tried to take on my doppelgänger and failed _miserably. I_ was the one who killed him. And that's just me, not including those _I know_ are going to defend Evelyn." He walked around the desk. "There's Slade Wilson. Former ASIS, my brother in all but blood, who knows exactly what makes me tick. Just the other day, he shot a copycat in the hand because she tried to kill someone he saw as surrogate family. She'll never recover from that shot. And need I remind you that his headshot at Lillian Luthor is most likely the shot that killed her?"

Dinah remained silent. "Malcolm Merlyn," Oliver continued. "Driven to the League of Assassins because of the death of his wife, vowing to be able to protect his family no matter what it took. He's nearly killed me several times before. He was willing to level part of the city just to avenge his wife's death. Or have you forgotten his ideas were responsible for the deaths of five hundred and three, just in one night?" Dinah tensed, and Oliver nodded. "Or maybe I need to remind you he was the one I gave the ring of Ra's al Ghul to? Or maybe I need to remind you that this is also the man who stepped on a landmine for his daughter, was the second to agree to go to Earth-38 with me to find Kara, and took a bullet for Professor Stein. Go after someone he cares about, and it's a death sentence. Or, go after someone that means something to someone he cares about. That brings me to Laurel Lance. Well, you know most of her rep. Zoom's most trusted lieutenant, one of Adrian Chase's closest allies. She has a scream that tops yours. Here's the important thing to keep in mind . . . she knows Evelyn better than you or I probably do. Like hell she's going to let you get to her." He stopped in front of Dinah, raising an eyebrow. "And do I really need to say anything about my invulnerable, superpowered fiancée?" he asked dryly. "You say I should be damn sure I can deliver on a threat." He leaned in close, eyes dark. "I promise you, Dinah . . . I _can_ deliver."

Dinah gritted her teeth, then stormed out of the office, leaving Oliver to watch her go.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

Slade sighed, listening to what Oliver had to say on the other end of the phone. "Got it. Thanks, kid."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring," Malcolm said dryly.

"Well, that depends," Slade turned around.

"On?"

"Do you want good news or bad news first?"

"I'll take good," Laurel answered.

Slade nodded, bracing himself. "We now have a lead on Evelyn."

"What?!" Laurel shot upright, eyes widening.

"Oh, thank God," Malcolm sighed in relief.

"Not so fast," Slade shook his head. "The bad news it's not just _our_ lead now."

"Why?" Laurel frowned.

Slade sighed. "Because the lead is that Evelyn was the one who went to Corto Maltese and took the money Star City needs."

Laurel's eyes widened in shock.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Oh," Thea sighed, watching the video again in Oliver's office. "I guess we know now what happened to seventy million dollars."

"Right," Oliver nodded, walking around his desk. "We find her, we find the money."

"Are we concerning ourselves the most about the money or getting Evelyn to safety?" Quentin raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Oliver answered. "Considering Dinah wants revenge and she is set on Evelyn being the one who made the decision to kill Vincent."

"So if Evelyn's not safe, the money might not be safe," Thea said.

"Exactly," Oliver nodded.

"Well, all right," Quentin let out a breath. "I mean, Laurel vouched for her. Granted, if Slade Wilson and Malcolm Merlyn could come around, why not her."

"That's everyone's argument right now," Oliver snorted. "And it's valid. Laurel gave Evelyn an out, which she needed. We just need to find Evelyn before the others do."

"Well, if you do and need a place to hang low, let me know," Quentin nodded. "I may have something."

"Will do," Oliver nodded. "Thank you, Quentin."

"Sure," he nodded back.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"So I have looked through all flights into Star City for any mention of Crystal Sparrow, and I got a match," Curtis said, making Dinah lean over his shoulder to see his computer screen. "A flight came in from Central City an hour ago with Crystal Sparrow on it. She came from another flight that departed from Corto Maltese."

"And we probably wouldn't know about it because Team Flash would side with Oliver," Rene sighed.

"Probably," Curtis nodded.

"Yes," Dinah corrected. "So she's only been here an hour. Good. Now we just have to find her before the others do something stupid."

Curtis frowned, looking up. "Stupid how?"

"Oliver and anyone he's close to is not seeing clearly on this," Dinah answered. "He's desperate to get that money. He will believe anything Evelyn says, including whatever more crap she says about Vincent."

Rene frowned. "Shouldn't _we_ also be desperate for that money? The city's hurting."

"I know," Dinah nodded, "but there are more effective ways to find out where she's keeping that money."

Curtis balked. "Sounds like you're talking about _torture."_

"And it sounds like you want to go _soft_ on her," Dinah scowled. "Curtis, the only way to get justice for Vince and money for the city is going to be messy."

"Look, if we know Oliver and his team, then they're already out there hitting the streets to find Evelyn," Rene cut in. "If we want to find her first, then we need to get out there, too."

"Agreed," Dinah nodded curtly, heading to put her suit on.

Curtis watched her go, then looked back at Rene. "Are you serious?" he hissed. "Look, I'm not Evelyn's biggest fan ever, but _torture?"_

"I don't like it, either," Rene shook his head. "I mean, I don't want to go easy on her, but that is where I'd draw the line. I mean, Oliver did have a point . . . she's still really young."

Curtis sighed. "We'll just have to try and keep her from doing something stupid."

Rene scoffed. "Yeah, _try_ being the word of choice today."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver finished shutting down his computer and stood up to leave when his phone rang. He looked at the Caller ID, frowning when he didn't recognize it. He finally answered, a suspicious frown on his face. "Hello?" When he heard the voice on the other end, Oliver almost sat back down in his chair, he was so surprised. For a few seconds, he stared at his phone in complete shock before finally clearing his throat and saying something else. "Where are you?"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Newspapers blew past Oliver's feet as he stopped behind the abandoned theater, and he slowly turned in a circle. After not seeing anyone, he took a deep breath. "I came alone."

There was a second of silence, then a voice came from above. "I didn't think you would."

Oliver looked up to see Evelyn crouched on the fire escape, wearing a black trench coat that easily helped her blend into the night. "You know where Laurel lives," he told her, not taking a step forward. "But you called _me_ instead. So, I can think of a few things that may mean. One, you don't want overwhelming attention on you immediately. Two, I'm the one you felt comfortable talking to first. Not so sure about that option, though. Option three . . . you wanted to talk to me, and _only_ me, alone."

Evelyn looked down at her boots, biting her lip. "I'm surprised you even came."

"Did you think I would ask Laurel or Malcolm to come instead?" Oliver raised an eyebrow. She winced, showing yes, that was exactly what she thought. "Evelyn," he sighed.

"After everything I've done?" Evelyn finally looked up, standing up and leaning against the fire escape. "I turned my back on the team because of _you,_ I joined Adrian because of _you,_ I accepted Talia's help because of _you,_ joined Cayden with her because of _you_ – "

"You really know how to flatter me, Evelyn," Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Evelyn's blush was visible in the minimal light. "But you shouldn't be helping me," she shook her head. "Not after all I did to try and hurt you."

"Evelyn, if I had that mindset now, there are three people on my team who probably wouldn't be on it right now," Oliver told her. "Well, two most likely. The other might be somewhere I couldn't find him without him telling me."

Evelyn smiled slightly. "Is that Slade?"

"Yep," Oliver nodded. "But Evelyn, here's what I need to know right now in this moment to do anything further since this is the first honest conversation I think we've had in God knows how long. Do you regret what you've done?"

"Yes," Evelyn answered at once, nodding. "And I'm sorry about it, Oliver. All of it."

Oliver nodded slowly. "And do you want our help? Actually want it, not just as some sort of cover to disappear into thin air later?"

"Yes," Evelyn answered firmly.

Oliver nodded more firmly this time. "Then come down," he told her. "We need to get you off the streets. Dinah could still be looking for you."

Evelyn opened and closed her mouth a few times. "That's it?" she finally stammered as she hurried down the fire escape.

"What more do you want me to say?" Oliver asked, tilting his head. "That I hate you? That I wish you were dead because of what you've done?" Evelyn flinched, and Oliver shook his head, finally walking forward. "Evelyn, you are _eighteen._ You've suffered because of too many people. Damien Darhk, Adrian Chase, Cayden James – he's dead, by the way," he added as an afterthought.

Evelyn's head shot up. "He's dead?" she repeated.

"He was killed, more specifically," Oliver nodded, watching Evelyn close her mouth and look away in shock, tears in her eyes. "I'm on that list, too," he said quietly. "I've made mistakes. I made them with you, I admit that. You are only a few years older than my son, Evelyn, and what you have done . . . is nothing compared to others I know who have been given second chances and have gone above and beyond to prove they were given them for a reason. You want that chance, too. I want to give it to you." He held out his hand, causing Evelyn to turn back and look at it. "We'll keep you safe," he promised.

Evelyn stared long and hard at his hand before swallowing and lunging forward. Oliver had just enough time to blink before Evelyn was hugging him tightly, body shaking with sobs. "I'm sorry," she choked out, and Oliver hugged her back, still stunned she had done that. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's OK," Oliver swallowed hard, squeezing her a bit. "It's gonna be OK."

Dinah had claimed Evelyn was pretending to be a victim, that she was pretending to be a scared teenager. But if she was pretending . . . she was doing a ridiculously impressive job of fooling not only him, but Kara, Malcolm, and Laurel. He sincerely doubted she was pretending.

The only difficulty would be proving that to the livid canary in question.

* * *

 **A/N: How many people were expecting Evelyn to call Oliver, eh? My thought process was she didn't want to be smothered the moment she got back because that would probably draw attention right to her, and she had more to say to Oliver, especially one-on-one.**

 **Don't worry, everyone's favorite former villains will meet up with her next time.**


	71. Collision Course - Part Two

**Oh, why did this have to be so difficult to write? Original content galore, so I hope everyone enjoys because I am not entirely sure how I did with this. I just know I have some really epic last lines in this.**

 **Evelyn is in safe hands now, Kara has a meeting with people she would rather not see, and a certain trio of vigilantes are very persistent.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver opened the door to the loft he knew Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel were using, and almost immediately swerved to the side to avoid the knife aimed right at his eye. It stuck in the doorframe behind him, and Oliver sighed, reaching out and taking the knife. "Guess I should've knocked first."

"You think?" Malcolm's retort was the first to come as he lowered the knife he had just picked up.

"A little warning would have been nice," Laurel agreed as Oliver handed her the knife back.

"I figured unannounced would be better for this," Oliver shook his head.

Laurel frowned in confusion, but Oliver stepped to the side, and Evelyn smiled shyly as she stepped into view. Laurel's face drained of color, the knife clattering to the floor. "Siren?" Slade frowned, unable to see from where he was.

Laurel just burst forward, and Evelyn moved at the same time, both women hugging each other tightly. "Oh, my God," Laurel gasped in relief. "You're OK!"

"I'm fine," Evelyn nodded, clinging tightly to Laurel as the other two moved into her line of sight. "I'm OK."

"Guess it's a good thing I knocked and not you," Oliver scratched the back of his head.

"I forgive you because it's Evelyn," Laurel declared, pulling back to look Evelyn over for any injuries. "Why were you in Corto Maltese?"

"Getting the money," Evelyn said like it was obvious.

"We already had someone from City Hall in the process of retrieving it," Oliver told her, closing the door as Laurel led Evelyn inside.

Evelyn blushed sheepishly. "Oops?"

Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Evelyn . . . "

"I thought it would be a good peace offering if you still weren't sure about me," Evelyn mumbled, plopping down on the couch, bringing her legs up to her chest. "I figured, show I was ready to turn myself around."

"Crystal Sparrow, though?" Oliver couldn't help but grin.

Evelyn blushed redder. "I figured one of you would make the connection."

"Clever," Oliver told her, sitting down across from her. "But security footage showed exactly who you are, even with the wig."

Evelyn swallowed hard, ducking her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Hey, you got to the money before someone else affiliated with Cayden did," Oliver hastened to tell her. "That _is_ good."

"And not that I'm not happy that you're safe," Slade walked forward to stand behind Oliver, "but also very reckless. You have a target on your back because of Vincent. Dinah and her team have to know you're back in the city by now."

Evelyn's face froze. "Oh, God."

"Well, she'll have to get through me first," Laurel scowled.

"Make it two," Malcolm held up a hand.

"It's pretty safe to say there's at least five people she'll have to get through," Oliver told Evelyn. "And one of them is my fiancée, who I would quite frankly like to see her try and get through since she doesn't have any Kryptonite."

Evelyn giggled, then quickly put a hand over her mouth to stop laughing. "Besides," Laurel leaned forward and smirked. "It's been proven that my scream is better than hers."

Malcolm grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did you _really_ have to put it like that, Siren?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Malcolm," Laurel retorted without even looking at him.

Oliver heard Slade sigh behind him and bit back a smirk. "The point, Evelyn, is that you're safe with us," he told the dark-haired girl, bringing her attention back to him.

Evelyn swallowed, then smiled shyly. "Thank you, Oliver." She looked around at everyone. "All of you," she added.

"Any time," Laurel smiled.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara walked across the roof of one of the buildings in Star City, her eyes locked on where she could see Oliver with her surrogate siblings and Evelyn. When Oliver had asked her to cover the night shift for Star City that evening in place of Slade and Laurel and had given the reason why, she had jumped at the opportunity. Laurel was the one who believed in Evelyn first, and now that she was in Star City and wanted to stay, she was the best person for Evelyn to stay with.

Footsteps approached from behind, and Kara closed her eyes, not sure whether to be annoyed that the trio wasn't bothering to hide their footsteps or to be happy they didn't try to hide them. "Can I help you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Where's Evelyn?" Dinah asked bluntly.

Kara raised an eyebrow, counting down from five before turning around to face the other team. "Hi, Supergirl, nice to see you, Supergirl," she folded her arms. "Can you help us out, Supergirl?"

"Didn't think you'd be in the mood for small talk," Rene told her.

"Then what makes you think I'm in the mood for telling you anything?" Kara countered.

"So you know where she is?" Dinah smirked triumphantly. Kara hummed noncommittedly, tilting her head to look up at the night sky. "Kara!"

"I'm sorry," Kara blinked innocently, looking at her. "What were you demanding?"

"Star City needs that money," Curtis told her.

"I know," Kara nodded. "I'm the mayor's fiancée. I know he's been nagged night and day about getting it back. I know how important that money is to the city, so don't use that on me."

"Evelyn has it," Dinah scowled. "We need to know where she is."

"And you think you can get it from her?" Kara raised an eyebrow. "Through what means?"

"Any means necessary," Dinah answered confidently.

Kara's other eyebrow joined the first, and she snorted. "Because that makes me _so_ much more likely to help you."

"You think _talking_ to her is just going to make her magically give it to you?" Rene frowned.

"Oh, but it's Supergirl, Rene," Dinah scoffed. "She thinks appealing to someone's better angels will always make things magically better."

Kara rolled her eyes. "You _really_ want me to punch you in the face, don't you, Dinah?"

"Kara," Curtis sighed.

"Say I knew where she was," Kara took a step forward and folded her arms. "What would you do when you were done getting the money's location from her? Or would you even do that, Dinah? Would you kill her? A teenage girl who kept throwing her lots in with the wrong people just because she was trying to find the lesser of evils? That money could be lost forever."

"Lost forever," Rene frowned. "Like Vincent Sobel. Where was Supergirl when he needed saving?"

Kara flinched, gritting her teeth. That still struck a chord with her, because she knew Vincent had been changing into a better person, too. "Trying to recover a thermobaric bomb to save the city," she answered. "You walked into a trap, didn't you? Maybe if you had come with us, strength in numbers, Vincent could still be alive."

"Don't you dare say his name!" Dinah snapped.

"Or what are you going to do?" Kara challenged. "Punch me? Try and kill me? Go on, Dinah, give it your best shot." Dinah bared her teeth in a snarl but didn't make a move forward. "Are we done here?" Kara asked, looking around.

"We can hack you," Curtis warned.

"Oh, OK," Kara smiled sarcastically. "You go on ahead and do that. You won't mind all of us raging at you when you do so, do you? That's . . . that's actually funny because the last time people on the same side got hacked, the team split apart."

"For good reason," Rene growled. "That was done without our permission! That broke our trust!"

"And it turns out one of you broke Oliver's first," Kara's glare turned to him. "How about that?"

"Rene has already been punished enough for that mistake," Dinah glowered. "You know, it's just too bad he doesn't look like Evelyn Sharp, Kara, because if he did, you would probably forgive him for murder just because he pulls an innocent teenager act."

Kara narrowed her eyes to slits. "I'd choose your next words _very_ carefully, Dinah," she warned softly. "You know I can wipe the floor with all three of you if I wanted to."

"We're not actually about to fight about this, are we?" Curtis looked between Dinah and Rene. "Like, physically fight? Against _Supergirl?"_

"You tell me, Curtis," Kara looked at him. "You walked up to me first."

"Well, better you than Oliver, right?" Rene asked, walking towards her. "Because you _do_ prefer words, huh? Words over fighting . . . because that's how Oliver always solves his problems."

"Watch it," Kara warned, bristling angrily.

"That doesn't make him a hero," Rene narrowed his eyes. "That makes him a _thug._ A superhero and a thug. How about that, Girl of Steel? How's he gonna feel about that? How betrayed is William gonna feel when he finds out a goody two shoes like you is going to marry someone who would rather punch and fight his way out of a problem?" Kara swiftly turned on her heel and stormed towards the edge of the roof, not wanting to hear any further. She didn't need this crap right now, not when she had more important things to worry about than self-righteous former team members. "Don't turn your back on me!" Rene shouted.

The moment she felt Rene put a hand on her shoulder, Kara turned around and held Rene by the throat, lifting him up off the ground. "Hey!" Dinah yelled, moving forward and opening her mouth.

Kara shifted so Rene was placed between herself and Dinah, stopping the meta in her tracks. "You seem to have forgotten what I did to Prometheus when he threatened the lives of Oliver's family and friends on Lian Yu, Rene," she said quietly, eyes boring into his as he clawed at her arm. "I didn't kill him, but I beat him black and blue, and I broke his bones into pieces they were never meant to be in. That was back when Oliver was just a friend, when all of you were just people I knew by association or name. Now Oliver is the love of my life, William is going to be my son, and you think you can talk about them like that and expect me to suddenly up and change my feelings?" She tightened her grip for a split second, then dropped Rene unceremoniously. "Don't follow me again," she said coldly.

"Just so you know, we _are_ gonna find her," Dinah snarled as Kara continued to the edge of the roof. "And when we do, you'd better hope to God you're not there, too!"

Kara looked back at Dinah, then burst out laughing. She laughed harder at the outraged look on Dinah's face, then took off into the sky. That was actually really funny.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

Curtis watched Kara fly off, then glared at Rene. "You are completely suicidal," he declared.

"Yeah, but it worked," Rene coughed, rubbing his throat. "I got the audio chip on her."

"And now we have a seriously pissed off Kryptonian to worry about. That was _not_ smart."

"But if they get the drop on Evelyn, so will we," Dinah pointed out.

Curtis stared between them. "So we're going to ignore the pissed off Kryptonian thing?"

"Like she would actually hurt us," Dinah rolled her eyes. "She's too self-righteous for that."

Curtis swallowed hard. "I don't think I want to find that out."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

Kara swooped in through the window with a declaration of, "What absolute self-righteous jerks."

Five incredulous glances looked at her. "That face needs to be fixed," Malcolm declared, pointing at her. "You look like you just swallowed a lemon."

"More like encountered three and was ready to pound them into pulpy messes because I wasn't patient enough to make lemonade," Kara countered, plopping down onto the loveseat by Oliver and throwing her head back with a dramatic groan.

Oliver frowned, scooting closer to her and slipping his hand under her head so her head rested on his palm. "What happened, angel?" he asked, gently kneading her scalp.

Kara sighed, scooting closer to him. "They found me while I was on patrol and asked if I knew where Evelyn was. Speaking of which, when I'm done being mad at them and not turning to goo because of what Oliver's doing, I'm hugging you if you don't mind."

Evelyn blushed. "I don't."

"On my to-do list, then," Kara mumbled, closing her eyes.

Slade chuckled. "Stay awake, little one."

"Trying."

"So I should stop?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"I'll punch you if you do."

"Like he actually would," Laurel snorted.

Kara conceded the point with a nod. "They were basically trying to rile me up and get me to see their side of why I should tell them where Evelyn was."

"You didn't, did you?" Evelyn asked nervously.

"No," Kara shook her head. "Good news, I didn't tell them anything. Bad news, I think they hate me now."

"Wonderful," Malcolm rolled his eyes. "They officially hate all of us now."

"Well, what else is new?" Laurel huffed.

"Look, I don't want to cause any more problems with them," Evelyn put her face in her hands, and when the sound muffled, Kara lifted her head up and straightened; most of them missed Slade stiffening behind her. "Dinah wants me dead, and Curtis and Rene can't seem to see past me betraying the team and joining up with the likes of Cayden and the Bratva and a criminal drug ring – " Kara almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Slade look down at her, and she opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when Slade shook his head and held a finger to his lips. Frowning in confusion, she nodded and turned back around as Evelyn continued. "I'll just tell you where the money is," Evelyn held up her hands. "Then I'll get out of your hair."

"And if you go in the wind, that's a better chance of the others finding you," Laurel shook her head. "That's not an option."

"Unfortunately, we may be running low on them," Slade spoke up, and Kara blinked when she felt his fingers on her shoulder.

Evelyn's face turned the color of sour milk and Malcolm let out a nasty swear. Oliver inhaled sharply, and Kara quickly twisted to see Slade hold up a slim electronic chip between his fingers. "Was that on me?" she demanded, eyes wide. When Slade nodded grimly, Kara narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Rene."

"Would you like the pleasure, little one?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Rao, yes," she ground out, standing up.

Slade tossed the bug into the air, and Kara's heat vision shot out, incinerating it to dust. "OK, we're getting you out of here," Laurel told Evelyn, standing up.

"But the money," Evelyn began.

"You can tell us the location," Oliver told her. "That doesn't mean _we_ have to get it."

"What?" Evelyn blinked.

"Alex, J'onn, the Legionnaires, any of them can hop over," Kara nodded. "Dig and Felicity, too."

"No, someone from your Earth," Oliver told her. "John and Felicity can come with us."

"Where are we going?" Evelyn asked nervously.

"Those three obviously think violence is the way to handle this," Oliver answered, standing up and looking around. "I want to know just how far they want to go. They heard on that bug that Evelyn is going to tell us where the money is."

"But will that be enough for them, or do they want the person who killed Vincent?" Malcolm seethed.

Evelyn whimpered when Oliver nodded grimly. "Hey," Kara walked over to Evelyn, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You are in the best hands possible. We're not gonna let anything happen to you."

"Text Thea and tell her to get that place from Quentin," Oliver ordered Malcolm, who nodded and pulled out his phone. "The rest of you, suit up. We're moving out."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

Feedback sizzled through the speakers, and Curtis hastily turned the volume down. "You know, for a superpowered Kryptonian and a few really experienced former supervillains, that sure took them a while," he said. "Even though they found it eventually."

"Oliver and Kara were willing to burn Vince, but they'll take that murdering bitch at her word?" Dinah growled. "Doesn't Kara have super hearing to tell when someone like Evelyn is lying?"

"You were right, D," Rene scowled. "Kara fell for the act. The city's not getting its money back that way when its most powerful superhero is fooled by something like that."

"It's up to us," Curtis nodded.

"Not even we knew where Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel stayed low," Dinah looked at Curtis. "Did you get the bug's last location before it was destroyed?"

"I did," Curtis confirmed.

Dinah nodded. "Then let's suit up."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Malcolm Merlyn/Slade Wilson_**

Dig and Felicity were waiting as the group hurried to the van they were driving. "Your gear's in back," Dig told Oliver.

"Thanks," he nodded, climbing in.

"This is where I hid the money," Evelyn told Felicity, handing her a Post-It note.

"I'll send this to Alex," Felicity nodded. "Quentin and Thea are heading to the cabin right now."

"Oh, wonderful," Malcolm sighed as he and Laurel climbed in on either side of Evelyn, Slade and Kara behind them. "At least we'll have nice scenery for whatever showdown's about to take place."

Dig snorted loudly as he started the van back up, pulling out onto the road. "We can always count on you to be the pessimist, Malcolm."

"What kind of charm would he have without it?" Laurel drawled.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow at her. "That's cold, Siren."

"Warmer than our love lives, according to you," she retorted.

Slade closed his eye, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How far are we going?" he asked, ignoring Kara's snickers from beside him.

"Six miles," Felicity answered. "Head west."

Dig nodded, then something caught his eye in the side mirror. "Are your seat belts on?" he asked.

"Why?" Malcolm frowned.

Dig sharply turned, and Evelyn yelped, clinging to the belt she had indeed put on. Laurel crashed to the ground, cursing when she smacked her arm against the seats in front of her. "What the hell?" she shouted.

"I warned you!" Dig shot her a quick look, checking in the rearview mirror to see how the others had fared. Oliver had clung to the side of the van at the last minute, and Slade had grabbed Kara before either of them had hit the side. "We got a tail," he answered Malcolm's earlier question.

"You could have said that!" the archer snapped, reaching up to buckle in.

"That answers the question of what they're actually after," Kara huffed.

"And it's not the money," Laurel grumbled, getting back in her seat and grabbing her seatbelt.

Oliver looked out the back to see Dig had stopped a similar black van by crossing paths with a semi, the truck now blocking the road from the other trio of vigilantes. "Well, they're in our dust now," he said.

"Bug's gone, thankfully," Kara sighed.

"Can you keep them back there?" Oliver asked.

Dig smirked. "You forgot what you hired me for six years ago."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Well, it's like you said, wizard," Slade looked around as Dig parked the van. "Nice scenery."

" _Magician!"_ Malcolm glowered at him.

Quentin and Thea were waiting by the door as the group approached. "Glad you got here safe," Quentin looked over all of them.

"Had to lose a tail, but yeah, we made it," Dig nodded.

"I just got a message from Alex," Thea held up her phone. "She, Mon-El, and Brainy, for some reason, just breached over and are heading to the location Evelyn gave."

"Good," Evelyn sighed in relief.

"OK, I wasn't exactly expecting you to need this, you know?" Quentin told Oliver as he unlocked the cabin, letting everyone in. "I understand Kara left her extrapolator back on her Earth in case her team needed her, but what about yours?"

"Got it with me," Oliver nodded.

"So why haven't you just taken Evelyn to Earth-38?" Thea frowned.

"Because something tells me those three are going to do something drastic," Oliver answered as Evelyn sat down on the first piece of furniture she saw, Laurel sitting next to her immediately. "They think they're in the right. They need to be shown they're in the wrong. We wait for the Earth-38ers to get the money, then we get back to Star City. Dinah, Rene, and Curtis want Evelyn dead. That's not going to happen."

"It won't, Oliver," Dig shook his head. "But it feels like we're baiting them."

"They're in over their heads," Slade pointed out. "They see one way to doing this and one way only. We just don't know how far they'll go to see that through."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"That's it!" Dinah erupted, causing Rene and Curtis to turn to her. "I am _not_ sitting here on the side of the road like _trash_ while they let that _murderer_ go free!"

"Guys, we're gonna find them," Curtis assured her.

"How?" Rene asked with a frown. "Kara incinerated our bug, and our only chance was following them to wherever they were going."

Curtis took a deep breath. "I think I know a way . . . but it's gonna hurt John."

"You say that like it's a deal breaker," Rene scowled. "That guy's the whole reason I got shot, Hoss!"

"Curtis, this is not the time to be worrying about John's feelings," Dinah told him.

"No, I mean _really_ hurt Joh," Curtis said. "Physically."

Dinah stared long and hard at him. "Find them. Whatever it takes."

Curtis nodded in response.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Felicity's tablet beeped, and she tapped on it. "That's Brainy," she said. "They found the money."

"How much?" Oliver asked.

"All of it," she smiled.

"With three and a half hours to spare," Thea smiled in relief.

"Thank God," Evelyn slumped forward, rubbing her face.

Felicity did a double take, then her face turned red. "Oh, they did _not!"_

"What?" Kara frowned, taking a step forward.

"That is also Brainy, saying he just blocked a hack that would disable John's implant and broadcast our location," Felicity growled, standing up and pacing angrily.

Malcolm gritted his teeth as Dig looked at his arm in a mixture of horror and disgust. "Curtis."

"Do they know where we are?" Oliver asked.

"Brainy says no," Felicity looked up.

"Oliver," Slade turned to him, "they were willing to disable him, _hurt him,_ to get to Evelyn. That says _exactly_ how far they're willing to go. We have our answer."

"I agree," Oliver nodded curtly, taking his extrapolator out of his suit. "Quentin, Thea, get back to Star City, meet up with Kara's team and get the money to City Hall. Let's get Evelyn to National City."

"They could still ping any of our electronics," Thea pointed out.

"And it didn't take us long to get here," Felicity pointed out.

Oliver gritted his teeth. "They may not even think about an extrapolator. They see any of us leave in a vehicle, they'll think one of us has Evelyn."

"And with that, the key to the money," Kara sighed, closing her eyes.

* * *

 ** _Rene Ramirez/Dinah Drake_**

"You're gonna turn right in a mile," Curtis directed Dinah's driving. "Dirt road."

"You got us back on track, Mr. T," Rene clapped him on the shoulder. Even if Dig's chip hadn't proved useful, it had been easy to pick up Quentin's and Thea's cell phones, both which were always turned on in case City Hall needed them. "I pity those fools now."

"Do they know that we know where they are?" Dinah asked.

"Probably," Curtis answered, then nodded. "Here's the turn."

Dinah nodded, turning onto the road. "Listen, Evelyn may not be a meta, but she's manipulative, and she's got that cry of hers which most likely none of those idiots thought to turn off," she said. "Now, I know the people protecting her were our friends, but if you hold back – if _any_ of us hold back our punches here, we are the ones who are gonna get hurt, and Evelyn and the city's money will both be gone. Understood?"

Both men nodded as Dinah drove the rest of the way in silence, the air thick with tension and anticipation.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Slade Wilson_**

"Can I just say these three are _really_ getting on my last nerves now?" Kara pinched the bridge of her nose.

"They did that a long time ago for me," Laurel said darkly.

"Then we stop this wild goose chase, and for good this time," Malcolm looked at Oliver. "They're not gonna stop unless we stop them."

"I don't think they will, either," Oliver nodded.

"Are you gonna fight your old team?" Thea's eyes bugged wide.

"They're annoying me, but I don't know if I want to," Kara admitted.

"They're not worth wasting your time," Slade told her. "So don't fight them."

" _You're_ saying that?" Laurel raised an eyebrow at him. _"You?"_

"I'm saying _Kara_ shouldn't fight them," Slade answered. "I'm looking around this room, and it comes to my attention . . . there are three people in here they've never really fought at all, not even in training because they kept their distance. The only one similar they've fought was a doppelgänger."

Malcolm blinked slowly, then started to smirk. "How observant of you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Quentin did a double take, his gaze swinging wildly between Slade, a surprised-looking Diggle, a gaping Felicity, a wide-eyed Kara, and a smirking Malcolm. "Wait a minute, are you saying – ?"

"Well," Laurel's lips curled in a smirk. "I _do_ owe those three for what happened outside the theater."

"How do you feel about a rematch?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"That depends," Laurel smoothly stood and walked over to him. "I'd prefer it be an even fight this time."

"Oh, trust me," Malcolm chuckled. "It'll be even."

"So Ollie's _not_ fighting his old team?" Thea asked to clarify.

"Oliver, John, and Kara won't," Malcolm shook his head.

Slade nodded in agreement, he, Malcolm, and Laurel turning to look at Thea. "Your father, Siren, and I will."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm pretty sure people saw this coming . . . but who's looking forward to seeing Dinah, Curtis, and Rene against Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel?**

 **You can probably guess how that's gonna go. Keep an eye out for part three!**


	72. Collision Course - Part Three

**It's Dark Team Arrow against the Outsiders and the aftermath that follows. I don't think I need to say anything more than that.**

* * *

 _ **Laurel Lance**_

Laurel paced the living area of the cabin anxiously, already feeling adrenaline pump through her veins. She had never fought former allies before. She didn't count Prometheus, as she hadn't actually fought him. That had been all Kara. But this was Rene, Curtis, and Dinah, the people she, Malcolm, and Slade had replaced on Oliver's team. They were also the trio who thought of Evelyn one way and refused to see any other way, and they had just tried to disable a piece of technology that would hinder another teammate just so they could find out where they were.

That made this much easier.

"Relax," a voice cut through her anxiety, and Laurel spun on her heel to see Malcolm sitting at the table, examining an arrowhead. "We don't have anything to worry about."

"I admire your confidence," Laurel muttered.

Malcolm looked up from his work, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have any?"

"I do," Laurel assured him. "That doesn't make me less restless."

"Touché," he conceded.

Laurel got another look at the arrowhead. "Sonic dampener arrow?"

"Yeah," Malcolm nodded, standing up and twirling the arrow around in his hand. "From Oliver's quiver. I don't think he ever thought it would be used against Dinah, though."

"Six months ago, I never would have thought so, either," Laurel shook her head.

Malcolm looked up at her. "You'll be fine if I use this, right?"

Laurel gave him a dubious look. "This isn't a Worldkiller, Malcolm."

Malcolm held up his hands placatingly. "I'm simply looking out for you," he said.

"I'm not worried about Dinah," Laurel shook her head. "We're matched evenly. It's getting hit by another bullet that's my main concern right now."

"And that's why the mercenary with the bulletproof armor is going to be facing Rene," Malcolm smirked. "If Rene gets past Slade, I'll eat my sword."

Laurel snorted. "That's a pretty image. So you can handle Curtis?"

"Don't worry about me," Malcolm told her. "Worry about yourself first."

Laurel licked her lips. "I can't help it."

Malcolm quirked an eyebrow. "So the Siren has feelings after all."

Laurel ground her teeth together. "Oh, why did I bother?" she huffed, turning to go.

Malcolm's cybernetic hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Hey," he said quietly, and Laurel turned to look up at him, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. "Curtis isn't going to be a match for me. It's you I'm more worried about, too."

Laurel bit her lip. "I'll watch your back if you watch mine?"

Malcolm smirked. "Just like always, right?"

Laurel grinned back. "Just like always."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver watched Kara speak quietly with Evelyn, explaining how the breaches worked, then shook his head. "I don't like this."

"What part, kid?" Slade asked as he checked his gun over. "Not fighting these three, or leaving and not knowing what'll happen?"

Oliver huffed. "Yes."

Slade clicked the magazine in place, then pushed off the wall. "Kid, if anyone deserves to go up against these three, it's you," he said. "But all circumstances considered, someone Evelyn is comfortable with needs to be with her on Earth-38. Right now, that's you and Kara." He smirked. "Not the three of when we're way north of pissed off."

Oliver nodded absently. "Something just feels . . . wrong."

"I feel it, too," Dig admitted.

"About what we're about to do?" Slade raised an eyebrow. "Or the small detail that the three we're up against are Curtis, Dinah, and Rene?"

"I don't know," Dig huffed. "I just can't help but wonder . . . would we be doing this if the person they were after didn't look like Evelyn?"

"That depends," Slade shrugged.

"On what?" Dig challenged.

"If the person who didn't look like Evelyn had done anything that could lead to her having a second chance," Slade answered at once.

"I think all three of us can agree these circumstances aren't exactly ideal," Oliver interrupted the two of them. "But these are the circumstances we've been dealt. If anyone has a better alternative idea, I'm listening."

Dig sighed. "Man, I would back any call you make, Oliver, always have, always will . . . but we should acknowledge the fact that going after our former teammates is maybe a line we can never uncross."

"I agree," Oliver nodded.

"I suppose it's good that the wizard, Siren, and I are crossing it for you," Slade mused, taking the safety off his gun and sliding it into its holster. "But John . . . I consider that line crossed when they attempted to hack into your implant."

Dig's gaze lowered, then heels clicked on the floor. "Oliver," Kara's tense voice said.

The one name made everyone else stiffen to attention as the blonde stood and looked at the archer. "Less than a minute."

Slade was the first to respond. "Positions," he told Malcolm and Laurel.

They nodded, Malcolm grabbing his bow from the table as Laurel went over to Evelyn. "See you in National City," she told her.

"Promise?" Evelyn asked quietly.

"Promise," Laurel winked. She gave Evelyn a quick hug, then Kara, then walked up to Oliver. "Take care of her," she said quietly.

"I won't stop now," Oliver nodded.

Laurel nodded back. "Good."

"Good luck," Quentin wished.

Laurel smiled, then vanished out the door without a sound. "Don't do anything too stupid," Thea muttered, giving her father a glare with no heat behind it.

Malcolm smirked. "I don't think I could be anywhere near as stupid as them, but request noted."

Thea gave him a quick hug, and Malcolm kissed the top of her head, doing the same to Kara. "Make sure Curtis knows not to try that again," Felicity requested.

Malcolm gave her a small salute, heading out the door. Oliver took a deep breath, turning to look at Slade. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Thank us when these three are dealt with," Slade shook his head.

Oliver smiled despite the tense situation. "Take care, Slade."

Slade nodded, clasping Oliver's hand. "I will. You, too, kid."

Oliver nodded, watching Slade follow Malcolm and Laurel out the door, then took a deep breath, twisting his extrapolator around in his hand as Quentin and Thea left as well. "Here we go."

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson/Malcolm Merlyn/Laurel Lance_**

"Take your car to the main road," Slade ordered. "No matter what happens, don't turn back."

"Copy that," Thea hurried to the passenger's side.

"What about the three of you?" Quentin asked.

Laurel tilted her head, seeing headlights turn off by the forest. "We may steal theirs just for fun."

Quentin snorted in amusement. "Yeah, you would," he muttered, climbing in the driver's side.

The trio watched the car peel away, then Malcolm turned back to see the other vigilantes come out of the trees. "This may be more satisfying than our Nazi doppelgängers were," he remarked.

"Oh," Slade growled. "I'm counting on it."

The trio knew the exact moment the other three saw them; their footsteps actually faltered before they sped up their walking. "It's funny," Malcolm called so they could hear him. "I don't remember the three of you being invited."

"It's so weird how many people you recognize when you go camping, though, isn't it?" Laurel tilted her head innocently.

"I agree," Slade smirked.

"Where is she?" Dinah growled.

"Oh, so we're skipping the small talk," Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"Well, since we're the only ones here, please," Laurel smiled sarcastically. "How can we help the three of you?"

"You know exactly why we're here!" Dinah yelled.

"Actually, all I heard was 'where is she?'" Laurel retorted. "I'm gonna need more details than that."

"Because there's Kara," Malcolm listed off.

"She was _not_ happy about being bugged," Slade glared at Rene.

He received a nasty glare in return that did nothing to make him back down. "And Thea," Malcolm continued. "And Felicity . . . am I missing anyone?"

"Evelyn!" Dinah snapped. "Where is Evelyn?"

"Oh, she's gone," Malcolm shrugged.

Slade tilted his head, hearing the hissing inside the cabin stop. "She is now," he pointed towards the now dark cabin. "The breach to Earth-38 just closed."

"She's with the others, heading to National City, most likely the D.E.O.," Malcolm nodded.

"Guess you're not gonna be able to get her after all," Laurel smirked.

"You _let her go?"_ Curtis protested. "Do you know how seriously you just hurt the city?"

"Just like how you seriously could have hurt John?" Malcolm snapped, shifting so he and Curtis were facing each other. "Surprise, _Mr. Terrific . . ._ your hack didn't work. Brainiac 5 intercepted it. Guess you're not so terrific after all."

"And no harm's been done to the city," Laurel added, looking at Dinah. "Because actions speak louder than words."

"Yeah, your actions of letting Evelyn go speak wonders," Dinah spat. "The city needs its money!"

"Which we have," Laurel smirked. "Turns out, talking does wonders if someone's willing to listen. Evelyn told us where all seventy million dollars were."

Dinah's face burned almost as red as Barry Allen's suit. "That doesn't excuse what she did to Vince!"

"Maybe not," Slade conceded. "But there's nothing you can do to get to her now."

"Unless that breach was just a trick," Dinah scowled. "For all we know, she could still be in there, and you're trying to throw us off!"

Slade stared blankly at her, then snorted loudly. Laurel didn't even bother hiding her laughter. "I'm beginning to truly wonder what the kid was thinking when he found you," Slade told her. "Very funny," Rene stepped forward.

Slade's gun was drawn and aimed at Rene in less than a second. "Not one more step," he warned.

Rene's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "You won't shoot me."

"I won't?" Slade tilted his head. "Do you think you know me so well?"

"None of you know us," Laurel looked at the three opposing vigilantes. "You never trained with us aside from an occasional helping hand. You never really knew what made us tick."

"We know you're trying to set yourselves straight," Dinah smirked. "You're not gonna sacrifice Oliver's and Kara's trust by harming us."

"You pissed Kara off," Slade deadpanned. "And Oliver agreed that the three of you wouldn't stop unless you were stopped."

"Guess who volunteered to stop you," Malcolm added for good measure.

"You're not getting Evelyn," Laurel declared. "This ends tonight. Right here, right now."

"Last chance," Slade warned.

"And be glad we're offering that," Laurel glared.

Rene drew one of his guns, and faster than any of their eyes could see, Malcolm drew, sighted, and shot an arrow. Rene's gun went flying, and as Dinah opened her mouth to scream, Laurel slid in front of the archer, screaming before she could. Dinah was flung backwards, and Laurel charged after her. "Well," Malcolm turned to face Curtis as Slade faced down Rene. "Don't say we didn't warn you." Curtis flung two T-spheres into the air, and Malcolm eyed them before snorting. "Cute. _Real_ cute."

Rene lunged for his gun, but Slade's boot stepped down on his fingers, making Rene hiss. "Be glad I'm not on mirakuru," the Aussie sneered. "I wouldn't have even given you _one_ chance." He kicked Rene's gun further away and reached up, drawing his sword. "Especially not to a betrayer."

"You're protecting a betrayer!" Rene protested, rolling into a crouch.

"The difference between you and Evelyn is that Evelyn is doing what she can to rectify her mistakes," Slade countered. "Time spent since her betrayal has started turning her better. For you . . . _worse."_

Rene yelled angrily and charged Slade, but the Aussie swerved to the side, dodging with ease. Rene caught himself and turned, but Slade ducked low and grabbed Rene's arm, flipping the man over his shoulder and to the ground.

A few feet away, Curtis watched Malcolm fire arrows at his T-spheres, then snorted. _"That_ is cute. You're wasting arrows."

Malcolm smirked. "Am I?" He fired another arrow, this time when the spheres were closer together, and both exploded, the blast knocking Curtis back and to the ground. _"That's_ cute," he countered smugly.

Laurel approached Dinah with a scowl on her face, Dinah twirling her staff in what would be a threatening manner to those without combat experience. "Your move, _Canary,"_ the blonde metahuman sneered the name like it was trash.

Dinah sped forward, swinging quickly. Laurel leaned backwards to avoid the swing, and as Dinah entered a spin to hit her again, she dropped to one knee, lowering her head. She felt the wind rush above her, then screamed at Dinah's feet. The scream bounced off the ground and smacked Dinah like an uppercut, knocking her backwards. Laurel drew a knife from her boot, slowly standing. "You see, we could have just talked this out," she said, walking towards Dinah. "But instead, you just chose more aggression. And you deliver aggression? You'll get aggression right back."

Curtis scrambled to his feet, but Malcolm swung with his bow and drew his sword in the same motion. Curtis deflected the bow with his arm, but yelped when Malcolm's sword sliced across his other arm. He staggered backwards, reaching for another sphere, but Malcolm spun on the spot in a circle, kicking out with his foot and swiping with both weapons. He knocked Curtis's feet out from under him, sliced across Curtis's shoulder, and brought his bow hard into Curtis's head. The man collapsed to the ground, winded, and Malcolm pressed his sword to Curtis's throat. "Stop!" Curtis held his hands up, wincing.

"Would you have stopped if Evelyn asked you to?" Malcolm asked coldly.

"I never wanted to kill her!"

"That didn't answer my question!"

"Yes!" Curtis finally burst out. "I would have!"

"Good enough," Malcolm smirked, pressing his sword closer. "Stay down." When he stepped back, Curtis slumped, panting for breath. "Good. Guess one of you finally knows when it's time to stop."

"You want aggression?" Dinah growled. "Fine!"

Laurel opened her mouth to scream, but Dinah ran at her faster than she expected, and Laurel stumbled back, caught off guard enough that Dinah's swing hit her hard across the shoulder. Laurel lurched violently to the side, knife falling to the ground as she lost her grip. Dinah was on a warpath now, swinging like a berserker, Laurel having to keep constantly moving just to avoid being hit. She couldn't stop and scream even if she tried.

Dinah suddenly swung with one hand and hit her with a left hook with the other, and Laurel's head whipped to the side, a pained cry escaping her mouth. Then Dinah's staff went around her neck, and Laurel retched, grabbing at the metal cutting off her air. "You won't stop me," the brunette meta hissed.

"Oliver said you were killing people when he found you," Laurel choked out. "Guess you haven't changed a bit."

Dinah growled and opened her mouth, then gasped in her ear. The grip around her went slack, and Laurel stumbled away as Dinah's staff fell to the ground. She turned to see the dampening collar around Dinah's neck and a tranquilizer arrow between her shoulder blades. Laurel watched Dinah topple to the ground, her eyes sliding closed, and she absently reached up, rubbing her own throat. "You all right?" Malcolm asked, walking up.

"Yeah," Laurel nodded, looking up at him. "Thanks."

"You'd have done the same for me," Malcolm shook his head.

Laurel smiled, then reached up and kissed his cheek. "I know I would have."

The brawl between Slade and Rene was still going on, though it was clear who was more experienced and who still had the strength to continue. Slade had backed Rene up to a wood pile, and the Aussie watched Rene grab the axe from the stump. He tilted his head, then tightened his grip on his sword. "Curtis and Dinah are down," he warned. "Stand down, Rene. Final warning."

"No way!" Rene charged, axe up to bear.

Malcolm tensed, but Laurel held up a hand. "This is Slade's fight," she told him. "You wouldn't want interference if Rene had done what he did to Thea instead of Oliver." Malcolm bristled, but understood the point, stepping back to watch sparks fly as Slade's sword met the blade of the axe Rene was swinging.

It looked like it took no effort for Slade to swing just right and nick Rene's arm, causing him to drop the axe like it was burning hot. Slade swung again, and Rene cried out in pain as Slade's blade connected with his legs. He crumbled to the ground, and Slade growled lowly, walking up and putting a foot on Rene's back, keeping him pinned. "What do you want to bet that all of that swinging possibly caused your stitches to reopen?" he asked casually, seeing Rene's eyes widen through his mask. "And I gave you another chance to stop. You weren't even worth my time. You're not a fighter compared to Oliver. You wouldn't have stood a chance against him . . . and I'm the one who taught him how to fight." He swung the hilt of his sword, hitting Rene in the head and knocking him out. Rene collapsed to the ground, and Slade removed his foot, backing up to join Malcolm and Laurel. "Any difficulty?" he asked.

"None," Malcolm shook his head, looking over at where Curtis was glaring at them, but staying down like he was told. "I felt like I was facing a rookie in Nanda Parbat."

"I managed," Laurel put her hands on her hips. "With a helping hand."

"So what do we do with the three of them?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow, looking around.

Slade looked away from Curtis to where Dinah was out cold on the ground, Malcolm's tranquilizer arrow still in her back, then down to where Rene was in a heap on the ground. "Call the Legionnaires," he finally said. "They can handle them."

"Will do," Malcolm nodded.

"Meanwhile," Slade turned around, "we have a call to make."

Laurel smirked, following after him as they headed towards the car they had drove in to arrive. "Yes, we do."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Thank you for the tour, Director J'onzz," Evelyn smiled shyly as she, J'onn, and Kara walked down the steps at the D.E.O. "I . . . didn't think you'd trust me to see it all."

"Well, that was the basics of the building," J'onn shook his head. "I think you'll find that the majority of the Earth-1ers bunk here. You might as well know the general layout."

"We've got incoming!" Winn suddenly shouted from the main area.

Kara's head shot up, and she hurried down the stairs as Felicity and Winn stood from their chairs, Oliver, Dig, Imra, and James coming from where they were conversing as a breach hissed open. It had barely formed before Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel jumped out. "Not a scratch," Malcolm smirked triumphantly.

"Yes!" Kara cheered in relief, running forward and hugging him. "Oh, thank God!"

"Oh, good to see you three," Oliver sighed.

"Good to be away from those three," Slade snorted, giving his brother a hug.

"What happened?" Evelyn asked, hurrying up to Laurel.

"Well, they learned a very valuable lesson after they continually decided not to stand down despite many warnings," Laurel answered, folding her arms and smiling. "They don't mess with the three of us unless they want to get beaten up _very_ badly."

"How bad are we talking about?" Winn asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"Well, I got Curtis on his arm and shoulder and gave him a bow to the head," Malcolm shrugged. "Dinah got a dampener collar and a tranquilizer in the back, and whatever hell Laurel rained on her."

"Rene was cut in the arm and the legs," Slade answered. "And considering the axe swinging he attempted when he refused to stand down the last time I asked him to, the wound from when he was shot most likely reopened."

"Whoa," Kara swallowed hard. "That's . . . a lot."

"We warned them multiple times, almas," Malcolm told her. "It's their fault they didn't listen."

"We tried to talk, they used aggression," Laurel nodded. "So we used aggression right back."

"Which I highly doubt they will want to revisit any time soon," Slade added dryly.

Evelyn licked her lips. "So I'm safe?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Yes," Laurel smiled. "You're safe."

Evelyn let out a small sob of relief, hand covering her mouth, and Kara hurried over to give her a hug, Laurel joining her. Oliver watched them with a fond smile, then looked back at the others. "Now's when you're going to tell me you left them out there, isn't it?"

"Of course not, kid," Slade shook his head. "We contacted the Legionnaires to get them."

Oliver snorted. "Of course you did."

"We'd wasted enough time on them," Slade snorted. "But speaking of time, kid . . . don't you have somewhere to be?"

Oliver smiled. "That I do."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver walked out of the elevator at City Hall, seeing Quentin and Thea waiting for him. "City reps are all waiting," Thea reported, a smile on her face. "They know nothing."

"It's all there?" Oliver asked.

"All there," Quentin nodded. "Evelyn came through."

"That is what I needed to hear after the last forty-eight hours," Oliver relaxed. "Shall we?"

"After you," Thea held out a hand to the conference room.

As soon as Oliver stepped inside, the shouting began. This time, it only took Oliver raising a hand for them to quiet down, and he took a seat, Thea on his right, Quentin on his left. "Thank you," he said, looking around the table. "Now, it is my pleasure to inform everyone that the money extorted from us by the cyber terrorist Cayden James has been recovered thanks to an anonymous source. All seventy million dollars has been returned to Star City where it belongs."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Alex Danvers_**

"The news isn't good," Dr. Schwartz told Dinah and Rene as they stood from their chairs in the waiting room, Dinah standing up stiffly, Curtis more slowly and rubbing his head. "Mr. Ramirez suffered a traumatic hemothorax. We were able to stop the bleeding in his chest, but the injury also caused his lung to recollapse. Now, given the severity of your friend's injuries, I'm recommending he be transferred to a facility that can provide the care he needs outside of Star City." Curtis nodded, biting his lip as Dinah sighed and closed her eyes. "Mr. Ramirez is resting now. You and your friends will have to wait to see him."

"What friends?" Curtis frowned.

"We thought Rene would be here," Felicity's voice answered.

Dinah tensed, turning around, scoffing when she saw Dig and Felicity were there, as were Alex and Mon-El. "Well, of course he's here," she said, jerking her chin out at Mon-El. "He saw what Slade did to him."

"So something Slade did caused the wound to reopen?" Mon-El raised an eyebrow. "Slade said he gave Rene repeated warnings, which he ignored."

"He would say that," Dinah huffed.

"How's Rene doing?" Dig cut in.

"You've lost the right to ask that question," Curtis snapped.

"You four need to leave," Dinah agreed.

"No," Felicity shook her head. "No, not until you tell us if Rene's OK. This is not – "

"No, no, Felicity," Alex shook her head, holding out her hand. "You see, you'll just keep encouraging them to tantrum."

" _Excuse me?"_ Curtis gawked at her, bristling. "We are not – !"

"John lost the right to that question?" Alex got right in his face. "Really? I guess that means you lost the right to even be within walking distance. We were there with Brainy when he intercepted _your_ hack. The one that would have disabled the implant in his arm, brought the tremor back."

"John is the reason Rene was shot!" Curtis protested.

"And I'm pretty sure Rene forgave him for that, and you volunteered to help find a way to fix the tremor that caused the shot," Alex raised an eyebrow. "Or did all of that change when you got this vendetta against Evelyn because of Vincent?"

"Do not – !" Dinah snarled, stepping forward.

"And don't you start," Alex pointed at her. "You wear that badge, you say you stand for justice. How is killing a teenager for actions that weren't of her own will _justice?"_ She scoffed in disgust, backing up. "I don't even recognize you anymore."

Mon-El watched Alex storm down the hall, then looked back at them. "You're welcome for getting you here, by the way," he added, starting to back up as well.

"Let's go," Dig nudged Felicity gently.

"Yeah," she nodded weakly, stepping back.

"Those three did this to us," Dinah sneered, gesturing to the white of a bandage peeking out under Curtis's collar, to her own back. "Those three you trust? That Kara calls siblings? People like them don't change. They did this without mercy!"

Felicity flinched and sped up her pace, Dig giving the two one last look before following her.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton/Oliver Queen_**

William looked up from his homework, brightening when he saw Oliver enter. "Dad!" he greeted happily, standing up. "They said in school that we didn't have to close!"

"Nothing's closing, buddy," Oliver smiled. "Not by a long shot."

"Good," William smiled, seeing Kara walk in, too. "How did you – "

He cut off when he saw the dark-haired girl who slipped in behind Kara, a duffel bag over her shoulder. "Hi," she smiled shyly.

William blinked a few times. "Hi," he finally managed to say as well, looking between his dad and Kara.

"Evelyn got the money," Kara explained. "And she's cut ties with everyone she worked with before."

"And no offense to Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel, but the place they stay at is good for the three of them, not including Evelyn," Oliver added.

"I'm sorry for everything I did that affected you," Evelyn hesitantly stepped forward. "I'll stay out of your way while I'm here, if that's what you want."

William looked at her for a few seconds, then took a deep breath. "We have a few extra homemade cookies," he offered. "If you want one, that is."

Evelyn blinked, clearly surprised by the offer, before a grin formed on her face. "I'd love one."

"Dad?" William looked at Oliver.

"Go on," Oliver chuckled.

William grinned, and Evelyn gave him a quick smile and a mouthed "thank you" before following William to one of the cupboards. "So we're going with the housing excuse and not the 'he may be a good influence on her' reason?" Kara asked quietly, linking their fingers together.

"He may figure that out on his own," Oliver smiled.

Kara sighed, watching William and Evelyn each pick a cookie, Evelyn's eyes brightening in delight. "I can't believe this ended so well. I mean, save for Rene being in the hospital. But all seventy million dollars is back, Evelyn is safe . . . "

"I know," Oliver nodded, though his smile faded slightly. "Everything worked out."

So why did he have the same uneasy feeling he had had back at the cabin?

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel pulled her cap down tighter over her head, shadowing her face as she walked back towards the apartment she shared with the guys, watching the news report of Oliver's speech on her phone. "How about that, Cayden," she chuckled. "You can't win, even when you're dead."

She rounded the corner, and for the first time the entire time she had ever walked the route, she found someone standing in her path. Laurel slowed her steps, giving the man standing there a long look before going to walk around him. The man shifted, standing in her path.

Heart sinking, Laurel turned around to head back the way she had come, only to find the path blocked from behind as well, this time by two people. She swallowed hard, slipping her phone into her pocket. "So that's how it's gonna be," she muttered, taking a deep breath and opening her mouth.

No sound came out, and heart thumping wildly, Laurel reached up to her throat. Where was her cry? One of the men chuckled, pointing upwards, and Laurel looked up, swallowing when she saw a familiar device in the shadows of one of the fire escapes. _Sonic dampener._ "Lose your voice?" he taunted.

Laurel took a deep breath. "Just turn away and leave," she said, hoping to hide the tremble in her voice. "No one has to get hurt."

"The thing is, Laurel," the man who originally blocked her said, making Laurel blanch, _"you_ do."

The three charged at the same time, and Laurel yanked her knife from its sheath on her belt. She stabbed the first in the neck, tossing the gurgling man into one of the others and snap kicking the third, knocking him back with all her might. A clatter from the fire escape made her look up, and she blanched, seeing three more men jump down. Panicking, she raced towards the entrance of the alley, just barely stopping before she ran into the four men slinking into view. Laurel gulped, readjusting her grip on her knife, then did the first thing she could think of. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and smashed it on the ground, stabbing it through with her knife as well. Chances were if this was going to end how she feared it would, she did not want that phone to trace to anyone.

The next minutes were a blur to her as she swerved and ducked and dodged and swung, but even she had her limits against thugs that seemed to pour from nowhere. She remembered being struck in the back of the head and again in the face, bruising her left side and getting blood in her eye. Then there was searing pain in her left side, and Laurel collapsed with a thud, groaning in pain.

She could have been unconscious for an unknown amount of time, but then she heard the wail of a police siren, and she jerked, groaning when pain came from everywhere on her body. "No," she gasped weakly. "No . . . please, no – "

"She just appeared out of nowhere," a man's voice from just above her said as doors slammed. "She said she was kidnapped two years ago, and then she just collapsed!"

"Ma'am," a calm voice said above her. "What's your name?"

"No," Laurel slurred, her vision blurring again. "No . . . "

"Wait," another voice said, this one sounding shocked. "I know that voice."

"Ma'am," the first calm voice said again. "What's your name?"

Laurel closed her eyes, defeated. _Quentin, forgive me._ "Laurel," she whispered. "My name is Laurel Lance."

* * *

 **A/N: Cue the Canary theme. I seem to torture Laurel a lot, don't I? Poor girl . . . she didn't exactly choose to have this happen to her.**

 **How did you all like the fight? Malcolm and Slade would have theirs in the bag, but I figured since Dinah was the most motivated out of her team, she would give Siren a run for her money.**

 **So, no promises on when "Doppelganger" will begin, but hey - you guys have Roy to look forward to next time!**


	73. Arrow - Doppelgänger - Part One

**These next two episodes are when I can get more creative juices flowing, so hopefully everyone enjoys what I'm about to do!**

 **Oliver's bad feeling turns out to be for a good reason, Team Arrow is worried for that good reason, and then they get even more worried for another good reason.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

The breaking news of Cayden's death was still on the TV screen in Oliver's office as he worked on his laptop, checking in with city officials regarding the money they had recovered. He was still finding it difficult to believe that all seventy million was back in Star City, not a single penny missing. _Good job, Evelyn,_ he thought to himself.

The door to his office opened, and he looked up, closing his laptop as Thea entered. "Ollie?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning the news off.

"Jean here has some good news for you," Thea told him, walking in with his lawyer.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. Having so many good things happen this many times in a row was unusual. "I'm only used to good news if it's accompanied by bad news," he admitted, standing up to greet Jean.

"Well, this news is unequivocal, Oliver," Jean smirked. "I can get this case against you _dismissed."_

Oliver did a double take, staring at her in shock. "Uh," he stammered out, stunned. "Have – have a seat," he gestured, seeing Thea grin behind Jean. "Tell me more."

"I pored over the discovery documents produced by the district attorney," Jean explained as the three of them sat down. "Apparently, the FBI leveraged Rene Ramirez to testify against you based on surveillance that was leaked by a known criminal."

"Cayden James," Thea clarified.

"Fruit of the poisonous tree," Jean nodded along with Oliver. "It's a legal metaphor positing that if the source of the evidence is tainted, the evidence itself is tainted. Mr. James' actions were not only illegal, but his death makes it impossible to corroborate the evidence against Mr. Ramirez."

"So if there's no case against Rene, there's no case against me?" Oliver asked.

Jean nodded in confirmation. "We're going before Judge McGarvey on my motion to dismiss this afternoon."

Oliver swallowed hard. "Jean, are you sure? You – you can just make this go away?"

"Ollie, she's positive," Thea nodded, beaming happily. "I know you're not used to getting good news, but this is what it sounds like."

Oliver looked at Jean, trying to figure out what to say in response to Jean when Quentin walked in from the door connecting his office to Oliver's. "Mr. Mayor!" he said sharply. "We got an emergency at SCPD."

 _And there it is,_ Oliver thought with a sigh. "Like I said, it was accompanied by some bad news," he grumbled, then looked at Jean. "Jean, this is wonderful. I will see you at the courthouse this afternoon."

"OK," Jean smiled, heading for the door.

Oliver stood up from his desk, moving to Quentin, who looked like he was torn between being angry or worried. "What's up?" he asked.

"Laurel just walked into police headquarters," Quentin answered.

"What did she do that for?" Thea's eyes widened as Oliver did a double take.

"I doubt it was on her terms," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. Laurel had been perfectly content hiding in the shadows. Why would she do this? "Do you know anything else?"

"Yeah," Quentin scowled. "She told them she's Laurel Lance – _our_ Laurel Lance."

That made even _less_ sense.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"OK, not that I'm not a fan of hers, because she has seriously gained my respect in less than a year," Thea said as they walked into SCPD headquarters, "but why is she claiming to be Laurel Lance?"

"Especially _now?"_ Oliver couldn't help but agree. "Our Laurel was the Black Canary. She's at risk for people finding out she's – " He hushed his voice as they passed a few officers. "Black Siren."

"She'll be living a lie," Quentin scowled. "One big lie, and considering she's the lookalike of my daughter, I don't know whether to be pissed at her or concerned for her."

Thea was the first around the corner, and she froze in her tracks. "I'd say the latter, Quentin."

When both men turned the corner, they also froze when they saw the state Laurel was in. "I woke up in a cell," Laurel was stammering, eyes flickering between reporters and cameramen that surrounded her, a few police officers behind her. "And I managed to break down the door, and I just – I ran."

"Oh, my God," Quentin stared in horror at the bruises painted on Laurel's skin, especially visible on her face, along with dried blood from a cut, some of which was stained on her cheeks along with running mascara. The clothes on her left side were dyed scarlet from blood as well.

"What _happened_ to her?" Thea breathed in shock.

"They held you for two years?" one of the reporters asked.

"I don't remember," Laurel shook her head, sniffing. "They kept me drugged."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Kara! You need to see this!"

"What?" Kara asked, walking out of her room, noting Evelyn's panicked voice. "What's going – " She took one look at the TV and stopped in her tracks, face draining of all color. "Oh, Rao."

"The Black Canary was reported _dead,_ killed in a prison riot," a reporter offscreen prompted.

Laurel swallowed hard, eyes darting around. "Damien Darhk – he stabbed me," she was saying, her voice wobbling, "and the next thing I knew, I was – I was in – I was in that cell."

"She wasn't like that yesterday!" Evelyn looked up at Kara in terror. "What happened to her?"

Kara swallowed hard, fumbling on the counter for her phone. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out," she promised. "As soon as I find something out, I'll let you know, OK?"

"OK," Evelyn gulped, turning back to the news.

Kara finally dialed the number she was looking for, quickly slipping into her shoes and heading for the door. "OK, don't panic, but you need to check the news, _right now,"_ she said, running towards the elevator.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Laurel Lance_**

"Why would Damien Darhk do this to you?" the first reporter asked.

"Why would he fake your death?" the second reporter pressed.

Laurel gulped, her eyes finally landing on Oliver. He cautiously gave her a nod, slowly stepping forward. He trusted her to be careful with her words, even though she looked like she would rather be anywhere but where she was. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "I don't know why he would want to fake my death," she answered. "Maybe . . . maybe to torture the Green Arrow?"

The second reporter pounced on the opportunity. "So you know who the Green Arrow is?"

Laurel's eyes flashed to his, and Oliver quickly cut his way through the reporters, doing his best to look stunned; it wasn't that hard, looking over how injured she appeared. "Laurel!"

"Ollie!" Laurel took her cue at once, hugging him tightly. "Ollie! Oh, I never thought I'd see you again." Oliver gave her a small squeeze of reassurance, then Laurel swallowed hard, seeing Quentin. "Daddy!" she hurried past Oliver to him. "Daddy! Oh, Dad!" Oliver slid in the path of reporters as they tried to follow Laurel, and as she hugged Quentin, she quietly whispered in his ear, "I'm so sorry."

Quentin hugged her to him protectively, glaring over her shoulder as the reporters turned on Oliver next. "You notably outed Ms. Lance as the Black Canary at her funeral," the first reporter said. "That now seems a little suspicious in light of the recent allegations that you are the Green Arrow."

"It doesn't, and it's not," Oliver shook his head. "I have made no secret of the fact that when necessary, I have been in contact with Green Arrow and his team. He told me about Laurel Lance. Well, I wasn't talking to myself."

Like clockwork, all the reporters turned to Laurel, who flinched at the attention she received, Quentin scowling and tugging her closer. "Is that true, Ms. Lance?" the reporter demanded. "Ms. Lance, is Oliver Queen the Green Arrow?"

Oliver saw Laurel give him a deer in the headlights look, clearly uncertain whether to keep silent or deny the fact. "I really do think that Ms. Lance could use some time with her family and some privacy," he said.

"Let's go," Quentin agreed, helping Laurel move forward.

All the reporters clamored at once, asking more questions. Laurel ducked her head down, trying to avoid the questions, and once Quentin and Laurel made it past, Oliver and Thea walked after them, police officers blocking the reporters when they were gone.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Inside," Oliver opened the door to the interrogation room, ushering Laurel in. She did quickly, anxiously shuffling from foot to foot. The second Quentin clicked the button to shut the security feed down, she collapsed onto the table, only to wince and whimper in pain. "What happened?" Oliver made his way in front of her, tilting her head to check the cut on her face.

"It was last night, when the night news aired that you got the money back," Laurel winced, taking a few deep breaths. "I had it on my phone, I was watching it. I took the normal route back, the way I've always gone. I got jumped, Oliver, and it wasn't an accident."

"But your cry," Quentin frowned in confusion.

"Sonic dampener in the fire escape," Laurel answered, making Quentin balk. "Like I said, it wasn't an accident."

"And then?" Oliver prompted.

She took a deep breath. "Well, after they did . . . _this_ . . . I think I passed out. I don't know how long it was, but I remember the police arriving. I tried to say no, I tried to get out of it, but I couldn't move, not like this." She ducked her head. "Whoever did this to me told them I said I was kidnapped for two years. The police recognized me. I had to say I was Laurel."

"Well, you couldn't exactly say you were her long-lost twin," Thea sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sorry," Laurel swallowed, looking up at Oliver. "I didn't plan this, you have to believe me!"

"I do," Oliver assured her, sighing and giving her a small hug, realizing just how shaken Laurel was by this. "This is on whoever did this to you."

"Well, there's only three logical options, right?" Quentin looked around.

"Anatoli, Diaz, or Talia," Oliver agreed grimly. "Whoever manipulated Cayden James into thinking I killed his son, because that's probably who killed James, too."

"And now they're gunning for your new team," Thea sighed.

"I think we can count Talia out, then," Quentin thought out loud.

"Why?" Thea frowned.

Quentin snorted. "I think she has a grudge against your father. She'd make a case to target him first."

"She'd probably do it herself, too," Oliver mused.

"So there's two choices," Laurel bit her lip. "Anatoli or Diaz."

"Neither good," Oliver grumbled with a sigh. "Well, we have two goals now. One, figure out who did this to you because it's most likely who killed James and set him up."

"And goal two?" Thea raised an eyebrow.

"Hope Kara got to Slade and Malcolm before they saw the news or before they went on a rampage in my city trying to find who did this to you," Oliver answered, heading for the door. He stopped at it, then turned to look at Laurel. "I'm glad you're OK," he told her.

"Me, too," Laurel smiled back.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver was walking towards the exit of SCPD when his phone rang. He checked the Caller ID, then sighed and answered. "She's fine," he said quickly.

He heard three sighs of relief on the other end. "What happened?" Kara asked. "She looked _awful!"_

"She looks like she just escaped Damien Darhk," Oliver answered grimly, raising an eyebrow as he walked past Dinah. "Hello," he said in a neutral tone.

"Don't talk to me," she snapped.

Oliver sighed and continued walking. "Whoever did this was smart," he continued. "Force her back into the spotlight, everyone's eyes are gonna be on her – they already are. We might be down one until this winds down, and there's no telling when that's gonna be."

"But she's OK?" Malcolm asked.

"She's shaken, but yes," Oliver nodded, even though the other archer couldn't see him. "She's OK."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah looked around the bustling department, then walked over to one officer's desk. "What's all the fuss?" she asked.

"Laurel Lance just turned up alive," the officer answered, making Dinah frown. "Believe it or not, she's actually – "

"I know who she is," Dinah interrupted, straightening up and heading for the captain's office. "Captain Hill?" She looked up from her paperwork, and Dinah walked in. "Can I talk to you for a minute? It's about Laurel Lance."

"That's a hell of a thing, isn't it?" Hill smiled. "She said they faked her death and then she was held captive for two years."

"Yeah, it sure is," Dinah plastered a smile on her face. "Anyone catch that case yet?"

"You want it, it's yours," Hill told her. "But right now, she's going to the hospital for a GSW."

"I'm patient," Dinah said with a satisfactory smile.

Maybe the blonde metahuman wasn't the one responsible for putting her on the ground in their last fight, but she was still dangerous. And any way to find out where Evelyn was now, Laurel would know.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

Curtis knocked on Rene's apartment door, smiling when Zoe cracked the door open. "C-dawg!" she grinned when she saw it was him.

"Hey, Zoe!" Curtis smiled wider as she let him in. "Great, love that that nickname's sticking around. That's amazing," he muttered under his breath.

"The babysitter had to go home two hours ago," Zoe closed the door and turned to him. "Where's my dad?"

Curtis bit his lip, then gestured to the table. "Have a seat." When they were both seated, Curtis took a deep breath. "Something happened," he told her. "He's gonna be OK, but I need to tell you about it."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"This is inappropriate," Jean all but growled at the meeting with McGarvey that afternoon. "My motion should be heard in open court!"

"I requested it be heard in chambers," Armand told her.

"Oh, to what?" Jean raised an eyebrow. "Hide the embarrassment of having your case dismissed?"

"Actually, we're taking Mr. Ramirez off our witness list," Armand shook his head.

Jean scoffed. "Considering he was your sole witness against Mr. Queen, I renew my motion to have this case – "

"He's not our sole witness," Armand corrected.

" _What?"_ Jean asked sharply as Oliver shot a glance at Armand, not liking where this was heading. Had someone else come forward? "No, no, no, no," Jean shook her head. "Discovery on this case is closed!"

"This is newly discovered information, Your Honor," Armand told the judge. "We'll make the witness' proffer available to the defense in accordance with _Brady v. Maryland."_

"Who is the witness?" Oliver asked, still trying to think of who they possibly could have found.

"Someone with enemies on both sides of the law," Armand answered.

"That's why we're doing this in chambers and why I granted the district attorney's request for a suppression order," McGarvey nodded.

"Right, I get it, it's sensitive," Jean scowled. "What is the witness' name?"

Armand looked past Jean to Oliver, a small smirk on his face. "Roy Harper."

Oliver was certain his fiancée could have heard his heart skip a beat at the mention of that name.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Oliver Queen_**

"Apparently, it's team reunion day," Malcolm remarked dryly as he paced the bunker restlessly; according to Kara, he hadn't stopped moving since the news had broke with "Laurel's" resurrection.

"Except I don't think this team member wanted to be found," Slade pointed out.

"Slade's right," Felicity nodded. _"We_ didn't know where he was. We didn't even know what name he was working under. I didn't think anybody did."

"So how did they find Roy?" Kara frowned in confusion.

"Isn't that the question," Malcolm sighed.

"Dad, can you stop?" Thea finally spoke for the first time, making Malcolm look over at her. "It's just – you're making me more anxious now."

Malcolm blinked, seeming to realize he was still pacing, then nodded and chose instead to lean against the opposite pillar Slade was leaning against. "Did you know?" Oliver asked his sister.

"No," she shook her head. "No. God, I couldn't even find him for your engagement party."

"Doesn't matter how they did it," Dig sighed. "They did. Now we have to figure out what to do next."

"He's definitely not cooperating voluntarily," Thea murmured.

"Well, it's been two years," Felicity thought out loud. "I mean, there might be some pressure points that we don't know about, some people he cares about, some – "

"Felicity," Malcolm's sharp voice cut across her.

Felicity's open mouth clicked shut as she looked over at Thea, seeing the brunette look down. "It's been a long time," she finished meekly with an apologetic look at Malcolm.

"Either way, we need to know what Roy is going to say in court, which means we need to know where he is right now," Oliver said.

"Oliver, he's a state witness," Dig frowned. "I know our whole thing is extralegal, but maybe we should let your lawyer deal with this."

"The DA's office wouldn't have the capabilities of finding Roy," Malcolm pushed off the pillar to lean on the table by Thea.

"So it's either Diaz or Anatoli," Slade frowned thoughtfully.

"Whoever it was tugged strings enough to get Laurel out into the open," Malcolm nodded. "They're still tugging."

"I just want to cut these strings," Kara sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"That makes two of us, almas," Malcolm nodded.

"Well," Felicity cleared her throat, looking up from her tablet. "If you're in the mood for some witness tampering, I think I have a line on where the DA is holding Roy. They've rented out several rooms of the top floor of a hotel downtown."

"Hotel," Dig frowned. "Easily guarded position with lots of civilians. We break in, get spotted, Oliver? We make their case for them."

"Guys, if Dad and Slade are right and Roy is in trouble with Diaz or Anatoli, we need to be _protecting_ him," Thea insisted.

"So we wait until dark to do recon and then find possible points of entry," Oliver nodded.

"What about me?" Kara frowned. "I can do it right now."

"How suspicious will it look if people see Supergirl flying around the building the DA is holding the star witness?" Oliver pointed out, making Kara concede with a sigh. "Your reputation is better than all of ours combined."

"Granted, considering ours," Malcolm nodded between himself and Slade.

"Speak for yourself, wizard," Slade snorted.

" _Magician!"_

"I rest my case," Oliver sighed. "But I promise, if we need your help, I will not hesitate to ask for it."

"OK," Kara nodded reluctantly. "It's just . . . the way you've all talked about Roy . . . I know he's important to all of you. I want to help."

"Thank you, Kara," Thea told her with a smile. "It means a lot."

Kara smiled slightly back.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"No exertion or sudden movements," the nurse told Laurel at the hospital. "Don't want to risk reopening the wound."

Laurel nodded, watching her leave with an impatient look on her face. Quentin cleared his throat from beside her, looking at the officer by the wall. "Could you give us a minute, please?"

The officer stepped away, and Laurel relaxed, happy to finally not have to act. "Am I going to be getting visitors I need to know about in advance?" she asked as Quentin put a duffel on her bed.

"No," Quentin shook her head. "I called Dinah and told her to hold off for a bit while I checked you out. That poor woman's been burned enough by this sort of thing."

Laurel flinched, reaching over for the duffel. "I didn't plan this, you know."

"I know," Quentin sighed, nodding. "I'm sorry, it's just – my daughters keep dying and coming back to life, so forgive me for being a bit tired of it all."

"I understand," Laurel assured him, zipping the bag open and peering through its contents. "More of your Laurel's stuff . . . "

"You're gonna have to pass as the first Laurel, you better get used to her style," Quentin nodded.

Laurel chewed her lip. "No offense . . . but _this_ is _style?"_ Quentin gave her a look, but something caught Laurel's eye and she sighed. "So is my health insurance up to date, or would you mind handling her?" Quentin turned to see Dinah outside, notepad out and ready. "I guess if I have to get used to Laurel's style, I should start by getting into her clothes," Laurel held up the shirt in her hand.

Quentin sighed, reaching up and drawing the curtain around the metahuman.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Quentin Lance_**

Dinah watched with pursed lips as the curtain was drawn, then looked up when Schwartz approached. "Hey," the doctor said, looking expectant.

Well, there was a formerly "dead" woman in one of her hospital beds, so Dinah wasn't that surprised by it. "Laurel Lance," Dinah pointed with her pen towards the bed. "She died in this hospital."

"I pronounced her," Schwartz confirmed. "There was an autopsy. Of course, I've seen my share of things I once would have considered miraculous. I mean, in a world where a man can run faster than light and a woman is stronger than steel, I suppose anything's possible."

"That's why I need to rule out the chance that this person could be an imposter," Dinah told her.

"The DNA test will tell us that," Schwartz told her. "Excuse me."

Dinah watched Schwartz leave, then tapped her pen anxiously, waiting for Laurel to finish. "Hey," Quentin walked up to her.

"Hey," Dinah nodded in response.

"Look, I know what you're doing here, all right?" Quentin frowned. "You're going after Laurel to find Evelyn, and I get that, OK? It's what I would do if someone I loved was dead and they were protecting the person who did it."

"You mean, it's what you _are_ doing," Dinah frowned. "I bet you know where she is, too, don't you? And you're honestly telling me that you're happy she's turned herself into your Laurel?"

Quentin narrowed his eyes. "First off, she didn't do that willingly," he told her. "Second . . . no, I'm not exactly happy, but while she lives as my Laurel – "

"She is _not_ your Laurel," Dinah scowled. "Your Laurel wouldn't protect a murderer."

"Maybe not," Quentin frowned. "But she would protect someone who was forced into committing murder and who had no choice but to do so."

"You know, everyone keeps saying that," Dinah shook her head bitterly. "I have yet to see proof."

"You haven't exactly been willing to see it," Quentin retorted.

"I was there to see it happen," Dinah snapped. "I saw."

"Then you're damn good at seeing things one way and one way only," Quentin shook his head.

Dinah scowled at him, then looked back at the curtain hiding Laurel's bed. "What's taking her so long?" she growled, heading back inside. She pulled the curtain back, only to see the nurse from before jump in surprise as she changed the bedding. "Where'd she go?" Dinah demanded, Quentin blanching when he saw nothing of Laurel was left.

"The police officer took her," the nurse stammered out. "Said something about a safe house."

"No, no," Dinah shook her head rapidly. _"I_ am the lead detective on this case." The nurse shook her head helplessly, and Dinah glared at Quentin as he hurried to the other entrance, trying to see if there was any trace of them left. "You did this," she accused.

"What are you talking about?" Quentin scowled. "I want to know where she is, too, you know!"

Dinah sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel frowned uneasily as the police officer got in the front of the car, clearly not waiting for anyone else. "Is my father not coming?" she asked. The officer looked at her in the rearview, then turned his key in the ignition. "Where are you taking me?" she asked, putting some steel in her voice.

"To see Mr. Diaz," the officer answered.

Laurel's eyes widened as the car drove off. The good news was she now knew who was behind outing her to Star City. The bad news was she was heading right towards him with no backup and no way to contact anyone.

Why did the past twenty-four hours have to throw her off her game so much?

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"I'm a bit surprised you're out here," Oliver told Malcolm as they and Dig stood on the roof of the building opposite the hotel.

"Look, I've got my life turned around – or it's getting there," Malcolm told Oliver as they made their way to the railing at the building's edge. "Thea's been part of that, and I know how much Roy means to her. There's no way I'm sitting any part of this out."

Oliver smirked. "Careful. You're getting soft."

Malcolm snorted. "You wish."

Oliver shook his head, focusing on the hotel in front of them. "Guessing Roy's in the room with the police outside."

Dig pressed the side of his helmet, and he grimaced at what he saw with the thermal readings. "Yeah . . . reading the wrong end of a phone book. It's risky terrain."

"You just told me he's getting beaten on," Oliver frowned. "You still not sure we should do this?"

"Two-man team on the balcony," Dig pointed out. "If we can get past them, that's our best bet."

"Fine," Malcolm nodded.

"John, he's in there because of me," Oliver told his friend. "He's been on the run for _three_ _years."_

"Oliver, that's his choice," Dig reminded him.

"I know that," Oliver seethed, "but did I learn anything from it? Roy put on the hood. He sacrificed himself for me, and I asked you to do the same thing at the expense of your safety and your family."

"Difference was I _wanted_ to put on the hood, Oliver," Dig shook his head, and Malcolm tensed, getting the feeling he knew where this was going, and this was _not_ the place for this at all. "Listen, I've been good for the past two months – _good_ – but instead of giving me back the hood, you've had Cisco make me a new suit – "

"There's a fifteen-second opening when they change shifts," Malcolm interrupted, and he felt Oliver give him a grateful look and Dig give him a less than kind one. He brushed that look off easily – this wasn't the place for that conversation, not when someone who meant a lot to most of the team, especially to his daughter, was in danger in the building in front of them.

"That's our window," Oliver nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Malcolm."

"You're welcome," Malcolm nodded, side-eyeing Dig as he turned around. "Let's let Thea know."

Oliver nodded, the two archers departing from the rooftop, leaving Dig to look over at the hotel in frustration before he followed behind the two other men.

* * *

 **A/N: A bit off topic, but I'm a bit curious as to who noticed there was a bit of a parallel scene last chapter: I tried to model Malcolm saving Laurel from Dinah after when he saved Earth-1 Laurel during the fight against the League in Arrow 3x22. Did anyone see it, or am I imagining that I tried to connect them?**

 **Oh, well. Next chapter will come whenever I get it written!**


	74. Doppelgänger - Part Two

**Team Arrow sets out to rescue Roy, Quentin and Dinah learn something disturbing from Oliver, and Laurel comes face to face with who has now become the team's big bad in Star City.**

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel made no secret that she was not happy to be in her current situation as the police officer led her into an abandoned casino in Star City. When she was stopped in front of Anatoli Knyazev playing solitaire, she remained silent, giving him the nastiest look she could.

He just gave her an innocent look in response. "We got her from here," the man at his right told the officer. "Head back to SCPD before you're missed."

The police officer left, and Anatoli smiled at her. "Laurel! Svozvrashcheniyem." He paused, then tilted his head. "Is it Laurel or Laurel these days? So confusing, this doppelgänger business, but you seem to figure it out."

"I know Diaz killed Cayden James," Laurel told him bluntly.

"He told me," Anatoli shrugged. "No honor among thieves . . . or crime lords, I guess. Oh, well."

Laurel scowled, looking at the Russian Oliver had once considered a friend. "Diaz manipulated you and Talia and Evelyn. He lied to all of you. This whole time, he's had his own agenda. That doesn't bother you?"

"I'm not sentimental," Anatoli shook his head. "I am Russian. I am in this city for two reasons only. One is revenge against Oliver Queen, and two is money. I'm happy to work with whoever can get me either."

"Well, I see two things after you say that," Laurel smirked. "One, good luck getting money because we got it all back. And two? You're also only in this city because the Bratva cast you out."

Anatoli's look soured. "Well, there's that, too."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"How'd it go?" Kara asked as the trio exited the elevator.

"There is a fifteen-second window where neither roof guard is watching the HVAC vent," Oliver answered. "We can get in that way."

"All right," Thea nodded, taking a deep breath. "Well, did you see him? Is he OK?"

Oliver paused. "We can get him out," he answered instead.

"I know," Thea nodded. "And I'm coming with you."

Oliver blinked, then opened his mouth, but clicked it shut when Malcolm chuckled. "I'd've thought you were sick if you were about to say you weren't."

"Dad, it's _Roy,"_ Thea said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Exactly," Malcolm nodded.

Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to tell you not to do this?"

"Would you want us to tell you that if it was Kara who was in there?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Point taken," Oliver conceded.

"Besides, I may be the only one who can fit through the vents," Thea said, looking around. "Though it would be entertaining to see any of you try to."

"I'll give it a go," Kara volunteered.

"Kara," Oliver began.

"Don't ruin the reputation, I know, you've said it, but . . . " Kara took a deep breath. "Thea may need a hand getting Roy out. I don't need my hands free to get out of a place like that."

Oliver sighed and nodded. "OK," he looked around. "So Malcolm, Thea, Kara, and I go out there and get Roy."

Thea smiled triumphantly, turning around and walking over to where her bow was contained. "I'm assuming my suit's location hasn't changed since I used it against the Nazis?"

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

The quartet walked across the roof moments later, Thea back in full Speedy attire. "You OK?" Oliver asked.

"It's just like riding a bike," Thea smiled.

"What bike did you get when you were a kid?" Malcolm asked.

"Funny, Dad," Thea glared at him.

Oliver eyed the guards at the hotel. "We can guy you a few extra seconds," he said.

Kara looked at Thea. "You ready for this?"

Thea took a deep breath. "It's Roy. I've _been_ ready."

"That's my girl," Malcolm smiled.

Oliver nodded, drawing an arrow and firing off to his left. The arrow exploded into a shower of fireworks, drawing the attention of the guards. While they were distracted, Kara flew over to the balcony as Malcolm fired a grappling arrow into the wall. Thea hooked her bow over the line and zipped down to the hotel, nimbly dropping onto the balcony as Kara opened up the vent entrance. She climbed in first, holding the vent open for Thea as she ran over. As Kara continued through the vent, Thea climbed inside and shut the vent behind her, just before one of the guards moved around the corner.

* * *

 ** _Roy Harper_**

Really, the bruises all over his body were bad enough, but the phonebook against bruised ribs? Roy really wasn't a fan of that.

But he still didn't give the officers what they were looking for, even as he grunted in pain as the book was hit against his body. "Want to keep going, or you gonna testify?" the officer wielding the book sneered.

Roy heaved for breath, but managed to glare nastily at the cop. "You know, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure torturing your witness isn't gonna be great for your case."

The cop tossed the phonebook to his partner, sitting down across from Roy. "You don't think we know how to put you in a world of hurt without leaving a mark?"

Roy continued to glare at him, but froze when he saw him pull out a nightstick. Roy swallowed hard, then winced when the officer behind him grabbed his shoulder and placed the phonebook over his torso. The cop in front of him swung hard, and Roy yelled out in pain as the cop dealt blow after blow.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Thea Queen_**

"Rao, help him," Kara breathed as she watched through the vent, one hand over her mouth.

Thea had to turn away, tears were filling her eyes. "Are you getting this?" she whispered.

"I'm enhancing their badge numbers," Felicity answered.

"Just when you thought Oliver took down all the crooked cops last year," Dig grumbled.

"I don't know how long I can stay up here without doing something," Kara whispered.

"Just hang on, angel," Oliver told her.

"Oliver's right, there's six more guards in the hall," Felicity said.

"I know it's hard, you two, but you have to wait," Oliver said.

"You'll get him," Malcolm added.

Kara flinched when the next hit came with a cracking noise, and she buried her head in her knees, clasping her hands over her ears as Roy coughed violently. Thea gritted her teeth, rubbing the back of Kara's neck comfortingly. She was about to open the vent and jump down when the cop with the nightstick stood up. "I'm working up an appetite here," he declared, then glared down at Roy. "Hey, we're gonna get some Big Belly Burger. You decide to play nice, I might give you the fries."

"Dad, if you see that one, please give him hell," Thea growled under her breath.

Malcolm's smirk was evident in his response. "Noted."

* * *

 ** _Roy Harper/Thea Queen_**

Roy stared after the cops as they left, panting and taking in as much air as he could. He was not looking forward to when they came back.

A creak up above caught his attention, and he looked up to see the vent open, and a figure in red dropped to the ground. Even with her mask on and the hood hiding most of her appearance, Roy recognized her at once, his eyes widening. "Is that my hood?" he asked as Thea hurried behind him, cutting off his restraints. "It looks good on you."

Thea stopped in front of him, mouth opening as she tried to find words. She finally just kissed him, which Roy was all too happy to return. She stepped back, staring at him as if trying to believe he was in front of her, then she stammered out, "I'm sorry if you're seeing someone – "

"I'm not," Roy shook his head, grimacing and wrapping an arm around his stomach. "I didn't take your advice. No kids, no wife, and I really, _really_ hate minivans."

Thea giggled, causing him to smile, then her smile froze. "How did they find you?" she asked.

"I was in St. Roche, and the Star City cops, they tazed me and they threw me in the back of a van," Roy answered, eyes flicking up when he saw more movement from the vent. Given that Thea had already been in there, it had to be someone on her side, so he went back to explaining. "They knew everything. They knew about Oliver, they knew about me faking my death, they – they knew it all."

"SCPD SWAT incoming!" Felicity called over the comms.

More movement came from the vent, and Roy did a double take as a blonde woman in blue and red dropped to the ground. "Can you help him?" Thea asked desperately.

"Try and stop me," she nodded, jogging over. "Just get the door open."

"OK," Thea took a deep breath, heading over to the balcony.

"Wait," Roy blinked, seeing the crest on the woman's suit. "Supergirl?"

"You've heard of me?" Kara tilted her head in surprise.

"Only because the cops were asking about you," Roy admitted. "Though word on the street is you're like a guardian angel."

Laughter came over the comms from multiple places. "Very funny, boys," Kara growled playfully, though she smiled as she took Roy's arm and carefully maneuvered it so it was over her shoulders. "Very funny."

"Guess that's not very original now, kid," Slade couldn't help but say anyway.

"Shut up, Slade," came the expected retort.

Roy winced in pain as Kara helped him stand. "But I'm in no shape to be swinging from rooftops."

"Good thing you won't be swinging," Kara told him, wrapping her other arm around his waist and helping him move. "Hope you're not afraid of heights."

"They're right outside the door!" Slade warned.

Kara turned to look through the door, and she swallowed, looking at Thea. "Get him out," the brunette told her.

"Thea!" Roy protested, then yelped as Kara took off out the window. Barely a second later, an ebony arrow shot past them, a thick cord wrapping around Thea and yanking her out. Roy stumbled as Kara landed on the opposite balcony, and Oliver crouched in front of him. "Roy?" the older man asked in concern, putting his own arm around Roy as well. "Roy!"

Roy spat blood out onto the ground, then gave his mentor a small smile. "I'm OK."

Oliver sighed in relief, then the sound of boots hitting the ground made Roy look up. Thea swayed a bit as she found her footing, and Malcolm helped take the cable from around her. "You OK?" he asked.

"Fine, yeah," Thea nodded, brushing her suit off. "Thanks for the exit."

Malcolm nodded, then saw Roy staring at him. "Roy," he nodded.

"I've gotten to the point I'm hallucinating, haven't I?" Roy finally looked from Oliver to Thea. "Because I swear I'm seeing Malcolm Merlyn right there."

Kara giggled as Malcolm snorted. "We have a lot to catch you up on," Oliver smiled.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Roy Harper/Oliver Queen_**

"Thank you for coming, Alex," Thea said gratefully.

"Well, if you can't go to the hospital, you go to a federal agent on another Earth with the training to work at one," Alex smiled, finishing wrapping Roy's abdomen and stepping back. "And it's not like I could resist meeting the guy who turns you into . . . well, Kara when she's with Oliver."

"Hey!" Kara complained from where she was leaning against the railing.

"She's not wrong, little one," Slade snickered.

"She's really not," Malcolm agreed from where he stood with Oliver.

"You two are the worst brothers ever," Kara pouted.

"No, we're not," both men said at the same time.

"OK, I still think I'm hallucinating," Roy shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Because I'm still having trouble believing that these two are here and apparently part of your team because last I remember, they both wanted to kill you."

"More like manipulate him," Malcolm shook his head.

"Make him suffer," Slade corrected as well.

"You two are _not_ helping your case," Thea sighed, even though she was smiling.

"OK," Roy slowly turned to point at Kara. "And you are an invulnerable alien from a planet that exploded, you live in another universe . . . and you are engaged to Oliver."

"That's the short version, yes," Kara nodded.

"And you're her adoptive sister who got Laurel's suit?" Roy pointed at Alex.

"That's me," Alex confirmed.

"Wow," Roy let out his breath in a rush, shaking his head. "Well, first off . . . congratulations, man," he looked up at Oliver.

"Thank you, Roy," Oliver smiled as Kara beamed.

"And second . . . _man,_ I missed a lot," Roy rubbed his temples.

"Well, you're here now," Dig patted him on the shoulder. "With . . . what _does_ he have?"

"A severe case of beaten within an inch of my life with a telephone book?" Roy asked sarcastically.

"Which loosely translates to two broken ribs and a pulmonary contusion," Alex diagnosed, making Malcolm hiss sympathetically. "Take it easy for a few days, Roy."

"Well, that's the good part about being a fugitive," Roy shrugged. "There's nowhere else I have to be."

"I'm not a lawyer, but what are the effects of us having the government's star witness in our protection instead of theirs?" Felicity asked.

"Not as much as you would think," Oliver tilted his head back and forth.

"Witness tampering gets added to the already long list of charges," Slade thought out loud.

"Don't forget obstruction," Malcolm added.

Oliver huffed. "Not helping, you two."

"I'm hearing this, and I still can't believe these two are here," Roy shook his head. "I mean . . . no offense meant . . . what happened?"

"Kara saved my life," Malcolm looked over at the blonde, who looked down bashfully. "I got another chance with Thea. I chose not to waste it this time around."

Thea smiled proudly at him. "And the mirakuru cure finally worked," Slade nodded. "What it made me do . . . "

"Yeah, I know firsthand what mirakuru can do, and I got a synthesized version of it," Roy gave him a meaningful look.

"And I'm sorry," Slade told him sincerely.

Roy considered him. "I believe you," he finally said, looking between Oliver and Thea. "You trust them?"

"I do," Thea nodded.

"So do I," Oliver confirmed.

Roy sighed. "Then I do, too," he looked between the two men, who nodded thankfully. "So . . . Deathstroke and the Dark Archer are now allies. What's next, Laurel's actually alive?"

There was awkward silence in the bunker. "Well," Felicity held out.

"Define 'alive,'" Dig sighed.

"You're kidding," Roy looked between them all. "Seriously?"

"Laurel's Earth-2 doppelgänger is alive," Oliver explained. "And last night, she was attacked and was forced to pretend to be Earth-1's Laurel."

"Whoa," Roy exhaled shakily. "Um . . . wow. Is she OK?"

"We don't know," Malcolm shook his head, scowling in annoyance. "Quentin says one of the police officers at the hospital took her from there, saying he was taking her to a 'safe house.'"

"Safe house," Slade muttered, scoffing.

"A dirty cop, like the ones who took Roy?" Kara asked, looking around.

"So you find out who's paying them, you probably find out who has Laurel," Alex shrugged.

"We already know," Dig said grimly, making everyone turn to him. "Diaz."

" _What?"_ Malcolm's eyes narrowed to slits, his voice turning ice cold.

"OK, that's more like the Malcolm I remember," Roy mumbled to Thea.

"That's just his protective side coming out," Thea rubbed his back.

"I pulled financials on both the police officers that were torturing Roy," Felicity explained, spinning in her chair to pull up info on her computer. "They both received _generous_ dividend payments from stocks in a Corto Maltese-based shell corporation."

"It financed the company that was manufacturing the drug I used to treat my injury," Dig continued. "Ricardo Diaz's company."

"Both officers were on duty when Cayden James was killed, and all the officers that were there tonight, we have reason to believe are working with Diaz, too," Felicity nodded.

"So it was Diaz who had Cayden's son killed," Kara whispered.

"And it was Diaz who had Laurel jumped," Malcolm scowled.

"He's been playing us since the beginning," Oliver sighed.

"Bastard," Slade summed up.

"Took the word right out of my mouth," Malcolm agreed.

Alex saw Thea take a deep breath, then cleared her throat. "Hey, Thea, can I check you out, too? I mean, from the grappling arrow?"

"Uh," Thea blinked in confusion. "Y – yeah, sure."

Roy watched in concern as Alex led Thea away, and Alex shook her head. "OK, I'm not checking you out like that, but . . . how are you?"

"What?" Thea blinked in confusion. "I'm fine."

"Really?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow. "You just learned the mastermind behind your brother being investigated, who had Laurel thrust back into the spotlight, and who had Roy kidnapped and tortured. Are you _really_ fine?"

Thea swallowed. "No," she admitted, and as she leaned against the table, Alex sat back on it, folding her arms. "You know, there have been times that I felt like my life completely fell apart when Roy left . . . from my bloodlust to my dad originally, to Lian Yu . . . knowing he was out there, that he was OK, it made my life just a little bit easier. Ever since Mom died, I haven't known much of anything other than the fact that I want to make sure he is safe." Her eyes hardened as she looked at Alex. "And I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens."

Alex smiled reassuringly. "He's lucky to have you."

Thea smiled back, then Kara hurried down the steps. "Guys," she swallowed hard. "Felicity found something else."

* * *

 ** _Quentin Lance/Dinah Drake_**

"No, no, no, no," Dinah shook her head as she spoke on the phone at SCPD, Quentin observing her as he sipped a mug of coffee. "OK, you know what? Who _can_ tell me where Laurel Lance is? Can you tell me that?" She glowered at the answer she got. "And when will _he_ be available?" Quentin frowned in concern, which deepened when Dinah sighed in annoyance. "No, no, no, no. No, thank you. I'll call back."

She hung up the phone in annoyance, and Quentin held up both hands. "I swear, this isn't me, all right?"

Dinah just glared at him, then heard footsteps behind her. "I need to speak with you," Oliver said, looking at Quentin. He nodded, then Oliver looked at Dinah. "You, too." Dinah looked at Quentin in confusion, but he looked just as bewildered as her as both followed Oliver towards the interrogation room. Oliver let both in ahead of him, closing the door behind him. He lifted his head, eyeing the camera behind him in the corner, then looked at the two. "Turn the cameras off." Concerned now, Dinah reached for the remote on the table behind her and clicked a button, turning the camera off. Oliver walked forward, then took a deep breath. "Cayden James was murdered," he informed them, nodding at the table the two were in front of. "Right there, by Ricardo Diaz."

Dinah stared at Oliver in shock, and Quentin blinked once before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh, my God," he muttered.

"And it was covered up by the SCPD," Oliver added.

"I thought Cayden James was killed by another inmate on his transfer to Iron Heights," Quentin scowled.

"Felicity found out what actually happened," Oliver said. "Never made it to Iron Heights. The cops on duty are on Diaz's payroll. They faked the transfer. And they let Anatoli and Talia go, too."

Dinah closed her eyes, thinking hard. "Doing that would take – "

"A systematic breach of the police department," Oliver nodded, thinking exactly what she was. "Worse than last year's corruption."

"I didn't think that was even possible," Quentin grumbled.

"Neither did I," Oliver agreed, looking between the two. "Dinah, I know that you don't believe in me right now, and I know the two of you don't like each other right now and maybe don't trust each other either, for good reason, but the both of you believe in the badge. I need you working together. I need to know how deep this goes. I need to know who in that room we can trust." He pointed at Dinah, eyes hardening. "Which means you got to put your vendetta on hold."

Dinah sighed, thinking long and hard. Her moral compass won out. "OK."

Oliver nodded gratefully to her. "We can work out of my place," Quentin said. "Walls here got ears."

"And this is why I couldn't find Laurel," Dinah realized. "Because those bent cops sprung her."

"Or they took her someplace worse," Quentin said.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"Tell me, Laurel," Anatoli said as he led Laurel deeper into the casino. "How is the little huntress? You know location, yes?"

"Why are you asking?" Laurel scowled.

"Diaz's feelings were so hurt when she ran," Anatoli shrugged. "It's as if she doesn't trust him or something."

"I have it from her that the only person she trusted was Vincent Sobel," Laurel narrowed her eyes, wincing and holding her side as they walked down stairs. "And Cayden James made her kill him."

"He did," Anatoli confirmed, not an ounce of regret on his face.

Laurel shot him a glare. "You know, I don't blame Evelyn for not trusting him. I'm still trying to figure out why you do."

"For me, it's more matter of money than trust," Anatoli told her. "Either way, Diaz better. Why control city when you can control it, yes?"

The sounds of grunts and fists meeting flesh grew louder as they walked, and Laurel looked over the railing as they walked into what looked like an auditorium overlooking a fighting ring. Diaz was on the platform, brawling with another man. Anatoli led her down the stairs, and Laurel observed Diaz's fighting style and how he was giving everything he had to his competitor. She had to admit, he was good. _Bet he wouldn't hold up against Oliver, Malcolm, and Slade,_ she thought to herself, smirking at the image that made.

Diaz eventually forced his competitor to his knees, hands holding tightly onto his shoulders. The man conceded, dropping his head. "You're as good as they said you were," Diaz told him, patting his shoulder. "But you know that fighting for trophies . . . not the same as fighting for your life." He patted him on the cheek. "We'll break you of your bad habits." He held up his hand, and one of his men tossed him a rolled- up bundle of money. "Welcome to the team," he offered it to the man.

He nodded thankfully, taking the money. "That's a lot of money for man with bad foot," Anatoli remarked as Diaz walked towards them.

"I didn't break it," Diaz smirked, watching the man limp down and join the other men off to the side. "I just had to break _him."_ He nodded as he looked over all of them, clapping a hand on Anatoli's shoulder. "Building a family, Anatoli. Family. Isn't that what the Bratva means? Brotherhood?"

"Da," Anatoli confirmed.

Diaz nodded as well, then looked over at his men, raising his voice. "See, family . . . they rely on one other. Family trust each other. See, when the family does well, each member prospers . . . but if just _one person_ betrays that family!" he yelled, turning and pointing at Laurel.

Laurel met his gaze defiantly. "I didn't betray your _family,"_ she sneered, saying the word mockingly. "I just did what I could to save someone from a toxic environment."

She could almost see smoke coming out of Diaz's ears. "Give us the room!" he shouted. "Move!"

Anatoli grimaced, looking at Laurel. "Udachi," he muttered, then left with the others.

Laurel watched him go, then rolled her shoulders, looking at Diaz as he sat on the side of the platform. "I still don't see why I'm here," she told him.

Diaz glowered at her. "The money that Evelyn stole from Cayden was also _my_ money. I earned it, just like her, except I didn't take more than my share."

"That money is Star City's, and it's back where it belongs," Laurel narrowed her eyes. "All I did was help make sure it got back here. I'll ask again . . . why am I here?"

Diaz considered her. "My business with Evelyn may be concluded," he answered. "But in light of how you managed to get inside her head and convince her to turn her back on her family . . . perhaps it's time for us to begin some."

Laurel stared at him incredulously, then burst out laughing. "Us?" she repeated, managing to speak through her laughter. "OK, look . . . you're done with Evelyn. You've managed to convince Anatoli that you're worth staying in bed with. I don't see Talia here. _Us?_ I have no business with you."

"But we do," Diaz smirked coldly. "We started our business when those men helped Star City see their beloved Laurel Lance is actually still alive."

"Yeah, I figured out that was you when your dirty cop told me I was coming to see you," Laurel scowled. "Your little _family_ got Dinah, Rene, and Curtis to break away. Are you trying to break the rest of us up?"

"You see, Laurel," Diaz leaned forward. "I see all. I know all. I _control_ it all. I've been working on this for months. See, Cayden . . . he's just a small piece of a much larger puzzle, and so are you."

"What, because I'm apparently back on the board?" Laurel scoffed. "Right. Well, you see, I don't know if you've noticed, but it's gonna take a bit more than shoving me into the light and declaring I'm this Earth's Laurel Lance to get me to turn my back on them."

"I managed to convince Talia there was something worth sticking around for," Diaz stood up, walking over to her. "I've learned Evelyn is a lost cause."

"And I was never a cause to begin with," Laurel snapped. "Out of all of us, it's me you decide to try and convince?"

"I think I can," Diaz smirked.

"Oh, please," Laurel held out her arms, stepping back and sitting down in one of the chairs. "Tell me what you could possibly do to make me turn my back on _my_ family. I'm apparently not going anywhere."

Diaz smirked in reply.

* * *

 **A/N: And Roy's with Team Arrow already. With Kara in play, there was no real reason for Roy not to be rescued immediately. Instead, Diaz is keeping Laurel a little bit longer and seems to think she can be turned.**

 **I plan to have the last part of this episode out hopefully tomorrow!**


	75. Doppelgänger - Part Three

**Oliver has some advice for Thea, Laurel hears what Diaz has to say, and others arrive to crash the party. It all turns out OK in the end . . . doesn't it?**

* * *

 ** _John Diggle/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"I don't know, Felicity," Dig sighed later. "Maybe it's a little soon bringing up taking back the mantle from Oliver, but it's been months."

"A hell of a few months, though," Felicity pointed out. "And Oliver's just not ready to step down, not with everything that's going on. It's too much. It's crazy."

Dig nodded, taking her words in . . . not seeing Slade and Malcolm exchange glances from where they were listening from over by the weapons table. "He brought it up again?" Slade asked quietly, turning his back so it was to the two up by the computers.

"He did," Malcolm nodded, sharpening his sword. "While we were in the field, too, with Roy in the hotel opposite us."

"That's neither the time nor the place to do that," Slade scowled.

"Which is exactly why I diverted Oliver's attention to what was more important at the time," Malcolm nodded.

"Good move."

"Thanks," Malcolm sighed, setting his sword down and leaning against the table. "Would you believe there was a time when I honestly would have preferred if Oliver had stopped doing what he was doing?"

"Yes," Slade snorted. "When you were his archenemy."

"OK, point," Malcolm rolled his eyes. "But Slade – "

"I prefer Oliver with the hood, too, but in the end, it's his decision," Slade reminded him. "If Oliver decides to keep it, I'm standing behind him one hundred percent."

"But?" Malcolm prompted.

Slade sighed. "I do wonder what our roles would be if John took it back."

"That's what worries me," Malcolm nodded. "Because I still don't know if he entirely trusts us or not."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't entirely," Slade shook his head. "But we'll cross that bridge if we come to it."

Malcolm sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why do I think that's going to become _when_ we get to it?"

"Because you always jinx it, wizard," Slade smirked.

Malcolm shot him a glare. _"Magician."_

"There you are," Slade clapped him on the shoulder, chuckling and moving around the table. "Back to your normal self."

Malcolm sighed. "I'll feel more normal when we figure out where Laurel is."

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"You know, Laurel," Diaz paced in front of her, hands clasped behind his back. "I think Cayden went about his plan for Star City the wrong way."

"What?" Laurel huffed. "You don't think destruction is a good way to break a city?"

"Oh, I don't want to break Star City," Diaz shook his head.

"No," Laurel sneered. "You just want to take it over. Anatoli told me."

"I told him to," Diaz shrugged.

"So you want to take Star City over," Laurel sighed, leaning back. "And what could I possibly offer you? Or what do you think I could offer you, because I'm still waiting for you to tell me why I should even consider this."

"It's quite simple, Laurel," he smiled chillingly. "Laurel Lance, back from the dead. A shining light, their former Black Canary. You were quite the beloved figure back in the day. I think you still are now. What an influence you could be."

"Why would I want to be?" Laurel rolled her eyes. "I was perfectly fine living my life in the shadows where no one knew I existed."

"Where no one knew you existed," Diaz repeated thoughtfully, nodding his head as he paced. "Tell me . . . how many enemies outside of the law do you think Laurel Lance had?" Laurel narrowed her eyes as Diaz raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? I'm guessing many because of how many she put behind bars as a lawyer, how many had friends . . . how many I know through the Scorpions."

"You're threatening me?" Laurel asked in disbelief, barking out a laugh. "That's rich." She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. "You got the jump on me once. Threatening me right in front of me? You know I'll be prepared now."

"Perhaps," Diaz nodded. "But you see . . . I'm not the type of guy that believes giving a beating is the only way to cause some pain."

"That explains the route to Oliver," Laurel sniffed. "Doesn't explain how you're gonna convince me to join you. You're not being very convincing."

Diaz tilted his head, considering her. Then, out of the blue, he asked, "How's Merlyn?"

Laurel stiffened, giving Diaz a glare. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" Diaz asked innocently, spreading his hands as he stopped in front of her. "You asked the question yourself: am I trying to break the rest of you up? Who would I try and break, the Girl of Steel? Cayden had some interesting tricks for her, I'll admit it, but all that would do is make Queen pissed off even more. That might even make him fight back. No, she's not an option. Not too concerned about her little friends, either, there's not much on them anyway. But Merlyn . . . oh, Talia has a lot on him." He stopped in front of Laurel. "What do you think Star City would want the moment they had the knowledge that Malcolm Merlyn is alive and back in their city?"

"You – " Laurel began to speak, eyes alight with fury.

"Or maybe not Merlyn," Diaz continued, turning to pace again. "What about Wilson? There's gotta be people in this city who would bay for his blood after that little siege of his, don't you think? Huh? What do you think about that?"

"Bastard," Laurel finished her previous thought, swallowing hard.

"I'm just being realistic here, Laurel," Diaz held out his hands. "Laurel Lance is a bright light to almost everyone in Star City . . . but Malcolm Merlyn and Slade Wilson are associated with death and destruction. I'd say I took it easy on Queen by bringing you into the spotlight. At least you're not someone who would need to run as far as they could the very second their name is dropped."

"That's your play?" Laurel whispered in disbelief, staring at him angrily. "Either making me paranoid to the point I'd always look over my shoulder, or blackmailing me by exposing Malcolm and Slade?"

"Is it working?" Diaz had the gall to smirk.

Laurel's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but she couldn't find the words to say what she was really thinking. "You're insane," was all she settled for.

"Am I?" Diaz raised an eyebrow. "That question's moot. The real question is, who do I have to bring the pain to . . . you, or Merlyn or Wilson? It's your choice."

Laurel glared at him, and without answering, she opened her mouth and screamed, catapulting Diaz back and across the platform.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Alex was running Roy through another exam as Oliver walked over to where Thea was sitting, her eyes on the other two. "Hey," he said. "How're you doing?"

Thea sighed. "I'm happy he's back," she answered honestly as Alex nodded encouragingly to Roy. "But he's still a fugitive." She lowered her gaze. "I'm gonna have to lose him again."

Oliver shook his head. "I don't think you will, Speedy." Thea gave him a questioning look, and Oliver sat in the chair across from her. "You know, it's been a while since I offered you a little big brother advice. Do you mind?"

"This should be good," Thea sighed, but she nodded anyway.

Oliver nodded. "Roy's here, and you don't want to let him go. I think when he _does_ go . . . I think maybe you should go with him."

Thea looked up at him, eyes wide. "Where?" she asked.

"Wherever he's going," Oliver shrugged. "Whether it's this universe or Earth-38, if that's what he wants to try. I mean, I . . . Thea, I'd miss you like crazy, and I'd bet the seventy million we just got back that Malcolm would hate to see you go, too . . . but I know how you and Roy were, and Alex said you told her that you haven't been the same without him. So, maybe you _shouldn't_ be without him."

Thea swallowed. "You really think I should go?"

"I don't want you to go, obviously," Oliver smiled at her, "but you've seen what having Kara in my life has done for me. You deserve that same kind of happiness, Speedy, wherever it is."

Thea looked at Oliver for a long time before she swallowed and ducked her head. Kara smiled sadly from where she was speaking with Felicity when she suddenly stiffened, her head whipping sharply to the side. "Kara?" Alex asked, making everyone look at her. "You OK?"

Kara just swallowed, turning to look at Oliver. "Laurel," she said. "I heard her scream."

Oliver looked between himself, Dig, and Thea, none of them in their suits, then to where Malcolm and Slade had instantly straightened, both still in their suits. He made a quick decision. "Go get her," he ordered.

Kara sped into her suit quickly as Slade grabbed his mask, Malcolm picking up his bow.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Well, it would be like a crime lord to use a run-down casino as his base," Slade scowled as Kara landed the three of them by the building.

"This is it?" Malcolm asked, looking up and around.

"This is where I heard her," Kara confirmed, the three of them stepping around the corner.

Slade held out a hand, stopping her when he caught sight of movement in front of the doors. "Two guards," he said.

"Only two?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

"Or maybe he hasn't had time to pick up the slack after Siren screamed," Malcolm pointed out.

"Then we have the advantage here," Kara said.

"So in that building is Laurel, and Ricardo Diaz, who we just found out is behind everything bad that's been happening in the city for the past six months," Slade said.

Kara smirked. "So let's get them both."

Malcolm fired two arrows from his bow, knocking out both guards. "I'm guessing you three are there?" Felicity's voice sounded in their comms finally.

"We're here," Kara confirmed, stepping over the guards and heading into the casino, Malcolm and Slade with their weapons drawn. "Anything you can tell us about this place?"

"I'm huffing and puffing and blowing all those firewalls down," Felicity told her. "But if Diaz is an idiot and forgot about your powers – which I don't think he is or did – then this will definitely tip him off that you're there."

Kara looked up and down, scanning the entire building. "I'm trying to find her," she said, straining her hearing.

"I pulled up the blueprints of the casino from the city," Felicity said. "I'll guide you through. Head up the escalator."

Kara nodded, hurrying up the left one with Malcolm, Slade taking the right one.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Ricardo Diaz_**

Laurel glared down at Diaz as she stormed up to him. "You can go to hell," she sneered, opening her mouth to scream right in his ear.

Except her scream didn't work, and eyes wide, Laurel reached up to her throat. "You forget earlier, Laurel," Anatoli's thick accent cut through the air, and Laurel stood up and turned to see him walk down the stairs, holding up a buzzing, glowing green object. "Don't forget again."

A sharp whack to her head made Laurel fall to the ground, and she groaned, feeling another headache start to pound. And she had just started getting over the last one, too. "What happened?" Diaz growled.

"Supergirl and two vigilantes," Anatoli answered grimly. "Guess which two."

Diaz gritted his teeth angrily. "It's time for a change of scenery," he finally ground out, gesturing to two of his men, who marched forward and grabbed Laurel by her arms, hauling her to her feet. "You know what to do," he told Anatoli, holding out his hand.

Anatoli passed the sonic dampener to him and gestured to the gunmen he brought with him, four of whom stood in front of the doors, the other two following Diaz and his men as they dragged Laurel away.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara stopped in front of a set of double doors, then scoffed. "Cute." She turned to the two men with her. "Door or gunmen with full autos?"

"Gunmen," they answered at the same time.

Kara smirked and nodded, using both hands to point to the other doorways. Malcolm and Slade departed to enter another way, and Kara turned back to the doors, using her heat vision to blow them wide open. Bullets immediately sprayed through, and Kara just smiled at the gunmen still firing at her as she walked forward, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off her. "I take it back," she grinned. _"This_ is cute."

Malcolm shot down the two on the her right as Slade fired at the two on her left, all four collapsing at close to the same time. "She's not here," Slade shook his head.

"Overwatch?" Malcolm barked.

"Calm down," Felicity told him. "According to thermals, Diaz has Laurel through the door on the north wall."

Kara flew right to the door and smashed them outwards, watching them clatter to the ground with thuds. She strode through, not caring her steps left prints in the doors as she, Slade, and Malcolm stormed through, heading through the casino. Her ears pricked up as they walked, and she slowed. "Hostiles coming from all sides."

She heard Malcolm grit his teeth, then Slade looked at her. "Find Laurel," he said. "We can hold them off."

"You're sure?" Kara asked.

"Get Laurel," Malcolm told her firmly.

Kara finally nodded, flying off in a blur. Slade and Malcolm exchanged looks, then Slade jumped over the bar in the corner to hide, Malcolm ducking behind the staircase to the next level.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Diaz paused when he heard a gust of wind behind him, then sighed. "I was hoping it would be your fiancé," he said, turning around to see Supergirl standing behind him. "But I suppose you'll do, Ms. Danvers."

"Let Laurel go," Kara ordered, narrowing her eyes.

"Or what?" Diaz tilted his head. "You'll kill me? I thought you had a no kill policy, Ms. Danvers."

"I said," Kara began.

"No, I know what you said," Diaz smirked. "Here's the thing you need to know . . . you should never let me talk."

Gunmen burst through on both sides, and Kara took a step back, startled. Diaz took the opportunity to hold up a remote and trigger the speakers, high frequency soundwaves coming from them. Kara yelped and covered her ears, firing randomly with her heat vision and striking one of the gunmen in the leg.

While Kara was efficiently distracted, Diaz turned and nodded to his men, who continued dragging Laurel away.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson/Malcolm Merlyn_**

Slade winced when he heard the soundwaves begin, then heard doors crash open in front of them. He pulled a grenade from his bandolier, then tossed it over the bar and out onto the floor.

It went off with a bang, and several stunned cries sounded. He and Malcolm jumped out of their hiding places at the same time, Malcolm firing two arrows into two gunmen as Slade pulled his sword from its holster, swiping one gunman's legs out from under him. The two vigilantes moved through the gunmen quickly, Malcolm alternating between firing shots with his bow and smacking them to the ground with his bow, Slade alternating between stabbing with his sword and firing with his gun.

One of them received one of Malcolm's arrows in the back, and when that didn't bring him down, Slade shot him in the shoulder instead. Another received a sword in the shoulder, and as Slade was approached from behind, he spun and shot the gunman in the knee. He yelped and stumbled, then Malcolm somersaulted and delivered a sharp uppercut with his bow, flipping the gunman end over end. He got to his feet quickly, snap-kicking a gunman away and shooting him in the chest a second later, and the gunman looked down, stunned, before collapsing.

Malcolm fired an arrow at the gunman approaching behind him, then heard an angry snarl behind him. He turned to see Slade grab a pipe aimed at his head and drop to a crouch, using his entire body weight to roll forward. Malcolm's bow was up in an instant as the man who thought swinging a pipe at Slade Wilson of all people was thrown over his brother and thrown to the ground. "Anatoli Knyazev," he narrowed his eyes as Slade tossed the pipe aside carelessly. "What a surprise to see you here."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"We have a problem!" Felicity's voice came over the comms. "One of Diaz's cops alerted the legitimate cavalry. The SCPD is headed your way en masse."

Kara punched the last gunman in her way to the ground, then took a deep breath and shot her heat vision at the speakers blasting the frequencies. They crashed to the ground in pieces, and Kara took a few more breaths. "One of these days, I am coming out into the field with some way to hear what _I_ want to hear and _not_ those stupid sounds," she ground out, taking off.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Anatoli glared up at Slade as the Australian placed the tip of his sword at his throat. "Since when did you sink so low you became a hired hand?" he growled.

"I used to be Pakhan," Anatoli spat. "Oliver Queen cost me that!"

"So you've thrown your hand into the ring with Diaz," Malcolm scoffed. "And what, you think you're enough to hold us back?"

Anatoli's gaze shifted, and he chuckled. "No."

Malcolm stiffened, and he turned, swinging his bow just in time to knock another black arrow off course. "Don't take it personally, Malcolm," Talia said as she walked up the steps, drawing her sword. "We're simply keeping you here until the police arrive."

"And where have you been?" Malcolm scowled.

"Watching you," Talia smirked. "All of you. How do you think Diaz's men knew where to find Laurel?"

"So you got her jumped," Slade growled.

"I did," Talia smirked. "I'm also the one who alerted the SCPD that arrows were fired. Don't you remember they don't take too kindly to vigilantes anymore?"

* * *

 ** _Ricardo Diaz/Kara Danvers_**

The two men dragging Laurel suddenly received white-blue beams of pure heat to their backs, and Diaz stopped as they collapsed. A blue blur passed his field of vision a second later, and Diaz shook his head, turning around to see Kara glare at him, holding Laurel behind her. "You know, I really hate it when you visit, Ms. Danvers," he said. "I'll feel much better when you leave."

"You did this," Kara growled. "All of this! What you've done to Oliver, to Cayden, to the city, it's all been you!"

"It has," Diaz nodded, a steely glint in his eyes. "And I can make it much worse."

"No, you won't," Kara scowled, taking a step forward.

"I said make a choice, Laurel," Diaz said loudly. "But if she takes another step, it's already made."

Kara paused, tilting her head, and Laurel growled, holding onto a nearby crate to stay upright. "I said go to hell," she spat.

"So you want to try and call my bluff?" Diaz held out his hands. "Very well. If she takes me, it's a coin toss. One of them gets revealed to the city, and her precious fiancé loses a member of his team." Kara stopped in her tracks, and Diaz smirked widely. "Wilson, the man who's your brother . . . or Merlyn, the man you've fallen in love with." Kara slowly turned to look at Laurel, just in time to see her swallow hard, her face drained of color. "You can still make a choice," Diaz smirked.

Laurel swallowed hard, then took a deep breath, listening to sirens come closer. "Step back, Kara."

"What?" she protested loudly. "But Diaz – !"

"I know what he's done!" Laurel snapped. "But he's insane, and insane people do insane things." She looked past her at Diaz. "And he's not going to reveal Malcolm _or_ Slade are still here."

"Supergirl, we need to go!" Slade's voice rang through the comms.

Kara looked past Diaz as police cars came into view, and she clenched her jaw, stepping away from Diaz towards Laurel. "A wise decision, Ms. Danvers," Diaz smiled in satisfaction. "Enjoy it while you can."

Kara held onto Laurel tightly and shot up into the air, Diaz watching them go as SCPD poured from the cars, heading for the casino.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen/Laurel Lance_**

Wind blew through the bunker, and Felicity yelped as her seat was blown around, then she jumped to her feet when she saw Kara finally land. "You found her!"

"Yeah, we did," Kara agreed, Laurel swaying a bit before Alex rushed over to grab her other arm, both sisters helping her sit. "Slade and Malcolm should be coming in soon."

"Are you OK?" Oliver asked, walking over.

"I literally just got over a migraine, and then Diaz gave me another one," Laurel griped, rubbing her temples. "I want to sleep until Diaz, Anatoli, and Talia are gone from this city."

"What?" Dig asked sharply.

"Yeah, Anatoli and Talia have decided Diaz is worth sticking around for," Laurel looked up. "He has some plan to take over the city and thought he could intimidate me into joining him, too."

"He threatened Slade and Malcolm," Kara added. "Well, one of the two of them. If I tried to take him in, he would have revealed one of them to Star City, too."

"He called it my choice," Laurel said glumly. "Tell Kara to stand down, or one of them goes."

"And you believed him?" Dig asked in disbelief.

"I believe he's insane," Laurel gave him a look. "I believe he suggests he can do crazy things. But Cayden's group was watching the bunker from the inside. He probably has plenty of footage of Malcolm and Slade. I may not be your Laurel, but I still care about people, and I love those two like family. Diaz wasn't bluffing about that, and there's no way in hell I want Star City to know they're here, because if they did, they'd be calling for their blood. They're not getting it."

Dig grimaced, then Roy whistled lowly. "You're scarier than our Laurel was."

Laurel blinked, then turned to look at him. "Thank you?" she asked in confusion, looking around.

Oliver chuckled. "Laurel, meet Roy Harper . . . the man Diaz was trying to make the star witness in my case."

"And my boyfriend," Thea added with a smile.

"Oh," Laurel considered Roy. "You didn't give him anything, did you?"

"Not a thing," Roy shook his head as the others looked at him proudly. "Took a bit of a beating, though."

"I can see that," Laurel nodded. "You gonna be OK?"

"He'll be fine," Alex assured her.

"You look like you got off easy, though," Roy tilted his head.

"Well," Laurel tilted her head right back, smiling innocently. "I'm rather charming, don't you think?"

"I'll answer that," Malcolm's voice came from the elevator, and everyone turned to the doors as Malcolm and Slade exited. "I'll take you over Anatoli Knyazev and Talia al Ghul any day."

"You better," Laurel smiled, standing up.

"I will," Malcolm smiled, setting his bow down and walking up to her.

Laurel wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, closing her eyes in relief. "Thank you for coming after me," she whispered.

"Always will," Malcolm vowed, hugging her back.

"You said Anatoli _and_ Talia?" Oliver asked.

"Both of them were there," Slade nodded, hugging Laurel when she and Malcolm finally let go of each other. "Talia at the last minute."

"Turns out she wasn't as gone as we wanted her to be," Malcolm rolled his eyes. "She knew Laurel's route, where to send Diaz's men to."

"She's also the one who called the actual cops on us," Slade added. "Which is why we had to bail when we did."

"Same with Diaz," Kara sighed.

"So we're back to square one," Dig scowled. "Great."

"Hey, you had victories," Alex protested as Kara, Slade, and Malcolm sent the man identical glares of annoyance. "You got Roy away from Diaz _and_ you got Laurel back. Come on, that's good."

"It is," Thea smiled, slipping her hand into Roy's and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," Roy looked between Alex, Kara, Malcolm, and Oliver.

"Of course," Kara smiled.

"I'd have done it for any of you guys," Oliver looked around the room, then settled his gaze on Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel. "And I mean it – _any_ of you guys."

Laurel smiled thankfully, nodding as she leaned against Malcolm, Slade's hand on her back supportively.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Good work," Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed the door to the bedroom behind him. "Keep me posted, please. Thank you, to both of you."

He hung up, and quiet footsteps from the bathroom made him look up. "Hey," Kara smiled softly, padding across the floor to him. "Quentin and Dinah?"

"Yeah," Oliver cleared his throat, putting his phone down on the bedside table. "It was an update on the investigation into the SCPD."

"And?" Kara asked hopefully.

"It's going," Oliver shrugged.

Kara deflated a bit, nodding. "It's gonna take a while, isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"Most likely," Oliver confirmed. "There's no telling how long Diaz has had a grip on the department, or how many people he's had a grip on. It's a mess, Kara."

"I know," she stepped up to him and put her hand on his cheek, stroking softly with her thumb. "And I wish I could do something to help."

"You _are_ helping, angel," Oliver told her with a smile, reaching up and brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You're here with me whenever you can be. That means more help than anything Supergirl ever does."

Kara smiled brilliantly, arms wrapping loosely around his neck. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

Oliver's smile widened, then he leaned down and kissed her, Kara returning it as he pulled his suit jacket off.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

"Home sweet home," Thea told Roy with a smile as she turned the lights on and took off her cardigan.

"Nice," Roy complimented, nodding in approval as he looked around. "For the past three years, I've been sleeping with the cockroaches."

Both chuckled as Thea put her cardigan on the bed, then she sighed and looked at him. "I – I feel like I should have been there with you," she confessed. "Is that too presumptuous or confusing?" she quickly descended into babble as Roy stared at her. "I – I know that last time we saw each other, I said that we should probably see other – "

"No," Roy quickly cut her off, stepping forward and kissing her hard.

Thea was quick to kiss him back, falling back onto the bed and reaching up to push Roy's sweater off as she did.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel looked up as the door in front of her opened, and she gave a small smile when she saw who opened it. "Hi, daddy."

"Hi," Quentin sighed in relief. "No offense, but what are you doing here?"

"Is that offer of the couch still available?" Laurel asked, holding up the duffel with her. "Unfortunately, Laurel Lance being back kind of comes with everyone wanting to know where I am at the moment."

"Which means no hiding out with supervillains and being one?" Dinah snarked.

"Says the one who wants to murder a teenager and apparently only sees in black and white," Laurel sneered right back.

Dinah rolled her eyes, picking up the files she had on the table. "I'll see you tomorrow," she told Quentin, storming past Laurel, bumping into her as she did.

Laurel seethed and rubbed her shoulder, looking at Quentin. "Guessing she's had a fun night."

"You can say that," Quentin grumbled, gesturing to the couch. "Go ahead and set up, I want to check something with her real quick."

Laurel nodded, watching him go and close the door behind him. She dropped her bag on the couch, sighing and reaching up, rubbing her neck. She heard a quiet hiss behind her from the direction of the kitchen, and she paused, cautiously reaching for the gun she had in the back of her jeans, then paused when she recognized the silent footsteps. "Did you really have to follow me here?" she asked.

"I'm not allowed to be worried?" Malcolm asked from behind her.

Laurel smiled fondly, chuckling a bit as she turned around, taking off her cardigan as she did. "You can be," she told him, walking over as Malcolm shut the window. "But if you keep following me, people may think I have a stalker."

"One who's concerned about you after what Diaz and Talia did," Malcolm reminded her, folding his arms. "That was bad enough, but the cops taking you to Diaz? That's different."

"How?" Laurel raised an eyebrow. "They're still Diaz's men."

"Hidden in plain sight as officers people think they can trust," Malcolm countered. "You're gonna be out there constantly looking over your shoulder now."

"I can handle it, Malcolm," Laurel told him, walking up to the black-clad archer. "And it's better for me to be in open view than you or Slade." Malcolm raised an eyebrow, and she sighed. "Diaz tried to convince me to get in bed with him, like Anatoli and Talia."

"That's a pretty image," Malcolm grimaced.

"Well, I said no, and then he tried another tactic," Laurel told him. "It was either me, or a coin toss between you and Slade. I told him to go to hell, and when Kara was about to take him out, he told me that if Kara took a single step, one of you would be next. It was my choice."

"And you believed him?" Malcolm frowned.

"I don't know," Laurel admitted. "He's crazy and a maniac. But I told Kara to step back anyway because if there was even the slightest chance he was telling the truth, there was no way I was going to be the reason one of you would have to run."

"Laurel," Malcolm began.

"I mean it," she insisted, stepping closer and poking him in the arm. "Diaz asked me who I should bring the pain to . . . myself, or one of the two of you. I will choose myself every time if it means keeping you and Slade safe from Star City."

Malcolm sighed, shaking his head. "We can handle ourselves, Siren," he told her.

"You getting outed to Star City would mean nowhere here would be safe for you," Laurel argued, swallowing hard. "And I don't know what I would do if one of you would have to run."

"There's Earth-38," Malcolm pointed out.

"Not my point!" Laurel exploded, turning around and anxiously walking about. "Malcolm, it doesn't matter to me where you would run – it matters that _I_ would be the reason you'd have to! Your safety – "

"Damn our safety, Laurel!" Malcolm snapped, making her stop and stare at him. "You're the one everyone's gonna be looking at now, who everyone's gonna be examining like you're under a microscope to see if you can give them anything about who Oliver is, and now you'll have Diaz to worry about, too." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Laurel, do you have any idea how worried that makes me?"

Laurel swallowed hard. "Very."

"A lot more than very, I'll tell you that right now," Malcolm huffed, giving her a look.

"Then you know how I feel about Diaz's threat to you and Slade," Laurel walked up to him. "So let's just agree that we're each more concerned about the other's safety more than our own, OK?"

Malcolm sighed in frustration. "I don't like this, Laurel."

"Neither do I," she shook her head. "But at least we don't like it together."

Malcolm forced out a laugh. "Just like always, right?"

Laurel smiled. "Yeah. Just like always." Malcolm held out his arms, and Laurel moved to hug him tightly. "I'm not going anywhere," she told him. "You know that, right? I'm still here."

"Slade and I aren't going anywhere, either," he squeezed her. "You're stuck with us."

Laurel closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest, even as Diaz's words rang in her head. "That's not so bad."

 _Wilson, the man who's your brother . . . or Merlyn, the man you've fallen in love with._

God, she didn't want to make that choice _ever._

* * *

Across from Quentin's apartment building, a feminine figure in dark clothes similar to Malcolm's Dark Archer uniform observed quietly, then reached up and removed her hood. She watched her target kiss the top of the blonde woman's head, then reached up and touched her earpiece. "Master," she said with a smirk of satisfaction, "I have located the last former Ra's al Ghul."

* * *

 **A/N: A little bit different than the ending of the actual episode, isn't it? Malcolm's the target this time . . . but the _last_ former Ra's al Ghul? But Oliver wasn't followed, was he?**

 **Guess which episode's next! And because it'll be slightly different from canon, given who else is still around during it, it may take me a while to get anything posted just so I make sure the entire episode flows together like it should.**


	76. Arrow - The Thanatos Guild - Part One

**I honestly had so much fun writing this episode that I'm actually happy I waited until I completed the entire thing before uploading, partly because I was on a roll and didn't want to stop . . . and also because I realized I hadn't even mentioned Talia until I went to sleep . . . oops. Hopefully this rewrite to incorporate Malcolm and company will be just as satisfactory as the original episode.**

 **Besides, Nyssa's back! A happy occasion gets interrupted by unwelcome familiar faces, two former foes team up, and Curtis and Dinah continue investigating the SCPD.**

* * *

 ** _William Clayton/Thea Queen/Oliver Queen_**

William took a quick look around the bunker, then quickly stuck his finger in the frosting at the bottom of Thea's cake. "Ah ah ah!" Kara hastily hurried over, and William stared at her with wide eyes. "You do not get to do that without me," she declared, swiping some frosting of her own.

William snickered as she stuck the frosting in her mouth. "You are _so_ lucky you are my brother's fiancée," Thea chuckled as she walked up.

"Mmm," Kara licked her lips, turning to Thea. "I'm lucky I'm going to have such a cool sister-in-law who hopefully isn't going to tell him this."

Thea sighed dramatically, winking at William. "You're lucky you have such a cool aunt who approves of bad behavior."

Kara giggled as she took a sip of her punch, and William beamed up at Thea. "I'm gonna miss you."

"And I'm gonna miss you, too," Thea smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Just promise me that you're gonna watch over your dad, OK?"

William frowned. "But he's the Green Arrow."

Thea got a devilish smirk on her lips and beckoned Kara closer. "You know," she whispered conspiratorially, making Oliver poke his head around where he, Quentin, J'onn, and Alex were speaking with Roy, and he quickly hurried over. "Before he was the Green Arrow, he actually used to be really afraid of the dark, and he needed a nightlight in his room till he was, like, what . . . six . . . " She grinned when she saw her brother walk over. "Sixteen?"

"It was _not_ a nightlight," Oliver immediately went on the defensive, even as Kara laughed giddily. "I couldn't sleep with it being pitch black. By the way, I _did_ see that, _both_ of you," he looked between his fiancée and son. "Go get a fork and a plate and get yourselves _reasonable_ slices of cake." He was about to say more when Kara gave him a pouty look, and he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Only because I know you have high metabolism, angel."

"Yes!" Kara whooped, taking William's hand and dragging him off to where the eating utensils were.

"You are a _child!"_ Alex yelled as they passed her by.

"That's these two!" Laurel countered from nearby.

Slade snorted and started choking on his drink as Malcolm immediately started protesting, starting new rounds of laughter from all around the bunker. Oliver rolled his eyes fondly, and Thea smiled up at him. "Thank you for doing this," she said. "It's . . . actually pretty cool."

"Why do you sound surprised?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I – I don't know," Thea scratched the back of her head. "I just thought that maybe you would . . . you'd be a little more anti me going."

"I'm the one who encouraged you to go follow your heart," Oliver reminded her. "Malcolm's the one you're probably gonna need to keep buttering up to convince him."

"I heard that!" Malcolm barked.

"You were meant to!" Oliver shouted back.

Thea chuckled. "I know, I know," she told him. "It's just that now that it's all real, I just . . . I thought that maybe you would be, like, a tad less supportive."

"I am completely supportive of anything and everything that makes you happy," Oliver promised her. "Speaking of which, I _did_ tell Roy that the two times that I shot him with arrows would be nothing compared to what would happen to him if you end up unhappy."

"Ah," Thea winced.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "Do you understand?"

"So what did my dad threaten him with?"

"Probably every weapon imaginable, and everything I still can't believe could actually be a weapon," Roy grimaced as he walked over to join them.

"Ah," Kara slid into the conversation, a large corner piece of cake in her hands. "I heard something involving overbearing big brothers and fathers."

"Yeah, no, no, they've _never_ been like that," Thea rolled her eyes playfully.

"Mmmhmm," Kara nodded, sticking a piece of cake in her mouth. "And you know what? Yesterday, I saw a pig fly over the bunker."

Oliver huffed, turning to look at Malcolm as he disengaged from Slade and Laurel to walk over. "Your sister's insulting us."

"So now she's just my sister and not your fiancée?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Oh, good to know. We can keep her for ourselves, then."

"Nope," Oliver immediately shook his head.

"You see, now _I_ hear an overprotective fiancé," Malcolm smirked.

Oliver sighed in frustration as Kara and Thea giggled. "Why do I keep you around?"

"Her," Thea and Kara pointed to each other at the same time.

"I'm being ganged up on," Oliver grumbled. "Wonderful."

"Now you know how Slade and I feel sometimes," Malcolm smirked victoriously, raising his drink in acknowledgment to the statement.

Kara sighed, turning to look at Thea. "I know it's been said a million times, but we're gonna miss you," she smiled. "And I've only known Roy for, like, a second compared to the rest of you, and I'm gonna miss you, too."

"Well, you guys have to come visit us once we find out where we're gonna land," Roy shrugged.

"Where do you think that's gonna be?" Oliver asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, we don't really know exactly," Thea admitted. "But that's – that's kind of the best part. I mean, we're gonna figure it out as we go along."

"So just like these two, except you're both human," Malcolm nodded.

"Hey, don't drag me into this!" Kara protested.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "No guidebook, right?"

Kara squawked, staring at him in shock, and Oliver sighed, seeing Thea's confused look. "There's no guidebook saying how this is gonna work," he summarized, gesturing between himself and Kara.

"Oh," Thea nodded in understanding.

"Well, as long as we're together, that's really all that matters, right?" Roy smiled at Thea.

"Amen to that," Oliver smiled down at Kara, who beamed in response as he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Oliver Queen_**

"So how's the whole, you know, 'back from the dead' thing going?" Winn asked Laurel.

"It's going," Laurel rolled her eyes.

"It's actually Diaz, huh?" Mon-El scowled.

"Unfortunately, yes," Laurel sighed.

"I never liked him," James frowned.

"You literally only met him when we went after him to meet Cayden James," Alex frowned.

"I didn't like him then, I didn't like him now," James shrugged. "I've never liked him."

"Touché," Alex conceded.

"Well, that makes all of us," Laurel said.

"And he's got Anatoli and Talia with him as well," Slade added.

"Oh," Winn smiled nervously. _"Great."_

"My thoughts exactly when they showed up and cut the wizard and I off."

"Magician!" Malcolm barked from where he was with Thea and Roy.

"How did he – ?" Winn's eyes widened as he looked back and forth between the two.

"Who knows with these two," Dig rolled his eyes as he and Quentin walked over. "It's like they have a sixth sense about when a bickering war begins."

"I've lived with them, and I can attest to that," Laurel nodded.

"My sincerest condolences," Alex said with a straight face.

Laurel snickered as Slade gave the auburn-haired woman a dirty look. "So Diaz, Anatoli, and Talia," J'onn frowned.

"And however much of the police force that's been breached," Quentin huffed. "Yep."

"He's gonna be a bigger pain than Cayden was just because of how much influence he's already had in Star City," Slade nodded.

"Shame he got away," Dig gave him a look.

Slade coolly raised an eyebrow in response. "Perhaps you've forgotten how unfriendly our faces are to the actual SCPD these days."

Oliver cleared his throat as he stepped into the space offered by Mon-El. "I see a work conversation, so . . . speaking of the SCPD, where are we with them?"

"Well, uh, Dinah and Curtis, they're growing a list of possible cops on the take, but that could end up being the least of our worries," Quentin answered.

"How so?" Oliver frowned.

"The D.A.'s office's refusal to drop your case without Roy's testimony," Quentin answered. "That doesn't sit right with me."

"So the police force may not be the only part of the city's power structure that Diaz has his fingers in," J'onn frowned.

"Well," Winn gave a false smile. "Well, that's just even greater."

"Yeah, no kidding," Oliver rubbed his face.

"Oliver, you let me worry about Diaz," Dig told him. "You spend a little more time with your sister before she gets out of here."

"Have you met Oliver?" Alex smirked. "You think he's gonna stop worrying about things all of a sudden?"

"Thank you very much, Alex," Oliver sighed.

"Well, ever since he trusted me to take over," Dig shrugged. "If that's still on the table."

James's eyebrows shot up as Winn and Alex exchanged looks. J'onn finally cleared his throat and looked between the two men. "I don't know the entirety of this conversation, but I don't think this is the time and place to have it."

"Agreed," Slade gave Dig a warning look.

"Hey!" Kara poked her head over Oliver's shoulder suddenly, smiling brightly. "Cake's good!"

"Oh, hey, no, wait!" Winn shouted as she hurried off again, the tense mood broken just like that. "No! That does _not_ bode well for the cake!"

"She's gonna eat it all if we don't get some, man," Mon-El chuckled to Oliver.

"How do you know she hasn't already?" Oliver couldn't help smirk as Mon-El effortlessly disengaged him from the previous conversation.

"Because she taunted us about it," Mon-El grinned, his smile fading a bit as they stepped out of ear shot. "You OK?" he asked. "Because J'onn's right, I wouldn't want that brought up at my sister's party."

"Yeah," Oliver sighed. "He just brought it up last week, too."

"When you were looking for a way to rescue Roy, right?" At Oliver's questioning look, Mon-El held up his hands defensively. "Malcolm is a gossip."

Oliver sighed. "Yeah, he did."

"Look, that's a conversation that you need to start when you're ready to," Mon-El told him. "John's not doing himself any favors by trying to bring it up too soon."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah scowled, looking at the officer on her computer screen. "This is definitely one of the jerks who beat Roy to a pulp last week."

"I wonder what food they're serving at Thea and Roy's goodbye party," Curtis mused as he walked over to the table with a bowl. "Pizza, apps – maybe those mini-desserts. That's this new thing," he added to Dinah, who looked at him in amusement. "Like, you go to this party, and then they serve you these desserts, like mini doughnuts, and you just dip them in the sauce. I mean, that would be reason enough to crash the party. Not that I'm saying I want to crash the party, I'm not expecting to be invited, but, you know, Felicity is my business partner, so I just – "

"Curtis," Dinah cut through his babble. "Focus. We need to find out how many of these cops are dirty."

"Well, Officer Hester makes ten," Curtis pointed out.

"Yeah, and counting," Dinah grumbled. "You know, the more cops who are dirty, the harder it is to believe Captain Hill didn't know."

"Who's next?" Curtis asked.

Dinah clicked the next key, and the next officer's profile appeared. "Nick Anastas."

"Hoo," Curtis sat up straight, picking up the laptop and grinning as he took a closer look. "More like Hotnastas. Wow!"

"Well, just because you have the hots for him doesn't mean he's not on Diaz's payroll," Dinah reminded him.

"All his stats check out," Curtis searched. "He hasn't had any influxes of cash into his account, no pressure points for blackmail. Look, I'm just saying you never mentioned to me that you work with such a hot police offer, not even once."

"I guess I never noticed," Dinah shrugged.

"Yeah, just like you don't notice beautiful sunsets and rainbows," he grinned. "Look, you just don't see beauty as – " The door behind them opened, and Curtis turned to see Zoe enter. "Hey, Z!" he smiled. "How was school?"

"Good," Zoe answered, smiling when she saw who else was inside. "Hi, Dinah."

"What's up, Zoe?" Dinah waved.

"Feeling like some mac and cheese tonight?" Curtis asked.

Zoe made a face. "Again?"

"Can you get sick of mac and cheese?" Curtis asked, still smiling.

"Definitely getting there," Zoe nodded.

"Oh, come on," Curtis mumbled as Dinah smirked and sat down at the table.

"Going to my room to do homework," Zoe told them, waving and leaving.

"You two seem to be getting along well," Dinah complimented.

"Yeah," Curtis nodded with a smile. "You know, it's nice having a little munchkin around."

"Well, I'm sure Rene appreciates somebody he trusts taking care of her," Dinah told him.

"Yeah," Curtis agreed. "You know, he should be starting rehab soon. Hopefully, he'll be back to normal ASAP. I really, really miss that guy."

"Me, too," Dinah agreed, then reached for her phone when it rang. "Hey," she grinned when she saw the Caller ID. "It's your boyfriend, Anastas." She checked the message she got, then nodded. "Homicide. Got to go. You keep digging. I got to find out who at work I can trust."

"He's not my boyfriend _yet,"_ Curtis protested. Dinah gave him a knowing look, and Curtis held up two thumbs. "I'm on it."

Dinah nodded and left the apartment, leaving Curtis to keep digging.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"You know, I never thought there would be a day when I would say I'm gonna miss you and really, truly mean it," Thea sighed as she put her bag into the car she and Roy were leaving in.

"Try and sound a little more convincing, why don't you?" Malcolm snorted.

Thea just giggled and closed the trunk, turning to look at him. "Thank you for everything since Lian Yu," she told him with a smile.

"Thank you for giving me another chance," Malcolm smiled back. "And helping keep me in line."

"Dad, the day anyone keeps you in line is the day hell freezes over," Thea snorted.

Malcolm tilted his head. "So hell froze over around the time we met Kara," he deduced.

Thea burst out laughing. "Oh, I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," Malcolm smiled. "Come here."

Thea hugged Malcolm tightly as Roy headed for the car. "Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Thea," Malcolm smiled, kissing the top of her head.

A ripping noise cut through the air, and Malcolm pulled Thea away as a black arrow smacked into the front tire of the car. "What the hell?" Roy stopped short, eyes wide.

Malcolm turned around, reaching under his jacket for a knife, just as two figures clothed in black hooded outfits with bows grappled to the ground. "Dad!" Thea cried as both aimed at him.

Malcolm launched his knife at the closest figure, who fired their arrow and knocked the blade off course. "Get inside!" he shouted as the figure rushed him.

Thea scrambled backwards as the figure took another arrow, this one looking like a tranquilizer, then another arrow, this one dark red, smacked into their back. Malcolm didn't hesitate to grab the bow and arrow and aim at the other figure, his arrow and a similar red arrow hitting them at the same time.

Malcolm panted, looking down at the figures, then turned when he heard boots hit the asphalt. "What the hell, Nyssa?" he glared.

"This wasn't me," she told him as she walked up. "They've targeted me, too. That means we need to move."

"Targeted?" Roy parroted.

"Are there more coming?" Thea asked, looking around.

"Many more," Nyssa said grimly. "These are the scouts."

"They look like League of Assassins," Roy frowned.

"But you disbanded the League," Malcolm looked at Nyssa.

"We both know nothing stays dead forever," Nyssa shook her head. "It appears my father made sure of that."

Malcolm took a deep breath, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "OK," he opened his eyes again, looking at Nyssa. "They're after both of us, that's what you're saying? Why _both_ of us?"

"As much as I loathe saying it, like me, you are a former Demon's Head," Nyssa answered. "And while we are alive, that is something we can never truly run from, even after we have lost that mantle."

Thea swallowed hard. "What do they want with my dad?"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"What happened?" Oliver asked as he hurried out of the elevator.

"Are you guys hurt?" Kara's gaze swung from person to person. "Malcolm, Thea, Roy?"

"No, almas, we're fine," Malcolm shook his head.

"So is it good or bad that we haven't left the city yet?" Winn asked.

"Agent Schott," J'onn glared.

"Who was the target?" Oliver looked between everyone.

"Me," Malcolm said grimly. "And apparently, I'm not the only one."

"He is not," Nyssa shook her head, then focused on Kara from where she was stirring a mug of tea. "I hear you intend to take my husband as your own."

Kara's mouth opened and closed. "Um . . . that does not seem to be the priority at the moment, so can we focus on why my brother was nearly killed and we can sort out me marrying Oliver later?"

Nyssa's lips twitched upwards in a smirk. "In the League, such talk would take the form of mortal combat."

"Twenty bucks on Kara," Alex held up a finger.

"What the hell is going on?" Oliver cut in.

Malcolm sighed. "This technically _is_ the League of Assassins, but it's a band that I wasn't even sure existed or not."

"What does that mean?" James frowned.

"They're called the Thanatos Guild," Malcolm answered. "When I became Ra's, I heard . . . _whispers_ about them, but I never discovered if they were real or not. _Someone_ took the title before I could determine anything for certain."

"They exist," Nyssa told him. "Because I began hearing whispers about them shortly after we all returned from Lian Yu."

"And you didn't think to bring this up when you helped in National City?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"I think we can both agree that someone else was our main priority," Nyssa narrowed her eyes.

Kara cleared her throat. "The Thanatos Guild, please?"

Nyssa sighed. "It is a branch that was started by my father at an unknown time."

"Well, he's dead, and you're his daughter, and you _ended_ the League," Dig frowned.

"And you all know how happy some League members were about that," Malcolm gave him a look.

"Merlyn is correct," Nyssa nodded. "My father's legacy endures. He had a second in command of the Guild, Athena, and she has taken charge. She is a contemporary of mine, and a rival. Her involvement alone suggests a very dark purpose at work here."

"Why would they attack Malcolm?" Kara frowned.

"Aside from the fact Oliver gave the ring of the Demon's Head to me?" Malcolm snorted. "I can't think of one."

"But I can," Nyssa said. "Before my father found who he believed to be his true heir, he discovered a map that leads to something ancient, powerful. I do not know what it is, but I do know that he desired his true heir to be at his side when he unearthed it."

"I never heard anything about it," Oliver frowned.

"Well, you killed him before he could tell you," Malcolm pointed out.

"Suppose he never really trusted me, then," Oliver shrugged. "And maybe that's why no one from this . . . _Guild_ has gone after me yet."

"But Merlyn held control of the League for a time, and I, as you have constantly pointed out, am my father's daughter who also held the ring before melting it down," Nyssa said. "Athena believes me or Merlyn to either be in possession of the map or at the very least have knowledge of its whereabouts."

"Oh, does she?" Malcolm huffed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Of course she does. OK. I guess telling them I have no idea isn't going to work, is it?"

"Unfortunately, no," Nyssa shook her head. "We will have to settle this ourselves, together."

"Can Star City survive that?" Felicity asked nervously.

"Well, we'll find out, because I do not want this Guild here," Malcolm shook his head. "Was I bitter about the League getting disbanded? Yes, but what's happened in the last year has changed me. I don't want anything to do with this, not now when I realize how much it's cost me before."

"I don't want this either," Nyssa told him. "But we cannot run from this. You cannot deny your past or your legacy as Ra's al Ghul any more than I can deny mine or my father's, and they will keep hunting us because of it."

Malcolm sighed. "Well . . . let's go on a treasure hunt."

Thea bit her lip, looking between Roy and Malcolm before stepping forward. "How can I help?"

"What?" Roy looked at her quickly.

"Thea, no," Malcolm shook his head. "You've got your chance to leave with Roy. Take it and go."

"I'll still have the chance after this Guild is figured out," Thea shook her head. "They're going after you, and I have not spent the last year getting closer to you just to see you dive headfirst, almost _blind,_ back into the past and possibly get _killed_ because of it!"

"You were also attacked just before they left Star City," Alex pointed out. "They could go after Thea again if they think you have the map's location."

"Leverage," Roy scowled.

Malcolm groaned, palming his face. "Fine," he finally ground out. "But after this, don't let my life put yours on hold, Thea."

"Good," Thea smiled, turning to Nyssa. "So, this . . . map. Where is it?"

"I do not know," Nyssa admitted.

"And we're already off to a great start," Malcolm drawled.

"If you would let me continue," Nyssa shot him an annoyed look. "There is a League associate in Star City, one I know from my father's own mouth he trusted. If he shared the map's location with anyone, not even his daughter, it would have been with her."

"Sounds like you haven't actually spoken with her," James frowned.

"I have not," Nyssa sniffed. "She . . . does not care for me."

Felicity scoffed, then covered it with a cough when Nyssa shot her an annoyed glance. "And you think I can get it from her?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"She was a sympathizer of yours," Nyssa nodded. "However, I will not require your help for this."

Malcolm held out his hands, then dropped them in a helpless gesture. "Then why save my ass, tell me we need to work together, then tell me you don't need me for this?"

"Because of where she would be found," Nyssa answered, turning to look at Thea. "And it is fortunate you wish to stay, Thea. It is your assistance I will require. Perhaps yours as well, Kara. And . . . " She looked around, frowning. "Laurel would help as well."

"Laurel?" Malcolm frowned.

"Any would be blind to see these three are those you are closest to, save for Slade Wilson," Nyssa answered. "The more of your closest sympathizers there are in the same room, the better. And she would not deny your daughter or sisters."

"This woman sounds cheery," Mon-El frowned.

"OK," Thea nodded her agreement. "Like Dad said, we will help you find this map, settle this with the Guild, and then Roy and I will leave."

"Thank you," Nyssa nodded, then tilted her head as she looked at Mon-El. "Who is this?"

Malcolm barked out a laugh, pulling out his phone. "I'll call Laurel while you guys explain."

Mon-El smiled nervously, leaning in closer to Alex. "Is it just me, or is she scary?"

"She's scary," Alex assured him.

"OK."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"It's a drug deal gone bad," the officer told Dinah when she arrived at the scene, holding up a small zipped bag for her.

"Very bad," Dinah agreed. "Man was shot over a dozen times."

"Maybe he pissed off the competition," the officer shrugged.

A door opened nearby, and Dinah looked up to see Hill walk down a set of stairs. "I'll take it from here, Lieutenant Drake."

"Captain, this is a drug-related homicide," Dinah tilted her head as Hill walked up. "Isn't it a little below your pay grade?"

"It's part of a larger sting operation," Hill told her.

Dinah frowned. "I wasn't aware of a larger sting op – "

"You weren't aware because it's above _your_ pay grade, Lieutenant," Hill cut her off.

"Oh," Dinah blinked, then nodded, along with her fellow officer. "We will head back to the station, then."

They were walking back towards the cars when Hill called out. "Hey! You can leave the evidence with me."

Dinah paused, then turned back around and smiled. "Of course," she nodded, walking over and handing Hill the bag.

She got a tense smile in response, and Dinah turned around, walking away from her captain. As she did, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Curtis.

 _Look into Captain Hill. Something strange._

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Remind me why I'm here when Laurel Lance is supposed to be in the brighter parts of Star City, bringing light back?" Laurel asked Kara quietly as they followed Nyssa and Thea, Laurel in a biker jacket and heeled boots, Kara in a pink leather jacket, grey skinny jeans, and black thigh-high boots.

"Ah," Kara grimaced. "Apparently, this contact 'will not deny Malcolm's daughter and sisters.'"

Laurel's mouth opened, then shut again. "Oh."

"Yeah," Kara nodded. "Speaking of . . . are we going to talk about Diaz's little threat?"

"I think it was pretty self-explanatory, Kara," Laurel gave her a look. "Either you stood down, or Malcolm or Slade got outed."

"Not the part of the threat I meant." Laurel pursed her lips and turned away, and Kara sighed. "Laurel, please, tell me. Would I, of all people, judge if you actually love him?"

"And if I do?" Laurel scowled, turning to face her.

"Great!" Kara answered with a smile. Laurel blinked and stared at her, and Kara looked just as surprised right back. "What, did you actually think I was going to judge you?"

"I am the doppelgänger of the woman who dated _his son,"_ Laurel said slowly.

"I never knew this Earth's Laurel, or Tommy," Kara shrugged. "Not really a good reason to ask why I'm not judging you."

Laurel huffed, turning and walking on. "He's older than me."

"Still not seeing a good one!" Kara jogged after her.

Laurel finally glared at her. "Rebecca." Kara halted in her tracks, and Laurel sighed, turning to look at her. "Kara, he destroyed part of Star City to try and avenge her death."

"I know," Kara nodded. "He's mentioned it multiple times. So have a lot of other people, too. Don't you think she would want him to find someone who could make him happy again?"

Laurel closed her eyes. "That's even assuming the feeling is mutual."

"You didn't see him when you were first beaten down by Diaz's men, then you were abducted by him," Kara smiled softly. "There is a very good chance they are."

Laurel stared at her. "You think so?"

"Only one way for you to find out," Kara smiled gently.

"Guys?" Thea's voice called, and they turned to see Nyssa open a door nearby. "You coming?"

Kara nudged Laurel. "Might not be a good idea to find out right this minute, but tell him," she smiled encouragingly. "He should know. And you deserve a chance to try."

Laurel swallowed, then followed Kara towards Nyssa and Thea.

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers/Thea Queen**_

"Whoa," Kara blinked as she looked around the dimly-lit building they were in, filled with very shady people. "OK . . . and it's a good idea for the mayor's fiancée to be seen here?"

"I highly doubt word of your appearance will spread," Nyssa told her.

"Well," Thea cleared her throat, "now I see why you didn't want the boys to come."

"They'd have us out of here before you could even say 'bail,'" Laurel agreed.

Nyssa stopped, then nodded towards a woman sitting alone at a table. "That is Tigressa."

Thea tilted her head, examining her as she downed shot after shot. "Looks like the only thing she knows how to kill is vodka."

"She has over two hundred confirmed kills, one of them being her own brother because he matched her quote," Nyssa said dryly.

"Mon-El was right," Kara cleared her throat. _"Very_ cheery woman."

Nyssa led the way over, and Tigressa scowled, tracing the rim of one of her shot glasses. "Al Ghul," she sneered. "I should take your hand for what you did to Al Sa-her."

"I never understood your affection for Merlyn, Tigressa, but I always respected it," Nyssa sighed, then gestured to Thea. "This is his – "

"Spawn," Tigressa interrupted, making all four women stare at her. "You think I wouldn't recognize Malcolm's own blood? Or the women he claims as his own family?"

"It doesn't end in blood," Kara said.

Tigressa smirked, then looked at Thea. "Your father had much faith in you."

"He still does," Thea leaned on the table. "But neither of us are fans of this new League running around. Can you help us with that?"

Tigressa chuckled. "So you've met Athena." She eyed Nyssa. "She's not the leader your father desired."

"No, that ended up being my brother and Kara's fiancée, who very clearly didn't want it," Thea snorted. "I am here because Athena thinks my dad could possibly open some map for her."

"With good reason," Tigressa nodded. "No one knows who Ra's al Ghul ensured could truly unlock its secrets, but Athena has good reason to believe that any successor of his could have received the secret to." She side-eyed Nyssa. "I suppose we'll find out." She plucked a pen from a passing waitress's tray, scribbling on a napkin. "The Demon's Head secreted the map here."

Thea nodded, taking the napkin and examining it. "Call me curious," Laurel leaned forward, "but why didn't you just take the map?"

Tigressa examined her, then smirked. "I rejected the path of the League of Assassins a long time ago."

Laurel smirked right back. "You'll have to tell us. A few people might want to know how you did that."

"Thank you," Kara interrupted.

"Well, when you find it, you may not be so grateful," Tigressa shook her head.

"There's this thing you should try," Laurel snorted. "It's called 'being polite.'"

Tigressa chuckled. "The lawyer has bite. It doesn't surprise me Malcolm found you."

Both Nyssa and Thea shot Laurel surprised looks, but she just huffed and stood. "A lot of things about me would surprise you," she said, turning on her heel and leaving.

"Wait," Thea turned to Kara as they hurried after Laurel. "My dad and _Laurel?"_

"It's," Kara began, trying to find the words before sighing. "I have no idea."

"I believe you can settle that later," Nyssa said, pointing at the address Thea held. "Contact your father and brother."

* * *

 **A/N: The more I wrote this episode, the more I realized what comedic gold Malcolm and Nyssa are when they're not trying to kill each other.**

 **Another update should come tonight!**


	77. The Thanatos Guild - Part Two

**Team SuperArrow meets Athena, many conversations are had, and Curtis meets Nick.**

* * *

 _ **Nyssa al Ghul/Malcolm Merlyn/John Diggle/Oliver Queen/Alex Danvers**_

"I can't sense anyone," Kara looked around as the large group entered the building.

"Overwatch, Telle, can you confirm?" Oliver asked.

"Always trust the Kryptonian," Felicity answered. "But yes, it is just all . . . well, all of you. You're too big of a group to count."

Nyssa had to agree as she surveyed how many had come. She had just been expecting Oliver and Malcolm; she had not realized Slade, Dig, Roy, Alex, Mon-El, and James would join them with gear for Laurel and Thea. "Be cautious," she warned as she and Malcolm took the lead. "My father would have laid traps to protect this place."

"Ooo, traps," Winn's voice sounded excited. "Now we're talking. 'Raiders' or 'Temple of Doom?'"

"Calm down," J'onn's voice broke through.

"Yep, calming down."

"Hey," Roy slid past most of the group to join Thea, who was shifting about anxiously. "You OK?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I will be once this is all over with."

"Yeah," Roy agreed. "Me, too."

His foot landed on a plate, and Kara perked up. "Get down!" she yelled.

Nyssa, Malcolm, Thea, and Roy hit the ground as Kara and Mon-El shielded Oliver and Dig, James raising his shield to cover Alex, Slade maneuvering so he pushed Laurel out of the way and against the wall. Malcolm looked up first, taking in the arrows that peppered the wall around Kara, Mon-El, and James, then nodded shakily at her. "Thank you."

"Yeah, any time," she nodded back.

"A trap," Nyssa eyed the arrows. "Excellent."

"That's an interesting definition of _excellent,"_ Mon-El frowned.

"I think she means in terms of how close we are," Malcolm said, helping Thea to her feet.

"Oh," Mon-El nodded. "Well . . . excellent, then."

Dig pressed a button on the side of his helmet, looking around. "Thermal imaging is showing that what we're looking at is what we've got," he said. "No hallways, no doors."

"Looks can be deceiving," Malcolm shook his head, and Thea and Roy turned to see him eyeing the floor. "I had a secret chamber in my office to hide my gear when I was CEO. Where do you think I got that idea from?"

Kara looked down at the ground, then tapped with her boot. "Here."

Nyssa smiled. "Clever." She looked up at Kara. "May I?"

"All yours," she gestured, stepping back.

Nyssa took out a vial and smashed it on the ground, and Laurel and James flinched away from the small explosion it caused when it hit the ground. When the smoke hissed and cleared, Malcolm chuckled. "Oh, that's very clever."

"What is it?" Slade tilted his head.

"Iodine dixonium," Nyssa answered. "A component magnetically attracted to the same type of steel my father used to encase relics."

"A secret of the family, or a secret of the Demon's Head?" Oliver asked.

"Yes," Malcolm shrugged.

Dig snorted. "Just when you think you know everything about these guys."

"Welcome to the League of Assassins," Malcolm snorted.

Nyssa pulled out a knife and crouched down on the ground, digging it into the crack that had formed. "Al Sa-her?"

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "You sure? I thought you hated me."

"I am more than happy to put aside whatever negative feelings I have for you while we uncover what control my father still has on both of us," Nyssa shot him a look. "Can you do the same?"

Malcolm smirked. "Well, since you asked so nicely."

"Look at that," Thea smirked. "Hell's frozen over."

"Shut up," both said at the same time as Malcolm crouched down to help Nyssa.

Slade snorted softly, but everyone watched as Malcolm lifted the concrete block Nyssa pried out of the ground. Nyssa carefully reached down into the ground, and Roy's eyebrows shot up as she lifted a metal box out. "Wow," Alex whistled.

"OK," Thea said slowly. "That's not a map."

"The map is inside," Nyssa examined the box. "It's an ancient League cipher."

"So it needs a code," Slade nodded.

"Guessing it's a bit more complicated than a birthday?" James asked.

"Considering it needs eighteen digits across three alphabets," Malcolm tilted his head side to side.

"Definitely more complicated than a birthday," Alex sighed.

Splattering on one of the large drums nearby made everyone look around, then Laurel's gaze was drawn upwards. Her eyes widened as a body dropped down, hung by their ankle. "Tigressa!"

Kara spun around, scanning the entire building. "We've got incoming!"

"The daughter of the demon and Al Sa-her." Both got to their feet and turned as a black-clothed woman with a scar down the left side of her face emerged, drawing her sword. "I want both of you and the map." She smirked. "I'm always merciful when I get what I want."

"I know you better than that," Nyssa scowled.

"Stand down," Oliver ordered as Dig drew his gun, Slade his sword, Alex reaching up and turning her collar on. "Not gonna ask twice."

Athena smirked, and Mon-El spun around. "Heads up!" he barked.

Thea and Roy joined Laurel in aiming at the assassins that landed on the ground behind them, Oliver, Slade, and Dig doing the same with the assassins behind them. "Come with us, and we will let your friends continue to draw breath," Athena told Malcolm and Nyssa as Kara, Alex, James, and Mon-El stood back to back, looking around at their many opponents. "Stay where you are, and blood will be shed."

Malcolm eyed Athena, then looked at Nyssa. "You said she was your rival, right?"

"Yes," Nyssa confirmed, a smirk forming on her lips. "May I?"

"By all means."

Nyssa handed the box off to him, drawing her sword. "Supergirl!" she barked.

Kara shot her heat vision at two of the assassins on Malcolm's other side, providing an opening for her brother to run. Those closest to him – Laurel, Thea, and Roy – took off to cover him. Athena tried to run after him, but Nyssa got in her way, swinging both her sword and her bow. Kara maneuvered herself to catch the sword swung at her, and the blade shattered where it hit her. The assassin balked in shock, then collapsed when Mon-El punched him in the side of the head. James and Alex shifted to watch each other's backs, Alex grabbing a fallen sword and alternating between dueling with the sword and jabbing with her claws, James using his shield's strength to good use and blocking her from being attacked.

Dig shot two of the assassins down, then yelled in pain and staggered when he got a sword slice to the back. A snarl came from behind, then a pained gurgle. Dig turned to see Slade withdraw his sword from the assassin who attacked him, then the Australian held out a hand towards him. "Your Kevlar held," he said grimly. "Barely. Watch your six, Spartan."

"No kidding," Dig grumbled, accepting the hand up.

Oliver was taking three assassins on at the same time, blocking strikes with his bow and using the assassins' momentum against them. Kara zipped in to help, crashing into one who was about to stab Oliver from behind and throwing him into a pile of crates. Oliver nodded gratefully, firing an arrow into another assassin, letting Kara use her heat vision on the third.

A yelp from Nyssa made Alex turn, and she saw Nyssa on the ground, Athena sneering at her. "You've had the same footwork since you were eight years old."

Alex growled, then screamed in her direction. Athena looked up in time and quickly rolled out of the way, and Nyssa plastered herself to the ground to avoid the sonic waves; instead, Alex hit the three assassins coming to back their master up. "Well, that works, too," Alex grumbled.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel spun behind Malcolm and launched a throwing knife, the assassin approaching from behind grunting when it got stuck in his jugular vein. More assassins jumped in their path, and Malcolm dropped his bow and drew his sword, disarming the two around him easily. Thea used her sword and her bow, smacking her opponent in the face and disorienting him before sticking her sword through his side. Roy ducked under one assassin's sword and did spinning kick in midair, his foot connecting with another assassin's head with a sickening crack. Laurel veered to the side, and one assassin struck the other with his sword; while he was distracted, Laurel propelled herself off the wall and wrapped her legs around him, bringing him to the ground and shoving her knife down into his chest.

Thea crashed into the wall behind her, and Laurel looked up in surprise to see her fall to the ground, the assassin facing her putting his sword to her throat. Roy raised his bow to fire an arrow, but another assassin crept up from behind and knocked his aim off, kicking Roy's feet out from under him and dropping him just like Thea. Laurel took her knife in hand and stood up, opening her mouth to scream when her hair was pulled, and her head jerked back. She yelped in surprise, then swallowed when a sword was pressed against her throat. "Make a choice, Al Sa-her," Athena hissed, and Laurel saw Malcolm look up from the assassin he had just killed, the box still under his arm. "Come with us and give us the map, or she dies."

Laurel managed to shake her head, telling Malcolm know, then hissed when Athena pressed her sword harder. Malcolm swallowed, his eyes flickering around. "Telle," he finally said. "In case you were still wondering . . . it's 'Raiders.'" His foot came down on a plate similar to the one Roy had stepped on. "On the ground!" he shouted.

Thea and Roy immediately rolled over onto their stomachs, and Laurel twisted as best as she could, putting Athena in the way of the arrows shooting out. She saw assassins jerk and fall out of the corner of her eye, then Athena stiffened and her grip loosened. Then she was shoved away, and Malcolm's arm was around her instead. "You OK?" he asked.

"Fine," she nodded, looking down to see Athena on her knees, grimacing in pain. "I'm fine."

Malcolm nodded in response. "I've still got the map," he said, watching Thea and Roy scramble to their feet.

"Let's move!" Oliver answered sharply.

The four ran off, leaving Athena behind as the rest of the team followed them from where they were scattered around the room.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Here," Roy hurried over to Thea, taking hold of her quiver and sword sheath. "Let me help you."

"OK," Thea winced as he took both off her back. "Ow. _God,_ that bitch has a really powerful kick. I think she might have broken one of my ribs."

"She has a sharp sword, too," Laurel winced.

"Which I do not want to see you on that side of again," Malcolm scowled, helping her press a wet cloth against her throat. "You sure you're OK?"

"It's the same answer as the last God knows how many times, Malcolm," Laurel huffed. _"Yes."_

"That's Black Siren code for thank you," Slade smirked.

"Well, I agree with Thea," Alex announced. "What a bitch."

"That's technically my line," Winn held up a hand.

"I assure you that will be the last time you have to face her," Nyssa said.

"Yeah?" Dig raised an eyebrow. "You'll get no complaints from me."

"Except Athena doesn't seem like a type who will give up easily," Slade frowned.

"I intend to take the choice out of her hands," Nyssa told him. "By taking my father's map far from here." When Malcolm looked up sharply, Nyssa shook her head. "If the map stays with me, Athena will assume that means I can open it. She will leave you alone, Al Sa-her. That is what you want, isn't it? This was a burden left on us by my father. It should be mine, not yours."

Their stare-down was interrupted by Felicity grunting as she held up the box. "You didn't tell me this was the box from _Hellraiser!"_

Nyssa nodded respectfully to Malcolm. "Thank you for not attacking me, Al Sa-her."

Malcolm was still blinking as Nyssa made to leave. "Wow," Roy blinked as well. "That was a _lot_ easier than I thought it would be."

"No," Malcolm suddenly shook his head, standing up from where he was tending to Laurel and moving towards Nyssa. "No, that is not how this is going to work, Nyssa. You need someone to unlock the cipher!"

"No, no, no," Felicity shook her head. "Not this type of mathematics."

"I can always just break it," Kara offered.

"League relic," both Nyssa and Malcolm said at the same time.

Kara wilted a bit. "Well . . . OK."

"Nyssa, Athena was able to take you down," Malcolm turned back to her. "Do you really stand a chance against the _entire_ Thanatos Guild? And that's no guarantee that I'm going to be safe, either!"

Nyssa frowned. "You made it clear once we acquired the map you wanted nothing to do with my father or the League."

"You also made it clear that this map leads to something ancient and powerful," Malcolm countered. "It's like you said, the legacy of Ra's al Ghul is something neither of us can run from." He sighed, shaking his head. "I'd rather see this through completely than have any doubts that there's any part of this burden left . . . for _either_ of us. Besides," he pointed to where Felicity was examining the box. "We have one of the world's greatest mathematician here. Two, including Kara, and quite frankly between her and Mon-El, that's more than enough protection for us while that box gets opened, let alone the rest of the team."

Nyssa tilted her head, then nodded. "Very well," she said, extending her hand. Malcolm did the same, the two grasping each other's arms in a warrior's handshake. "Can you do it?" she asked Felicity.

"Well, in my experience, anything locked can be hacked," Felicity confirmed, grunting as she picked up the box again. "Usually by me."

Malcolm nodded, then turned to where Thea was sitting on the platform, giving him a look. "No," he immediately said, shaking his head. "Thea, _no."_

"Thea, yes," she countered. "I'm staying, Dad."

"What?" Roy shot her a look.

"Thea, the only reason you're involved in this is because my decisions leading to me becoming Ra's al Ghul are coming back to bite me in the ass," Malcolm told her. "You should have nothing to do with this."

"Once a daughter of the demon, always a daughter of the demon," Thea stood up, coming face to face with him. "That's what Nyssa is, too, right? That's the legacy Ra's passed to her. I'm part of your legacy, too. And I am not leaving until this is figured out."

Malcolm sighed, closing his eyes. "You shouldn't have to be here."

"Well, tough," Thea folded her arms. "I want to be here. I've spent the time since Lian Yu helping you put the League behind you. I'm gonna be here fighting it off while I can, right by your side."

Malcolm swallowed, then nodded. "Thank you."

"Thea, he gave you an out," Roy said quietly.

"I know," Thea turned to him. "But . . . it's hard to explain. Just . . . I need you to trust me."

Roy sighed, but nodded as well.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt/Dinah Drake_**

"All right," Dinah told Curtis as they approached the evidence building. "You ready?"

"To go to prison for stealing evidence?" Curtis grimaced. "No, not really."

"I'm doing the stealing," Dinah pointed to herself. "You're doing the hacking."

Curtis snorted. "Look, something tells me the police don't make that distinction." Still, he followed Dinah into the building and towards the lockup where the evidence from Dinah's last crime scene was stored. "This could be the last time I'm here not as a suspect."

"How long is this gonna take?" Dinah asked as Curtis pulled out a handheld device and held it up to the lock.

"My worry is twenty-five to life," Curtis answered.

"Come on," Dinah rolled her eyes. The electronic pad lit up green, and the lock clicked open. "Keep watch," Dinah ordered, opening the door.

"What?!" Curtis's eyes widened. "I thought you said no one else was gonna be here!"

" _We're_ here, aren't we?" Dinah pointed out, stepping inside.

Curtis gritted his teeth as Dinah moved through the room, her flashlight beam hitting every shelf . . . several shelves, actually, full of evidence. A door opening caught his attention, and Curtis balked, looking towards the doorway. "Crap." He turned back around, trying to find Dinah. "Come on . . . "

"This is police access only," a voice said, and Curtis turned, eyes widening further when he saw the same officer he'd been staring at on a computer walk into the room, frowning at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Nick Anastas!" Curtis grinned nervously, making his eyebrows shoot up. "Hey! It has been a while."

"Do I know you?" Nick asked in confusion.

"Yes, of course," Curtis nodded, gesturing to himself. "Curtis Holt. We met through Dinah Drake. She's my friend and your sergeant or lieutenant . . . or was it just detective?" Nick tilted his head, still confused, and Curtis cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, either way, I'm meeting her here for dinner, but I kind of lost in this new building. I mean, I really haven't seen this place since . . . since it got blown up."

"Well, I could give you a tour if you want while you're waiting for Lieutenant Drake," Nick offered with a kind smile. "She usually doesn't show up for her shift for another hour."

"Totally Dinah," Curtis nodded. "She's, like, a major slacker."

Both chuckled, and Nick gestured to the door. "Come on."

"Yeah," Curtis smiled, following him.

When they were gone, Dinah popped up from where she'd been hiding in the shelves, opening a cardboard box on one of them. She aimed her flashlight inside, and she grinned when she found what she was looking for. "Gotcha," she declared, pulling out the evidence bag from the crime scene.

* * *

 ** _Nyssa al Ghul/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Nyssa," Oliver nodded as the dark-haired woman passed him and Kara by.

"Husband," she responded promptly.

Kara did a double take, and Oliver glared after her, only to see her give them both a small smirk. "Does that mean I would win the mortal combat thing?" Kara asked.

"Believe what you will, soon-to-be sister-wife," Nyssa answered.

Kara gawked after her, and Malcolm snickered where he sat on the stairs leading to the other exit of the bunker. "You're joking with someone. The world is ending."

"I approve of Kara," Nyssa told him, leaning against the railing and examining him. "As I approve of Laurel."

Malcolm's eyebrows shot up. "I beg your pardon?"

"I am fairly certain we both know I don't need to repeat myself, Al Sa-her," Nyssa said dryly. "I do possess eyes, and they have seen quite a lot recently."

"Have they?" Malcolm snorted, looking away from her.

"They have," Nyssa confirmed. "They saw Laurel's reaction to when Tigressa said she wasn't surprised you found her. They saw Laurel immediately run to cover your six after you took the box with the map. They also saw how panicked you were when Athena began to cut her throat."

"Don't remind me of that," Malcolm snapped.

"And I imagine for that alone, you wish to gut Athena until all the blood is drained from her body," Nyssa continued.

"So what if I do?" he grated out. "She hurt someone I care about. That's asking for an enemy out of me."

"She hurt someone you _love,"_ Nyssa corrected his statement. "That is asking for you to kill them."

"I don't love Laurel," Malcolm glowered at her.

"I think you do," Nyssa shook her head. "I think you also don't wish to admit it."

Malcolm palmed his face. "Nyssa, she is the doppelgänger of the woman who dated my son – not to mention the same woman who despised me ever since Tommy's death."

"I think she has made it very clear that she is _not_ this Earth's Laurel Lance," Nyssa told him.

"I know that!" Malcolm growled.

Nyssa held out her hands. "I see no problems here."

Malcolm shook his head. "I can't believe _you_ of all people are giving me relationship advice."

"What would you like me to do instead?" Nyssa tilted her head.

"Stop discussing this, for starters," Malcolm muttered.

"Very well," Nyssa nodded. "Thea, then."

"OK, not this, either," Malcolm scowled.

"You do not want her here."

"How very perceptive of you, Nyssa."

"Why not?"

Malcolm growled. "She's dealt with enough of the League because of me. I've made several mistakes during my life with it, and I dragged her through it during its final years. She should not be here risking her life while I'm trying to right those wrongs."

"I've dedicated the rest of my life to righting my father's wrongs," Nyssa frowned. "I can understand why she would want to stand with you while you try to right yours."

Malcolm snorted. "Thea doesn't have to be here. She doesn't owe me anything. If anything, I owe her because of what she's been through because of me."

"I think Thea's life is her own," Nyssa told him. "Would you say she has earned your support for her actions?"

"Yes," Malcolm frowned.

"Then let her choose what she wishes to do with her life, whether it is to remain here and aid you or to leave."

Malcolm sighed, averting his gaze to stare at a blank spot on the floor. After a few seconds, he blinked once, then twice. "Wait."

"What?" Nyssa frowned.

Malcolm finally looked at her, a disbelieving expression on his face. "Did we just have a decent conversation with each other?"

Nyssa scoffed. "You sound surprised, Al Sa-her."

"That's it," Malcolm declared, getting to his feet. "The world really _is_ ending."

"My apologies," Nyssa drawled with a smirk.

"Nailed it!" Felicity whooped from over by her station. "I nailed it! I got it!"

"You go!" Winn high fived her.

"You've unlocked the map?" Nyssa asked, hurrying over with Malcolm on her heels.

"Actually, no," Winn shook his head.

"Then what you do you mean you 'nailed it?'" Slade frowned.

"Well, I figured out how to unlock the _Hellraiser_ cube," Felicity answered, looking at Nyssa and Malcolm. "I just thought one of you should do the honors."

"Oh," Malcolm blinked. "Thank you."

"So how do you unlock it?" Kara asked.

"The Fibonacci sequence!" Winn grinned.

"The who's what?" Mon-El blinked.

"The Fibonacci sequence," Alex repeated.

"Yeah, it's a mathematical pattern dating back to Pingala's formula in 450 B.C.," Felicity nodded.

"Wow," Roy gawked.

"Guess it's a good thing I didn't try and break it open," Kara winced. "Because when you said ancient . . . you weren't kidding."

"I never kid," Nyssa snorted.

"In the Fibonacci sequence, every number is the sum of the previous two numbers," Alex continued to explain.

"So all we need to do is find the two starting numbers," Winn said.

"And how hard is that going to be?" Laurel frowned.

"Ten and thirteen," Nyssa said promptly.

"Is that correct?" J'onn asked.

"1013 was the year that the League was founded," Nyssa explained.

"That makes more sense than my birthday," Malcolm mused.

"So it kind of was that simple?" James frowned.

Nyssa gestured to the box. "Since it _is_ your birthday."

Malcolm shrugged, then sat down at the table, working on the box. "Ten," he mumbled out loud as he worked. "Thirteen, twenty-three, thirty-six, fifty-nine, ninety-five."

The top of the box whirred, and Laurel smiled as it opened. "Nice work."

Malcolm took the lid off and looked into the box, then took out a scroll of parchment. "I opened it," he held the paper out to Nyssa. "You open this."

Nyssa took the scroll and unrolled it eagerly. "What's it say?" Oliver asked.

Nyssa just scowled in frustration, holding it up. "Nothing," she answered grimly.

" _Seriously?"_ Winn asked incredulously.

Malcolm just turned to Felicity. "You have a burner here, don't you?"

"Yeah," Felicity turned, pointing. "Right over – " Kara quickly flew over to the cabinet she pointed at and returned, holding out the burner. "Here," Felicity finished, running around the table to plug it in.

"What do you need a burner for?" J'onn asked, eyeing it warily.

"Simple," Malcolm answered, taking the scroll back from Nyssa as Felicity ignited the burner, and he held the paper up to the flame. "This."

"Why are you burning it?" Roy asked.

"He's heating it," Nyssa corrected. "The League writes in hidden text that can only be revealed through flame."

"Didn't you know that?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to," Roy retorted, turning on his heel and walking away.

Malcolm's other eyebrow shot up, and he cleared his throat, turning back around to check the other side of the parchment. "I don't know what's going on with him, but . . . " Thea sighed. "Just keep working on it."

"Well, I think it's safe to say fire's not working," Malcolm pushed away from the table.

"Why not?" Nyssa scowled.

"Well, option one is that Ra's used a different type of invisible ink," Malcolm answered.

"Or?" Nyssa prompted.

"Or there's nothing on this and everyone is wasting their time."

"Or maybe we should try something different," Felicity suggested.

"Such as?" Malcolm asked.

"New school instead of old school," Felicity answered, holding up a thin device which shone a white light when she turned it on. "May I?"

"Please," Malcolm spread the paper out next to the burner.

"What's this?" Nyssa asked curiously.

"This scanner can make a 3D voxel-based recreation," Felicity answered, running the scanner over the parchment.

"I didn't start using a computer until I was 25," Nyssa frowned.

"Well, basically, if we can duplicate this map digitally, there could be some hidden markers on it that we can trace," Winn explained.

"Sounds complicated," Nyssa frowned.

"Which means we should probably let you do this," Malcolm stood up.

"Yes, please," Felicity nodded.

* * *

 ** _Thea Queen_**

Thea found Roy where Malcolm and Nyssa were just moments before, sitting on the staircase to head out of the bunker. "OK," she sighed, sitting down beside him. "So somebody's grumpy."

"I'm sorry," Roy closed his eyes. "I'm – I'm trying to be supportive."

"But," Thea prompted.

"But . . . " Roy sighed. "It's still hard to comprehend you wanting to stay here for Malcolm after everything he's done in the past."

"He's changed, Roy," Thea told him.

"I trust you saying that," Roy assured her. "It's just . . . it's still hard for me to wrap my head around. I guess I just haven't seen enough of it yet."

"Fair," Thea admitted, sighing. "It's not like I want to be dealing with the League again. That's the last thing I want. But after everything my dad's done to try and put all of that behind him . . . I can't just run away from that and not help him."

"OK, you see, that's where we're different," Roy told her. "You see this as us running away from something, but _I_ see this as us running towards something, something way better." He sighed. "You know, I just . . . I don't know. I just feel like recently, you've just been finding any excuse you can for us to stay here."

Thea raised an eyebrow, then smiled and slipped her hand into his. "Unlike all my boyfriends in the past . . . I do find it kind of cute when you're being insecure."

Roy's lips twitched upwards as Thea leaned her head on his shoulder. "I just don't want to lose you again, Thea."

Thea smiled warmly. "This Guild and whatever it means for my dad is not my future. _You_ are."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah pinned Hill's picture up among others in their team's base, then smirked. "I love a good old murder board."

"Yeah," Curtis grinned. "Feeling very Alan J. Pakula." Dinah gave him a quizzical look, and Curtis cleared his throat. "Sometimes I forget you're not Felicity." He hurried back over to his computer as Dinah rolled her eyes fondly. "Now, look, I know this has probably already occurred to you, but all Hill did was take the evidence from your hands. That's not necessarily proof. Not to mention her name didn't pop up at all when – "

"She's dirty," Dinah interrupted him.

"Are you asking me or telling me?" Curtis frowned.

"You tell me," Dinah answered. "If these drugs are the same kind Diaz pushes – "

"And Hill took it off your hands, that would be pretty damning," Curtis nodded.

"And the fact that so much of the department is so crooked would make a lot more sense if it was rotten from the top down," Dinah agreed. "So, are they Diaz's drugs?"

"I don't know yet," Curtis shrugged. "Maybe we should just try it." Dinah smirked, then Curtis perked up when his computer beeped. "Or we can read the analysis," he offered, sitting down at his computer. He pulled up the results, then blinked. "Oh."

"What?" Dinah asked, walking over.

"It's Vertigo," Curtis answered.

"Vertigo?" Dinah echoed, looking over his shoulder. "I heard of this back in Central City. It's a hallucinogenic, right?"

"Yeah," Curtis confirmed. "But, I mean, the good thing is that this isn't Diaz's drug of choice."

"So Hill is clean," Dinah frowned thoughtfully.

"Looks like," Curtis nodded, looking up at her as she sighed. "You actually look disappointed."

"Well, just because it means we are back to square one," Dinah smiled sarcastically.

"Yeah," Curtis sighed in agreement.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara hesitantly approached where Nyssa was examining her sword, then politely coughed. "I, uh . . . don't suppose you'll stop calling Oliver 'husband' if I politely asked you, would you?"

"That depends," Nyssa answered, not turning around.

"On what?" Kara asked.

"If you've earned my respect."

Kara's mouth opened and closed repeatedly. "Oh."

Nyssa turned around, a small smirk on her lips. "You've fared quite well with me calling him such."

"Well, I mean, I knew you called him that before," Kara scratched the back of his head. "And I know it was a . . . thing . . . a few years ago. What was it again, it was to fool your father?"

"Yes," Nyssa's expression soured. "While Oliver was Al Sah-him and my father's new heir, he decided he would marry his new heir to his former one."

"Right," Kara winced.

"I tried to stab him during the ceremony."

" _Oh,"_ Kara cringed.

"I was not pleased," Nyssa said unnecessarily.

"You don't say," Kara sighed. "And yet you still call him husband."

"Because by the League's laws, we are still married," Nyssa shrugged.

"But you disbanded the League," Kara frowned. "Wouldn't that mean you . . . I guess divorced?"

"Not quite," Nyssa shook her head.

"Ah," Kara nodded, fidgeting a bit. "Uh . . . if by any chance I have earned your respect, is there any way you could find a way to make that happen before I actually marry him?"

Nyssa smirked. "Perhaps."

"That's all I'm gonna get, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"OK," Kara cleared her throat awkwardly. "Good talk. At least you're a better conversationalist than your sister."

Nyssa blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "What about my sister?"

Kara smiled nervously. "Have we not mentioned yet?"

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"You're brooding."

"I am _not_ brooding."

"You forget I live with the wizard. I know brooding."

Laurel glared up at Slade, then mumbled "Magician" under her breath as she returned her gaze to where Malcolm was speaking with the group from Earth-38, explaining more about the League.

Slade snorted. "You're brooding."

"Congratulations, Slade, you can still see with one eye."

"All right," Slade sighed, leaning on the column next to her chair. "You're not just brooding. You're moping. You and Kara have something in common – it's not a good look on you."

Laurel sighed, rubbing her temples. "I just have a bad feeling about this, Slade."

"Hold onto that bad feeling, Siren," Slade patted her on the shoulder. "It often keeps us alive."

"That's what I'm worried about," she mumbled.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver watched Thea fiddle with her suit in its case, absently clicking his fingers. "Think you might take that thing with you?" he asked.

"One hundred percent no," Thea answered immediately.

Oliver snorted in amusement. "You OK?" he asked.

"And why wouldn't I be?" Thea asked, sighing and turning around. "I mean, Roy only thinks I'm gonna leave him to stick with my dad, who is being pursued by a bunch of crazy assassins Ra's hid away in their own little organization, and they want to kill him and probably want to use me to get to him, so . . . my life is just _great."_

"Malcolm was right, though," Oliver told her. "You don't have to do this. We have plenty of manpower here to stop Athena. You can go. You can live your happily ever after with Roy."

Thea raised an eyebrow. "Here I thought you were supposed to go live yours." Oliver looked at her in confusion. "Or did I imagine the time when you stopped being the Green Arrow?"

"Yeah," Oliver sighed. "That was the plan. Life interfered."

"John got hurt," Thea nodded.

"He did."

"He's not hurt anymore," she pointed out, then looked around the room. "And you can't exactly use the 'in over his head' excuse because he definitely wouldn't be alone."

"No, I can't," Oliver agreed with a sigh. "I don't know. I . . . I gave it up because I wanted to be a better father, but William accepts the idea that I'm the Green Arrow." He hesitated. "Plus, I don't want to give it up. I don't know why."

"I do," Thea smiled, making Oliver tilt his head inquisitively. "Because being the Green Arrow's what makes you feel complete." Oliver hummed, considering that as Thea nodded. "For some reason, when you put that hood on, it enables you to become the best version of yourself."

Oliver blinked, focusing back on her. "We're supposed to be talking about you."

"Maybe we are," Thea admitted with a small chuckle. "I don't know, maybe that's why I can't seem to give this life up. I – I don't know. Maybe I'm hoping that somehow I'll get the same thing and find the best version of myself, whoever she is."

Oliver nodded, then a yelp came from Winn. "Hello! Hey, guys? Problem! I found the Guild!"

"Where are they?" Oliver asked, hurrying to join Winn.

"The Star City gas plant," Winn answered, gesturing to security footage of the Guild attacking workers.

"They can cut off the city's entire supply," Dig swallowed.

"Or worse, they could blow it up," Roy added.

"Why?" Mon-El frowned. "I just heard of these guys, and it doesn't sound like their M.O."

"It is if they're using the plant to leverage us into giving up the map," Oliver pointed out.

"It's like they don't know you, kid," Slade snorted.

Malcolm frowned, looking down at the map Felicity had abandoned to check the security footage. "Maybe we can keep them thinking that."

"What?" Nyssa frowned.

Malcolm held up the map and looked at them. "I have an idea."

* * *

 **A/N: I had to put the "decent conversation" line in there. I had to. Honestly, Malcolm and Nyssa are now two of my favorite people to write together. Why do they have to be so hilarious?**

 **Final chapter will either be up tonight or tomorrow!**


	78. The Thanatos Guild - Part Three

**It's the final fight between Team SuperArrow and the Guild, the secret map of Ra's is revealed, and a few people have some decisions to make.**

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"This is a _terrible_ idea."

"Well, you're not the one being targeted by these assassins, so thank you very much for your opinion, but it will now be disregarded."

" _Will you two stop?"_

"Oh, the sound of those three bickering," Winn sighed over the comms. "This almost feels normal."

"I'm glad you think so," Laurel rolled her eyes as she followed Slade and Malcolm down the steps.

"Overwatch, Telle, do you have eyes on the Guild?" Oliver asked as he and James were next, Kara and Mon-El watching from in the air as the team descended into the plant.

"No, not yet," Felicity answered, "but I'm reading a frequency spike, which means they just activated a bomb."

"Athena's way of putting pressure on us," Nyssa scowled, looking over her shoulder at Malcolm. "Let's hope your plan works."

"Oh, ye of so little faith," Malcolm scoffed.

"Please don't tell me you're about to sing," Winn sighed.

"Actually, if he's anything like his doppelgänger in the musical world, he's pretty good at it," Kara piped up.

"In the _what?"_ Malcolm looked sharply up at her.

"Multiple heat signatures, guys!" Felicity warned. "They got you surrounded."

"Head on a swivel," Dig looked around.

"Well?" James looked up and around. "Where are these assassins?"

"Everywhere," Kara narrowed her eyes.

Nyssa and Malcolm exchanged looks, and Malcolm nodded, heading off in a different direction, backed this time by Oliver, Thea, and Roy. Laurel watched them go with a worried eye, then stiffened. "My six."

Slade spun around at once, just as three assassins dropped down, just like she thought.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

"You want your map so bad?" Malcolm called, looking around. "Come out. Let's talk."

"Perhaps our lord Ra's taught you some sense after all," Athena's voice echoed around them. "But you are mistaken if you think that all we want is the map."

A zipline arrow wrapped around Roy and pulled him away, the man yelping in surprise. "Roy!" Thea shouted.

Footsteps sounded behind them, and Malcolm turned to see Athena walk up, a smirk on her face. "The map is meaningless without spilling your blood," she told him.

"You know," Malcolm scowled, drawing his sword. "You're _really_ starting to piss me off."

He and Athena lunged at each other, and Oliver closed in around them, keeping Athena on guard as Thea ran to free Roy.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Alex Danvers_**

Laurel grabbed one assassin by the neck and screamed in his ear, enough to drop him unconscious on the ground. At her side, Slade shot twice into the air, felling an assassin about to grapple down.

As James deflected arrows away from Dig, Mon-El dropped to the ground and tackled an assassin about to sneak up on Alex. She gave him a quick nod of thanks, then ran to jump onto the back of one of the three assassins dueling Nyssa. She jammed one of her claws into his neck, making blood spray everywhere; Nyssa nimbly dodged and kicked another assassin towards her, turning to focus on just the one left.

* * *

 ** _Roy Harper_**

"Don't forget, guys, we still have a bomb situation," Felicity said.

Roy scoffed as Thea undid the cable around him. "There's always a bomb situation."

"Good news," Kara announced, and Roy looked up to see her drop onto the walkway above them. "I found the bomb situation."

"Hey, yay, score one for the Kryptonian!" Winn announced.

"Uh," Kara examined the bomb as Roy ran up to join her, Thea running after Malcolm and Oliver. "Now am I able to get this out of here without automatically detonating it?"

"Better not to risk it," Felicity said.

"OK, then this is not my field," Kara muttered.

"What type of bomb is it?" Roy asked, crouching by her.

"It's a collapsible circuit," Winn answered.

"We can freeze it," Roy said. "I've done it before."

Kara nodded, taking a deep breath. "No!" Felicity shouted, stopping her. "No, it's a Mercury switch. That will definitely set it off."

Kara pouted, and Roy thought for a short second that it was one of the most adorable things he'd ever seen. "What do we do?" he asked.

"Short-circuit it," Winn answered.

Roy snorted. "You know, I'm kind of out of electricity arrows right now at the moment."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver ducked to dodge a sword swing by Athena, backing away as Malcolm spun into that same place, bringing his sword and bow up in an X to block Athena's downward swipe. "Oliver!" Kara called.

Oliver nodded, having heard the entire conversation. "On its way!" he called, drawing an electricity arrow from his quiver and aiming into the air.

He fired, and Kara flew down and grabbed it in midair, flying back up to the bomb. Then he felt a stinging pain in his side and yelled in pain, legs buckling. "Ollie!" Thea cried in horror as he reached down and found the cut Athena had made with her sword, the assassin grinning victoriously even as Malcolm snarled and pushed her back.

Sparks flew from where the bomb was, and Oliver heard Winn's cheer of success, then Kara was by his side. "Oh, my God," she swallowed, her hand covering his to try and staunch the bleeding more.

Oliver gritted his teeth, shaking his head. "Help Malcolm," he ground out.

"Oliver!" Kara protested.

"I'll be fine!" he waved her off. "Go!"

Kara bit her lip, looking at Thea. "Will you – "

"Help my dad," Thea waved her off, too.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Kara Danvers_**

Malcolm grimaced as his and Athena's blades met in a lock, each using all the strength they had to try and gain the upper hand. "Your bomb is done for," he growled. "You are not destroying this city, so get the hell out of here while you still can!"

"Not without the map!" Athena spat.

Wind blew past them, and Malcolm felt the paper get pulled from where he had tucked it in his belt. "You mean this map?" Kara asked angrily, and both turned to see her stand behind them, holding the map up and over the burner next to her.

Athena's eyes flickered in panic. "You don't want to do that."

"I don't?" Kara raised an eyebrow. "You hurt my fiancée." Her eyes lit up white-blue, ready to use her heat vision. "I think I do."

Athena lunged, and Malcolm drew a knife from his belt, thrusting it into her stomach. Athena gurgled as she dropped to the floor, and Malcolm glared down at her before turning to Kara. "Nice work."

"Well, I wasn't kidding," Kara glared at the map like it was trash. "I'm ready to burn this."

Malcolm conceded with a nod, turning to look at Athena, then groaned when he saw she wasn't there. "Of course. Like all League members, she's hard to kill."

"I guess it takes one to know one, Al Sa-her," Nyssa said as she jogged over with Alex.

Kara turned around when she heard a familiar heartbeat, and she ran over to Oliver as Thea and Slade helped him over, Roy behind them. "Are you OK?" she asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine, angel," he assured her with a wince. "It's just a slash, I wasn't stabbed."

"Not fun either way," Slade grumbled.

"Are you OK?" Laurel asked, focusing on Malcolm.

"Yeah," Malcolm nodded, looking at Oliver. "I'm not the one who was on the receiving end of her sword."

"Well, the good news is they're all gone," Mon-El reported, he, James, and Dig coming from the opposite way. "They're all either wrapped up or they retreated."

"I really didn't miss those guys," Dig griped.

Roy nodded in agreement, then blinked. "Kara . . . look."

Kara frowned, then followed his gaze down to the paper in her hand. She did a double take, spreading the paper open all the way. "Whoa," she breathed in awe as dark red lines began to ink over it.

"Is that . . . _blood?"_ Alex stared in amazement.

"They were being literal," Nyssa whispered. "They needed blood to spill."

"But neither of us got hurt," Malcolm blinked.

"No," Oliver shook his head, looking down at his bleeding side, then at Kara's blood-covered hands . . . _his_ blood. _"I_ did."

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Oliver Queen_**

"Nanolithography," Felicity explained back at the bunker as Alex helped wrap Oliver's side up, Kara sitting with him. "The map's printed with bacteria."

"Ugh," Roy summed up with a shudder. "That's gross."

"Yeah, and when exposed to the enzymes in Oliver's DNA, it will reveal itself," Winn said.

"Of course," Malcolm nodded in understanding. "Ra's wanted the heir he chose to be able to find whatever's on the map and used Oliver's DNA to make sure only he could activate it. He must have taken it from blood spilled when you fought on the cliff."

"The one Ra's al Ghul no one ever considered," Thea nodded. "No offense, Ollie."

"None taken because he never said a single word about it," Oliver made a face.

"That's my father for you," Nyssa snorted.

"I'm no expert in maps, but this does not look like X marks the spot," James observed the map curiously.

"Do either of you know where this leads to?" J'onn asked Nyssa and Malcolm.

"I believe I do," Nyssa nodded. "These are Ley lines."

"Oh, great," Felicity groaned. "Ley lines. Yeah, we had some experience with those with Damien Darhk."

"These are different," Nyssa shook her head. "I thought they only intersected in one place on Earth."

"That's very specific," Laurel frowned.

"And obviously wrong," Slade gestured.

"You don't say," Dig snorted.

"Indeed," Nyssa ignored Dig. "These lines are global and suggest the existence of three intersections of the kind I thought only existed at Nanda Parbat."

"Right, but what only exists on Nanda Parbat really?" Felicity asked. "I mean, besides really depressing décor."

Malcolm suddenly swore violently and in Arabic, making Winn almost jump out of his seat from where he was behind the man. "Dude!" he protested.

"You have _got_ to be kidding," Malcolm stared at the map in something akin to horror and awe. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"I never kid," Nyssa shook her head.

"Dad?" Thea asked, eyeing him nervously. "You're scaring me."

Malcolm took a deep breath. "The Thanatos Guild . . . Thanatos is the personification of death in Greek mythology."

"Exactly," Nyssa nodded. "I believe these lines suggest the existence of three installments."

"Three what?" Laurel frowned.

Malcolm swallowed hard. "Ra's discovered the existence of three additional Lazarus Pits."

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

Curtis walked into SCPD headquarters the next morning, then caught sight of Nick thanking someone at a desk and walking away with a file. "Oh, officer!" he called, jogging to catch up to him as he turned around. "Nick," he smiled in greeting. "Or should I just call you officer because we're at work?"

"Nick's fine," Nick told him with an answering smile. "You're becoming a regular around here."

"Yeah, well, you know," Curtis shrugged. "I was just stopping by."

"To see Lieutenant Drake?" Nick asked.

"To ask you out," Curtis corrected, then started babbling the moment Nick raised an eyebrow. "To dinner, or – or drinks, or, like, just coffee, or we could just, like, walk down the street and talk, I mean – "

"Yes," Nick interrupted with a smile.

"Yes?" Curtis repeated hopefully.

"I get off of work tonight at seven," Nick nodded, smiling wider.

"Yeah," Curtis said faintly, a smile growing on his face, too.

"So should we say eight?" Nick suggested.

"Eight is awesome," Curtis agreed happily. "Eight is perfect. Yeah, I mean, I'll make reservations and I'll text you."

"Sounds like a plan," Nick beamed. "See you tonight."

"OK," Curtis nodded, a giddy look still on his face as he watched Nick walk off. Dinah walked away from the desk she was at, frowning a bit, but Curtis found he didn't mind. "Hey," he smiled at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Getting back on the horse, D," Curtis answered with a satisfied sigh. "Back in the game, back in the saddle. I'm gonna get really right into – " He cut off, seeing the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I checked intake and evidence lockup for any Vertigo related cases," Dinah answered.

"And?" Curtis asked.

"There aren't any."

He frowned in confusion. "Is that not a good thing?"

"There aren't any Vertigo cases because they've all been kicked and the evidence released by Captain Hill," Dinah told him.

Curtis swallowed. "So she's dirty and she did it for Diaz."

"Ricardo Diaz is pushing Vertigo," Dinah nodded.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Malcolm looked down at the map on Felicity's table, tapping the fingers of his cybernetic hand on the metal. It masked the sound of Laurel's boots approaching, though it didn't stop him from hearing her take a deep breath when she reached him. "This may be a stupid question . . . are you OK?"

Malcolm sighed, hanging his head. "No," he admitted. "I'm really not." He straightened up and folded his arms, not looking away from the map, even as Laurel put her hand on his back. "I've seen the Lazarus Pit heal Thea from a wound that should have killed her. It raised Sara from the dead a year after she was killed, even though she returned without her soul. Knowing that three more of these are out there . . . " He shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face. "Thanatos," he muttered.

"You said it was destroyed, though, right?" Laurel asked. "So it can be done to the three of these, too."

"It can," Malcolm nodded. "Nyssa's already figuring out which to hit first."

"Good," Laurel nodded as well, then felt him tense under her hand. "That _is_ good, isn't it?"

"It is," Malcolm told her. "But she's planning on going alone. We've seen the Thanatos Guild, we know how good they are. She shouldn't do it by herself."

Laurel froze. "You're thinking about going with her?" she asked quietly.

"This started with the two of us being the targets," Malcolm said heavily. "Maybe it was Oliver's blood that triggered the map to reveal itself, but he never wanted the mantle of Ra's al Ghul. The deal we made was he give it to me after he killed Nyssa's father. It's my fault that the League came to Star City in the first place. They were my sins." He closed his eyes. "I just . . . "

Laurel swallowed hard. "Malcolm," she whispered. "You want to put the League behind you. You'll be running right to them this way!"

"The only way out of the League is through death," Malcolm shook his head. "Even Tigressa proved that when the Guild killed her after she gave you the location of the map." He chewed his lip, looking down at the map. "Laurel, I feel like I need to do this."

Laurel stared long and hard at him, then shook her head. "Don't," she whispered, then backed away when she found herself unable to say more.

Her voice cracked just enough for Malcolm to look up, startled. "Laurel?" he asked worriedly. Laurel just rapidly shook her head and took off for the stairs. "Laurel!" he shouted after her, heading to go after her.

"Give her some space, Dad." He stopped in his tracks and turned to see Thea walk out from behind one of the weapon racks. "She needs it."

Malcolm sighed, putting his face in his hand. "Are you going to try and convince me to stay, too?" he asked.

"Actually, yes," Thea nodded. "I am."

Malcolm shook his head. "I appreciate you trying, Thea, but it's not going to be easy."

"I'm not saying Nyssa should go alone," Thea told him.

Malcolm frowned in confusion, then Thea raised an eyebrow and he realized what she meant. "No," he immediately shook his head. "Oh, no you don't."

"Dad, I of all people know how bad it could be if those Pits get used by _anyone_ with the wrong intentions," Thea insisted.

"And I'm the one who allowed Laurel to use it to raise Sara," Malcolm nodded. "I know the power those Pits hold."

"Dad," Thea put a hand over his. "You sound like you're fishing for reasons to go." When he frowned in confusion, Thea shook her head. "You want to stay more than you want to go."

Malcolm closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "The things I did as Al Sa-her are things I can never forget, and I don't think I will ever forgive myself for them," he told her. "Then there's what I've done to Star City, to Oliver, to you, to his team . . . there's too many sins to count, Thea."

"Then let me take some of them," Thea said quietly. "The existences of these Pits are not your fault. The Thanatos Guild is not your fault. Those are on Nyssa's father, not you. The League could draw you back in, and I have not watched you work to redeem yourself just to watch you go with Nyssa to face those demons again."

"And what if that happens with you?" Malcolm asked.

"It won't." She said it with such confidence that he had to believe her. "Because I'll know you are where you need to be. Let me help you a little bit more."

Malcolm sighed. "You'll be helping me a lot more than just a little bit."

"All the better," Thea smiled.

Malcolm looked down at the map one last time, then closed his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent," Thea nodded, squeezing his hand. "Besides . . . people here need you more now."

Malcolm swallowed, then nodded, and Thea stepped forward, hugging him tightly.

* * *

 ** _Roy Harper/Thea Queen_**

Roy walked into Thea's apartment, seeing her staring out the window over Star City. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she turned to look at him. "I'm sorry if I've been distracted these last few days. I just really needed to sort things out, but none of it had to do with you."

"It's fine," Roy shook his head, eyeing the suitcase Thea had with her. "I'm just trying to figure out if you packed that bag to come with me or Nyssa." When Thea looked at him incredulously, Roy shrugged. "Laurel stormed past me when I was about to come into the bunker. She looked about ready to cry. I heard you and Malcolm talking, and . . . I couldn't tell how it ended."

Thea nodded slowly. "I think you may know."

Roy nodded as well. "You're gonna go with Nyssa."

"Look," Thea sat down on the bed. "Last night, Ollie and I were talking, and we were talking about how when, you know, he becomes the Green Arrow, he . . . he feels complete, and I was thinking that maybe that's because when – when he puts the hood on, he gets to right our father's wrongs. I told my dad that these were not his wrongs, not his sins to make up for . . . it was tearing him apart to think about leaving, and he was planning to anyway. This time last year, I never would have believed he could be the man he is now, and I don't want to lose him to anything similar to the League again." She swallowed, looking up at Roy. "And if there's anything I can do to help him avoid that, I will do it. I don't want to see him fall, and I'm scared that he would. I think this is my calling. This is what I have to do."

"So you've made up your mind?" Thea nodded, and Roy nodded back. "You know what? So have I." He sat down next to her and announced, "I'm gonna go with you."

Thea's mouth fell open. Had she hoped that would be what Roy would say? Yes, of course, but to hear him say it . . . "What?" she managed to say.

"I told you it doesn't matter where we go as long as we go together," Roy told her. "I saw how Malcolm reacted to that map and the idea of more Lazarus Pits . . . and I saw who you said he is. I never imagined I could see him like that, and I understand why you wanted to stay and help him. He's your family, Thea. You're doing this for him. And if you feel it's your calling . . . then I'll be with you, every step of the way."

Thea swallowed hard, tears in her eyes. "How did I get to be so lucky?" she whispered.

Roy tilted his head mockingly. "Hmm, let me think . . . I think it has something to do with a stolen purse?"

Thea burst out laughing, and he grinned.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"It was so good to finally meet you," Kara told Roy with a smile as they met on the road when it was dark.

"You, too, Kara," Roy smiled back. "It's good to know Oliver's found someone as incredible as you."

Kara ducked her head, a faint blush on her face. "Well, Thea's lucky to have you, too."

They shook hands as behind Kara, Oliver hugged Thea tightly. "Just – just be careful, all right?" he told her. "And if you need anything – and if you don't need anything – just call me."

"And there's the overbearing big brother," Malcolm rolled his eyes fondly.

"Oh, like you're not overbearing, either," Thea smiled.

Malcolm shook his head as she walked over to him. "You don't know how much this means to me," he told her.

"Maybe not," Thea shook her head. "But I can imagine, and I imagine it means a lot. That means this is worth it."

Malcolm took a deep breath, hugging her. "Thank you."

"You're absolutely welcome."

Alex smiled at their goodbye as Oliver turned to Roy. "Keep her safe," he ordered.

"You know I will," Roy nodded, giving him a hug as well.

Alex walked forward to Thea, a small smirk on her lips. "Now, as Kara's maid of honor, I have to say something," she said, making Kara groan. _"Please_ tell me you'll get back for the wedding."

Thea laughed. "Tell me when, and I'll be there. I wouldn't miss it."

"I'll ensure she makes it," Nyssa smirked.

"Good," Alex nodded, then held out her arms. "Come here."

Thea smiled, hugging her. "I'm gonna miss you, Alex."

"I'll miss you, too," Alex squeezed her.

Kara smiled at Thea, tears in her eyes as the brunette moved to her next. "You better come back for the wedding," she threatened. "You're the second bridesmaid."

Thea grinned. "Oh, I'm definitely not missing out on that."

Kara swallowed, then engulfed her in a bear hug. "Thank you for everything."

Thea closed her eyes, feeling tears sting her own eyes as she rubbed Kara's back. "Any time."

Oliver took a deep breath, turning to look at Nyssa. "She didn't have to do this," he told her. "So you better look out for her."

"Thea's your sister and the daughter of Malcolm Merlyn," Nyssa told him with a proud smile. "She has less need of protection than you think." Oliver nodded, accepting the point as she walked over and held up a knife sheathed in gold. "This is a Horchis dagger," she told him. "In the League of Assassins, it symbolizes the cutting of marital bonds." Kara's eyes widened, and Nyssa winked at her as she held the dagger out to Oliver with both hands. "I hereby annul our marriage."

Malcolm and Alex laughed at the stupefied look on Kara's face, even as Oliver chuckled and took the dagger. "Nyssa . . . as engagement gifts go, this isn't half bad."

Nyssa smiled at Kara and stepped forward. "I wish you all the best, Kara Zor-El," she said. "You have chosen a wonderful man."

"I'm happy he chose me in return," Kara smiled widely. "You know this means you're invited to the wedding, too."

"I'm happy he chose me in return," Kara smiled widely. "You know this means you're invited to the wedding, too."

Nyssa chuckled. "I guess we have a time frame to destroy the Pits, then." She extended her hand, which Kara shook, then she turned to Malcolm. "Al Sa-her."

"Nyssa," Malcolm smirked.

"I wish I could say I am not disappointed you are not joining me. I have actually enjoyed working with you."

Malcolm laughed in surprise. "It's not so bad when we're not trying to butcher each other."

"No, it's not," Nyssa agreed, holding out a hand. "Good fortune, Malcolm. Take care of yourself."

"Same to you, Nyssa," Malcolm smiled, shaking her hand. "And I know she's my daughter . . . take care of her anyway."

"I will," Nyssa promised, giving him a small bow as he stepped away. "One last item of business." Oliver tilted his head, and Nyssa nodded at him. "I still have many contacts from before I disbanded the League. If I can draw my sister away from Ricardo Diaz and pull her attention elsewhere, I shall."

Oliver's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow," he managed to say, chuckling and shaking his head. "Thank you, Nyssa."

"It is the least I can do," she smiled warmly. "And I believe you have dealt with Talia enough."

"I agree," Kara nodded. "And I've only dealt with her since Lian Yu."

Malcolm nodded in agreement, and Oliver turned to Nyssa. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Nyssa smiled, giving him the same bow she had given Malcolm. "Be well, Oliver."

Oliver returned the gesture, and Nyssa exchanged bows with Malcolm before turning and walking towards the car. Roy gave them a last wave and followed her. Thea sighed and turned to the quartet, a sad smile on her face. "Well . . . this is it."

"Thanks for clearing a few things up for me," Oliver told her gratefully.

"Of course," Thea nodded, then held up a finger. "One more piece of advice?"

"Sure," Oliver acquiesced.

"If you're gonna wear the hood, you shouldn't string John along anymore."

Oliver smiled faintly. "I thought I was the one who gave the wise sibling advice."

"That can be any sibling," Alex chuckled.

"Nope," Thea shook her head. "That has never been the case with us."

Oliver swallowed, and Thea moved to hug him the same time he moved to hug her. "I am going to miss you _so_ much," he whispered.

Thea closed her eyes, squeezing him tightly. "You'll be with me the whole time," she promised.

Oliver nodded and released her, and Thea took a deep breath before stepping in front of Malcolm. The assassin looked long and hard at her before shaking his head. "I do not deserve you for a daughter," he whispered.

"You have me anyway," she smiled. "And you're the father I saw you could be after Lian Yu. I would do this again in a heartbeat."

He took a deep breath. "Thank you again."

"You're welcome," Thea told him. "You're where you need to be."

Malcolm nodded in agreement, and they stepped forward to hug each other. "I love you," he whispered into her hair.

"Love you, too, Dad," Thea murmured into his shoulder.

Malcolm kissed the top of her head, then Thea reluctantly stepped away. She looked at Kara and Alex, giving them both waves. "Good luck," Kara smiled as she waved.

Thea mouthed her thanks, then turned and walked to the passenger's side door. She gave them all one last look, then swallowed and ducked down into the car. As soon as she closed the door, Nyssa started the car and drove down the road, leaving the quartet behind. "Goodbye, Speedy," Oliver whispered, Nyssa's dagger in one hand as Kara took his other one.

Malcolm closed his eyes, exhaling long and hard. "She's really gone."

"She'll be back," Alex reminded him, patting him on the shoulder.

"She better be," Kara sighed.

Malcolm nodded absently, then turned to the rest of them. "There's somewhere I need to be now."

"Go," Oliver nodded.

Malcolm turned and headed down the street. "Malcolm," Kara called, and he turned to see her look at him. "Tell her," she said. "She needs to know."

Malcolm stared at her for a long time, then turned away and muttered "Super hearing" under his breath as he walked on.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

He heard glass clinking against glass as he entered the loft, and he quietly made his way towards the living room. He already had a guess as to what he would find when he got there.

Sure enough, he found Laurel with her back to the door, pouring a heavy helping of bourbon into a glass tumbler. She looked like she had already had about a third of the bottle. "Finish your shift already?" she asked, not caring to look over her shoulder.

Malcolm winced at the dead tone she used. "I wasn't aware I had a shift," he chose to answer as she lifted the tumbler to take a drink.

Laurel spat her drink out at once, coughing as she spun around and stared at him. _"What?"_ she sputtered.

"That being said, I can go back and suit up if you want to keep drowning in bourbon," Malcolm gestured to the bottle.

"Don't you dare!" she sobered up immediately at that, standing up from her seat. "Or I swear to God, Merlyn – "

"Don't worry, Siren," Malcolm shook his head, walking forward and taking the tumbler from her hand, putting it down on the table. She still looked stunned enough that she was about to drop it. "I'm not going anywhere."

She swallowed, looking at him as if she was still having trouble believing he was there. "But . . . but you said – "

"I know what I said," Malcolm cut her off. "Believe me, I do." He sighed. "Thea volunteered to go instead."

Laurel still stared at him, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly. "What?" she repeated.

"She and Roy went with Nyssa," Malcolm told her. "Thea reminded me that the Guild, the Lazarus Pits . . . I've had many wrongs with the League, but none of those were mine. And you were right, too . . . I'd be running right back towards the League, a place I don't want to be. She didn't want to lose me."

"I didn't, either," Laurel whispered under her breath.

Malcolm took a deep breath. "And she reminded me that there are people here who need me more." Laurel's eyes flickered up to him, and he smirked a bit as he chuckled. "So, Siren . . . I guess that means you're stuck with me."

Laurel choked on a laugh, and she flung herself at him, arms wrapping around his neck in a vicelike grip. "I better be."

Malcolm smiled, his arms encircling her waist. "Lucky you."

Yes, Thea had been right. He was _exactly_ where he needed to be.

* * *

 **A/N: So Malcolm is staying, and Thea and Roy take his place in the search for the Lazarus Pits. Don't worry, though - I promise this is not the last we will see of Thea, Roy, or Nyssa. I fully intend to bring all three of them back.**

 **I hope this episode lived up to the standards some of you had. I didn't want Malcolm to be the creator of the Guild, but I also wanted to make a believable reason for Thea to take on the Lazarus Pits mission instead of him. Hopefully I succeeded.**

 **So, we've had three Arrow episodes in a row . . . how about a Supergirl marathon now? The next three Supergirl episodes are next, starting with "In Search of Lost Time" . . . and let's just say circumstances may cause a critical Arrow plot point to occur sooner rather than later.**


	79. In Search of Lost Time - Part One

**It's game night at the Danvers-Queen loft, Lena has things to show Sam, Mon-El has things to show Kara, and then everything goes bonkers.**

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena walked away from her computer towards the unit Sam was unconscious in, then took a deep breath. "Start recording," she ordered, and a faint beep sounded. "This is day nine with the subject. My preliminary findings show a karyokinetic anomaly, confirming my initial hypothesis that she has been transforming . . . mutating into the other. Subject remains in a medically-induced coma. However, further testing will require consciousness, so I will now end sedation on the subject." She reached over to the IV line and tapped a button. "Stop recording." The computer beeped again, and Lena took a deep breath, looking over at a picture frame of Sam and Ruby on the bedside table. "When you wake up, please be Sam," she begged.

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp/Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Go!" Lucy called, flipping over the hourglass on the table.

Felicity, Kara, James, and Winn immediately started shouting out guesses from the floor while Laurel laughed hysterically across from them, leaning back against Malcolm's legs as he laughed, too. Slade and Alex just exchanged looks and snorted in amusement, Oliver and Dig covering their mouths as they tried not to laugh too much, either. From where she was also watching on the floor, Evelyn stared around Kara's loft with wide eyes before turning to the boy next to her. "Is game night usually this . . . enthusiastic?"

"They're just getting warmed up," William grinned.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" J'onn protested as he and Quentin walked over. "That – that doesn't count!"

"Why?" M'yrnn asked in confusion.

"Mr. J'onzz?" William grinned as Evelyn giggled next to him. "You shapeshifted."

M'yrnn blinked, then looked down at the astronaut suit he was wearing. "Oh." Winn and Felicity both burst out laughing, Oliver grinning widely. "Human games have so many rules," the older Martian complained.

"I don't know," Dig reached over to exaggerate looking at the rules of charades. "I don't see shapeshifting anywhere in the rules."

"I agree," Lucy pointed at him.

"You know what," Alex waved it off. "It's fine. Just let him have it. We're slaughtering 'em anyway."

"Amen," Kara agreed, lifting up her wine glass, scooting back to lean against the couch. Oliver leaned down and tapped the bottom of his beer bottle against the rim of her glass, both drinking at the same time.

"The Martian Man-Father strikes again!" Winn announced dramatically as M'yrnn sat down.

Kara spat out her drink as Oliver choked on his. _"Martian Man-Father?"_ Quentin repeated with an amused grin as Oliver coughed violently, Dig clapping him on the back.

"Fine," Winn rolled his head as he stood up. "The Martian Dad-Hunter."

Alex snorted loudly as William and Evelyn rolled on the ground laughing. "OK, the adults need more wine," Kara declared, climbing to her feet.

"Not these two!" Alex and Laurel called at the same time.

"Shut up!" Slade and Malcolm responded as if on automatic.

That just brought about a new round of laughter. "Keep playing," Kara giggled, taking her glass.

"I'll help," Oliver volunteered, standing up as well.

As Winn drew a card, the pair headed over to the island, J'onn coming over as well. "Oh, this is nice to have," Kara sighed happily.

"It is," Oliver agreed. "And it's good to have all of us here."

"I'm glad it worked out," Kara nodded, looking at J'onn. "For you and your father, too."

"Me, too," J'onn nodded, watching the game as Kara got a new bottle of wine and the bottle opener.

"I'm sorry he's going through this," Oliver told him.

"Thank you, Oliver," J'onn smiled appreciatively.

"He's strong, though," Kara said, working on opening the wine bottle.

"Yeah," J'onn nodded. "He seems to be taking this better than I am. He's doing everything he can to keep his mind sharp. He's – "

"The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover!" M'yrnn shouted.

It was Malcolm's turn to choke on his drink as protests erupted around the room. _"What?"_ Evelyn's jaw dropped as William collapsed against her.

"Cheating again!" J'onn huffed as Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to stop a wide grin from forming on his face. "Come on, Dad, no mind-reading!"

"You keep accusing me of not following the rules?" M'yrnn sniffed. "You are one to talk."

"Oh, story time," Laurel grinned.

"Yes, please, tell us a story," Felicity pulled her feet underneath her anxiously.

"Ah," M'yrnn smiled. "My son used to wait for me to leave, and the moment I had gone, he would switch around the pieces on the Ok-Rock-Tock board." The Earth-38ers looked at J'onn incredulously as Laurel snickered into her wine. "When I caught him, he blamed his imaginary friend . . . " He faltered, thinking. "What was his name?"

"Wait, wait, wait," James shook his head. "I'm sorry . . . _you_ had an imaginary friend?" he asked J'onn.

"No, I – " J'onn started to shake his head.

"Oh, yes, he did!" M'yrnn interrupted. "You said he was a fifth-dimensional imp who came just to move the pieces."

Kara mocked a gag, and Oliver snorted. "Wasn't that one alien you were telling me tried to marry you a fifth dimensional imp?"

"Yup," Kara confirmed, popping the "p."

M'yrnn scratched the back of his head. "What was his name?" he wondered.

J'onn fidgeted, then sighed. "Zook."

" _Zook?"_ Dig grinned widely as Felicity and Winn howled in laughter.

"Zook!" Evelyn and William repeated as they laughed, too.

"'Zook! It was Zook!'" M'yrnn nodded furiously, just barely heard over all the laughter. "That was you!"

Oliver smiled as he watched their friends and family interact, his gaze drawn to where his son was laughing with Evelyn on the floor. "This was a good idea," he told Kara quietly as J'onn tried to explain himself. "I think we all needed this."

"I agree," Kara nodded. "Especially Evelyn. She's enjoying herself."

"She should," Oliver said. "I don't think game night was a criminal cabal activity."

Kara shook her head in agreement. "It's just good to see everyone relax, too."

"Mmm," Oliver nodded thoughtfully.

Kara saw where his gaze was veering, and she leaned against the counter by him. "And maybe, since you, John, and Felicity have decided to stay for a while longer, you can tell John about your decision to keep the hood," she suggested.

"I was just thinking that," Oliver smiled down at her.

"Well," Kara drawled, leaning her head on his shoulder and blinking innocently up at him. "Great minds think alike."

Oliver chuckled, pecking her on the lips. "That they do."

A buzzing from over by the couch caught their attention. "Wait a minute!" Alex called, reaching over to pick up her phone, Slade tilting his head as he sat up straighter next to her. "It's a trouble alert," she told Kara. "There's a big disturbance downtown."

"Well," Kara straightened up as well, walking around the counter. "Time to get back to the salt mine."

Alex nodded, taking a swig of her beer, then frowned when she realized what Kara was doing. Dig, Felicity, William, and Evelyn stared as James did a double take, and even Oliver raised an eyebrow at Kara. "Angel?" he asked slowly.

Kara looked up from unbuttoning her shirt, her suit underneath, and blushed when she realized all the attention she was getting. "What?" she protested. "I like this shirt!"

As soon as the shirt was off, Kara flew out the window past them, out into the night. All of them stared after her before Slade snorted and lifted his beer to his lips with a mutter of, "I wonder who got that for her, then?"

Barely a second later, he was raising his hand to catch the ice cream scoop thrown at his head. "Shut up!" Oliver barked, though he didn't deny anything as Malcolm and Laurel burst out laughing again.

Evelyn slowly turned to look at William, her eyes still wide. "Yeah," William could barely speak through his laughter. "This is more like it."

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

Kara arrived at the alien bar just in time to snatch the alcohol bottle thrown at Demos's head. "Can't hold your liquor?" she asked the female alien sneering at her, then put the bottle aside. "What happened?"

"She just went crazy, started wrecking the place," Demos answered.

"You get everyone out of here," Kara told him. "I'll take care of her." She flew at the alien, only to get shoved back into one of the arcade games on the wall. Kara panted as she hefted herself up, then pouted when she realized what she had crashed into. "I had the high score on that!" she complained.

She tossed the alien into the camera booth nearby, and Kara winced, ignoring the flashes as they threw punches left and right. She finally knocked the alien out of the booth, watching her fall on the ground unconscious. She panted heavily as she climbed out, then heard a whir from the booth. Blinking, she looked down to see a roll of pictures be produced, and curious, she plucked them from the booth.

She laughed when she saw all the pictures were of her fighting the alien, and amused, she picked up the alien to take her to the D.E.O.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"I kind of want these for the bunker," Felicity cocked her head as she looked at the pictures as well.

"Take one," Kara told her, looking at Alex as she ran a scan on the alien lying unconscious. "Alex?"

"Well, she's a Kalanorian," Alex announced, looking up from her computer. "No criminal record."

"Then why did she go all Road House on me?" Kara frowned. "Demos says she wasn't provoked."

"Let's assume that not all of us in the room know what a Kalanorian is?" Dig cleared his throat.

"Kalanorians are psychics," J'onn explained. "Empaths."

"Could she have picked up on another psychic?" Oliver asked.

Dig shuddered as J'onn's eyes turned red. "That's still freaky."

"My fiancée is an alien who shoots lasers from her eyes can freeze things with her breath, and that's still freaky?" Oliver couldn't help but ask in amusement.

"Hey, I've still technically known Kara longer than J'onn," Dig defended himself as Felicity snickered.

"I'm not seeing any psionic anomalies," J'onn finally said.

"Well, she tore that bar up," Alex frowned.

"Her species are prone to outbursts during astronomical events," J'onn thought.

"Such as?" Oliver tilted his head.

"Mercury's in retrograde," J'onn answered.

"Wait," Felicity blinked. "You mean, like, _astrology?"_

"More like complex, luminal and gravatic shifts that determine Kalanorian brain function," J'onn shook his head.

"So astrology," Felicity nodded. "Got it."

"Put her in containment," J'onn ordered. "We have these Worldkillers to focus on."

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Oliver Queen_**

"Anything?" J'onn asked as he, Kara, Oliver, Dig, and Felicity walked back into the main room.

"We've been using every device on our ship to try and track Purity and Reign since the subway attack, but there's no sign of them," Mon-El shook his head.

"As they say on the farm, 'not a peep,'" Winn sighed.

"Not bad," Laurel complimented.

"Thanks!"

"Imra thinks they're looking for Pestilence," Mon-El said.

"Who we still know nothing about," Malcolm frowned.

"Right," Mon-El nodded, "and based on our experiences with the Blight in the future, Pestilence should be the easiest to see coming. The Blight presents as diseases, plagues, real Old Testament stuff. Winn?"

"Yeah," he nodded, picking up his tablet and tapping a few keys.

"I think this should qualify," Mon-El pointed over his shoulder.

" _Holy frack!"_ Felicity's jaw dropped as footage showed glaciers with red pouring everywhere.

"OK," Dig rubbed his eyes. "That's messed up."

"I couldn't agree more," Slade swallowed.

"Brainy and Imra went to check it out," Mon-El nodded.

"Better them and not us," Winn whistled. "I hate the cold. Very thin skin."

"You're sure it's not the rivers of blood?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

Winn grimaced. "It's amazing how much subtlety you lack."

"What if Reign and Purity find Pestilence before we do?" J'onn asked.

"They won't," Mon-El said confidently.

"And if they do, we'll be ready," Kara nodded, looking at Mon-El. "Which means it's time for us to start training. Teach me how you fight in the future."

Mon-El smirked. "Think it's time we make you a Legionnaire."

Kara followed Mon-El out of the room, giving Oliver a knowing eye. He nodded back, clearing his throat. "Uh, John?"

"Yeah?" Dig looked at him.

Oliver took a deep breath. "Can we talk somewhere else?"

Dig had a feeling he knew what they were about to talk about when Winn hastily turned around and Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel pretended to be interested in whatever he was looking at. "Sure," he nodded. "Lead the way."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Samantha Arias_**

Lena's attention was drawn away from her pacing by a change in Sam's breathing. She looked over to see Sam blink her eyes open and try to sit up. "Relax," she advised quietly.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Sam mumbled, sleep slurring her tone, but she froze as she looked around. "Where's Ruby?"

"She's with her nanny," Lena answered. "She's safe."

Sam sighed; she was relieved about that, at least. "Tell me," she said as she sat up completely. "What's wrong with me?"

"Most of your blood tests came back as normal," Lena answered, "but I also studied your salt replication process. There's trace evidence that your cells have undergone a mitotal mutation that I've only seen in insects. It indicates metamorphosis. When you black out, your body seems to be changing on a cellular level."

"Changing?" Sam repeated with a frown. "To what?"

"To her," Lena answered with a swallow. "Reign."

Sam stared at her incredulously. "I'm not an _alien,"_ she said slowly. "I don't have special powers. I bleed. I get sick. My adoption papers say I'm from Scranton. Look, I know you mean well, but I don't have the patience for this," she started to get out of bed. "I have to go see my daughter."

"Wait," Lena held up a hand, stopping Sam in her tracks. "I thought this might be hard for you to accept, so I also compiled a timeline of the blackouts so you could remember." She picked up her tablet and tapped on it, activating the TV in Sam's containment unit. "This is the first one." The news footage from Reign's attack on Edge Industries appeared. "And the next." Sam started shaking her head as images of Reign taking out the One-Seven Gang appeared. "And the next," Lena continued, swallowing hard as the image of Reign standing over Supergirl flickered on screen. God, she would never forget that image for as long as she lived. "And the next – "

"This was a mistake," Sam shook her head defiantly, getting up and walking away. "I need to go see my daughter."

She ran smack into the forcefield at the edge of the unit, and surprised, Sam staggered backwards. She stared at the air in front of her, then cautiously tapped with a few fingers. She jumped away when the blue forcefield flickered to life, and Sam spun around, looking at Lena in shock. "Lena, are you kidding me?" she demanded. "Let me out!"

"I can't," Lena shook her head, tears choking her voice. "You asked me to help you."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara grimaced as Mon-El played a 3-D view of her fight against Reign in the training room. "She doesn't fight, she hunts," the Daxamite explained. "All power, all aggression. Stop!" he ordered.

Kara's eyes widened as the image froze with Reign about to hit her. "Wow!"

"Yeah, Brainy stitched this together from every bank-cam, satellite image, and cellphone video he could find," Mon-El nodded.

"That's so cool!" Kara gushed, bending down to see more. "The future's cool!"

Mon-El chuckled. "Welcome to the 31st century."

Kara shook her head in awe, standing back up. "Yeah, so what's the point, though?" she asked, walking around the image. "Big chunk of concrete is not gonna do anything to me that her fists couldn't do better."

"She's playing with her food," Mon-El answered, walking around to join her.

Kara perked up. "That's how I beat her," she pointed. "Can . . . can we rewind?" The image played back, and Kara nodded, crouching down. "Yeah, she's got me beat on muscle somehow, but all that power is coming from the ground, from that planted foot right there," she pointed, Mon-El humming in agreement. "And she doesn't bother with footwork. So when she goes high, that's my window."

"It's also where your cape comes in," Mon-El said as they stood up, turning the image off. "If she wants to be a bull, you be a bullfighter."

The door to the training room opened, and Winn all but skipped in, declaring, "I have done something _amazing!"_

"Did you find Pestilence?" Kara asked hopefully.

Winn paused. "I have done something OK," he amended, but his smile was still wide as he pointed. "You, come here."

"What?" Mon-El asked, not sure if he should be concerned or not as he walked over.

Winn just beamed, putting his hands on his shoulders. "I have fixed your old suit."

Mon-El's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Winn!"

Winn laughed happily as Mon-El picked him up in a bear hug, Kara's shoulders shaking as she watched. "Hey, can I say it?" Winn begged. "Can I say it? Please?"

"Yes," Kara giggled, nodding her agreement.

Winn's smile grew impossibly larger. "Suit up!"

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

J'onn walked into the apartment he shared with his father to see him with a familiar board in front of him. "I, um . . . " He cleared his throat. "Brought lunch."

The balls rolling around the board stopped. "You are worried about something, my son," M'yrnn said. "Speak."

"Um . . . " J'onn walked forward hesitantly. "How are you feeling?"

"Never better," M'yrnn answered, the balls starting to roll again. "Ok-Rock-Tock is good for my mind."

"Sure," J'onn nodded, eyes glowing red. "Memory, strategy."

"More than that," M'yrnn said. "It hears my thoughts. It connects me to my ancestors as I navigate the labyrinth of the board. Centering me, easing my mind."

"That's good," J'onn nodded, walking around the table. "That's good. And it's, um . . . it's helping?"

"It's been twelve hours and forty-six minutes since you asked. You fear my condition has worsened in this time?"

"No," J'onn shook his head. "It's just that . . . we did bring in a Kalanorian who had a psychic breakdown at a bar."

M'yrnn's eyes opened as he looked up at his son. "I thought I felt something."

"It was you?" J'onn blinked.

"You know I have been doing the Ta'ar Kar'iq to keep my memories from fleeing," M'yrnn told him. "You should have told me there were Kalanorians here."

"I'm sorry, Father," J'onn nodded.

"In any event, I will be more careful," M'yrnn told him. "Now come, play a match with me. I never tire of beating you."

"I got to get back to work," J'onn shook his head. "Why don't you bring the game to the D.E.O. and we can play later?"

"As soon as I finish my game against Zook," M'yrnn nodded. J'onn did a double take, watching in concern as M'yrnn's eyes flicked around the room. "He was . . . right here." He looked up at J'onn in confusion. "Where is he?"

"Dad?" J'onn swallowed.

Then M'yrnn winked, and J'onn rolled his eyes, torn between annoyance and relief. "A joke," M'yrnn grinned.

"Not funny, Dad," J'onn huffed.

"Only because you did not see your face!"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver silently closed the door to the training room neighboring Kara and Mon-El, even though the action made him feel like he was suffocating slightly. He figured that as soon as the door clicked shut, someone would be checking security cameras constantly just to make sure everything was going well.

Oliver wasn't sure what he thought about that idea as he turned to face Dig, who was looking at him with a face that clearly said he knew what conversation was about to take place. "You know?" he guessed.

"That you're not giving up the hood?" Dig raised an eyebrow. When Oliver nodded, he repeated the motion. "I guess I should have taken the hint the way you kept putting me off, right?"

"John, I've been waiting for the right moment, the _appropriate_ moment, to tell you, because for a long time, I didn't know how to," Oliver told him, holding up his hand. "And it's very important that you know this." Dig nodded, and Oliver took a deep breath. "When I asked you to take over for me, I meant it. When I put the hood back on and said 'it's just until you get back on your feet,' I meant it. But I _did_ put the hood back on, and it took me talking to Thea to really figure this out. The hood . . . it's a part of me, and it makes me feel like I'm being the best version of myself, and I feel whole, and I feel complete . . . " He trailed off, wincing a bit. "And I really, _really_ hope that this is making sense."

Dig nodded slowly, then quicker. "Yeah," he told him. "The hood is part of you now."

"I should have been upfront with you, and I avoided having what I thought might be a tough conversation," Oliver admitted.

Dig gave a tight smile. "Well, I appreciate you telling me this, Oliver. Thank you."

Oliver nodded, giving a small smile back, then felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Frowning, he pulled it out, checking the text he found he had received going to him and someone else. "I need to take this," he told Dig, heading for the door.

"Sure, man," Dig nodded absently. "Go ahead."

Oliver smiled thankfully, not seeing Dig's smile tense as he opened the door. He paused when he saw Slade standing right outside, and he quickly closed the door before Dig saw. "Something interesting happen you were about to tell me?" he asked sarcastically.

"Depends," Slade raised an eyebrow. "How did he take it?"

Oliver blew out his breath. "It could have gone much worse."

"That's a victory," Slade nodded as they walked down the hall. "Did you get the message?"

"That's why I was on my way out. The usual?"

"Usual," Slade agreed as they headed for the exit of the D.E.O.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena walked out of the elevator, raising an eyebrow when she saw Sam standing on the other side of the forcefield. "Have you thought about what I told you?" she asked.

"I get squeamish whenever Ruby asks me to kill a spider," Sam said. "How could you possibly think I could kill people?"

"I don't think _you_ could," Lena answered.

Sam frowned. "So you think I have a split personality?"

"Essentially, yes," Lena nodded. "Reign is a completely separate entity. Whenever she takes over, you lose all awareness, all control. Your DNA rewrites itself." Sam stared at her for a long time, and Lena swallowed. "Please, Sam, understand that I would not tell you this if I wasn't sure."

"So this is what I get for asking for your help?" Sam asked bitterly.

Lena frowned uneasily. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You ask an oncologist, they'll say cancer," Sam answered, her tone cold and biting. "You ask a surgeon, they'll cut you open. You ask a _Luthor,_ they'll tell you you're a _supervillain."_

Lena swallowed hard, struggling to keep her composure. She was saved by her phone chiming, and she turned away to see the text she had gotten.

 _I'm assuming the usual is what's needed?_

Lena sighed and walked towards the elevator, typing out a response as Sam glowered at her back. _Head on up._

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

She walked into her office, shut the doors behind her, then leaned her forehead against the wood, taking a few deep breaths. "Lena?" Oliver asked in concern, setting down the cardboard tray he had been carrying, Slade looking away from the windows. "Are you OK?"

"You ask an oncologist, they'll say cancer," Lena repeated Sam's words, her voice wobbling. "You ask a surgeon, they'll cut you open. You ask a Luthor, they'll tell you you're a supervillain."

"Oh, God," Oliver cringed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"She knows?" Slade guessed.

"She knows," Lena confirmed, walking over and finding her usual go-to. "Thank you for this, by the way."

"It's no problem," Oliver shook his head. "It's a slow day at the D.E.O. anyway."

"How long will that last, ten minutes?" Lena snorted as she took a drink.

"So what's going on?" Slade asked.

Lena sighed, sitting down on her desk. "I told Sam she's Reign," she said. "Showed her when she was Reign, which coincided with her blackouts, but she doesn't want to accept it."

"I don't blame her," Oliver admitted, taking a sip of his own coffee. "Sam doesn't seem like she'd want to hurt a fly, and Reign . . . "

"Beat Kara black and blue and into a coma," Slade finished.

"Thank you, Slade, that's _really_ what I wanted to be reminded of," Oliver grimaced.

"Sorry, kid."

"I just don't know what more I can do to convince her," Lena admitted, taking a drink.

"Then you show her something that she can't deny," Oliver told her.

"Like what?"

"Herself," Slade answered.

Oliver nodded in agreement. "Sometimes to make people see who they really are, make them see what's wrong with them . . . you've gotta hold up a mirror so they can see what they've become."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara looked up as footsteps approached, and her eyes widened as she took in Mon-El's suit – red with blue boots and cape. "Wow," she finally managed to say.

"You always said I cleaned up nicely," Mon-El grinned cheekily, making her laugh. "It's just like old times, huh? Training again."

"Except I basically had to twist your arm to train," Kara reminded him. "you had no interest in being a hero. And now . . . "

She gestured to him, and Mon-El nodded. "I've come a long way." Kara nodded in agreement, and Mon-El raised an eyebrow, taking a step back. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I was born ready," Kara grinned, throwing a punch right away.

She wasn't expecting Mon-El to whip his cape up and wrap it around her fist. Kara stared in shock, then yelped as Mon-El dragged her forward and knocked her feet out from under her, tripping her and sending her face first to the floor. "If she's not gonna use _her_ feet, use _yours,"_ he advised.

Kara grunted as she got to her knees. "But can my cape even do that?"

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded simply.

Kara blinked. "I did not know that."

"Yeah, I won't either for another thousand years," Mon-El shrugged. "We studied your cape to make mine. It's Kryptonian meta-material. Smart cloth."

Kara nodded. "Show me."

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"Dad," J'onn told M'yrnn as they walked into the D.E.O., "while you're here, why don't I run you by the med bay, have Alex run some new scans on you? Shouldn't take long."

"No," M'yrnn shook his head, walking into one of the rooms. "It is time for me to pray."

J'onn watched him go, then silently nodded and headed towards the main room.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"Hey," Winn jogged down the stairs to where Felicity and Demos were at their computers. "Any sign of the Worldkillers?"

"Zilch," Felicity shook her head.

"Still nothing," Demos agreed.

"Well, one of you can catch a break," Winn said, leaning over to check his computer. "I'm gonna take over scanning for a while."

Felicity nodded, cracking her knuckles, but Demos grimaced and bent over. "Demos?" she frowned, standing up to walk over. "You OK?"

"I'm fine," Demos snapped, glaring up at her. "You don't need to baby everyone even if they just get a paper cut, Smoak!"

"Whoa," Felicity held up her hands, stopping in her tracks. "What?"

"Hey, back off her," Winn glared.

"And you," Demos spun to glare at Winn. "I know what I'm doing. You don't need to take over anything, Schott."

"I didn't say that you didn't know what you were doing," Winn scowled as Felicity slowly backed up. "You need to get out of here right now!"

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Kara growled in frustration as she tried her cape on the training dummy Mon-El set up, only for it to slide off. "Damn!"

"Keep your back foot planted," Mon-El advised. "You have it."

Kara tried again, finally getting her cape to wrap around. She smiled victoriously, only for it to fall off her face when she yanked, and her cape slid off instead of pulling the dummy with it. "Why isn't this working?" she demanded.

"I don't know," Mon-El frowned, trying his cape. He managed to wrap it around – tightly, too – and was able to successfully launch the dummy across the room.

"I mean, the steps are easy," Kara growled. "I should be getting this!"

"Well, go easy on yourself," Mon-El told her. "The first time you trained me, you kicked me around the room like a hacky sack. It was humbling. I was – "

"Hungover," Kara scowled at him. "You were hungover."

Mon-El cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'd forgotten that part."

"Can we keep training, please?" Kara asked.

Mon-El nodded, settling into a position, then Kara started throwing punches.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"'Cause I programmed the system," Demos was hissing as Felicity watched with wide eyes.

"I input every parameter, every radiation marker to trace them, so yeah," Winn hissed. "Yeah, I think that makes me the expert."

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"Throw the punch," Kara ordered.

"Maybe we should take a break," Mon-El began.

" _Throw it!"_ Kara growled.

Mon-El sighed, then did so. Kara whipped her cape up, wrapping it around Mon-El's wrist, but she didn't yank hard enough to move him. Mon-El's foot connected with the back of her ankle, and Kara fell hard on her back.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"The rest of us were the experts before you got here and traded your friendship with Supergirl for favor with Director J'onzz!" Demos snapped.

"Oh?" Winn raised an eyebrow. "If _you_ were in charge, we'd still be wondering if Reign was an alien!"

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Mon-El whipped his cape towards a charging Kara, who slid on the ground under him at the last second. She got to her feet and spun towards Mon-El, who ducked low this time and swung again. Kara jumped and did a somersault in midair, landing behind Mon-El, panting heavily. She was on him at once, Mon-El hastily raising his arms to block the punches aimed at his torso.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak_**

"You egotistical, little son of a serial killer!" Demos growled, shoving Winn away from him, just as Dig and Laurel ran into view.

"Oh, thank God," Felicity said in relief as Dig and Laurel slowed. "You made it."

"What, you need us to clean up a mess?" Laurel scowled.

"Whoa," Felicity's eyes widened as Laurel turned to glare at her. "What did you just say?"

"I said," Laurel growled, stepping towards her, "do you need us to clean up a mess? Isn't that what normally happens when all you're good for is hacking away on your little computers, not getting your hands dirty while it's _us_ out there with our lives on the line?"

"Step away, Siren," Dig scowled.

"Or what are you gonna do?" Laurel spun on her heel. "Hmm? Fight me? Like I think you've wanted to do for a while? Because once a villain, always a villain? A cheetal doesn't change its spots?" Dig looked like he'd been punched in the gut, and Laurel laughed coldly. "I mean, you do, don't you? Haven't you been wanting to fight us for a while? Don't think that we're _blind._ We know when someone doesn't trust us, when someone's opinion of us sinks low." She stepped forward, a sneer on her face. "I guess if you can't punch Slade for taking your position as Oliver's brother, you might as well punch _me!"_

Dig swung towards her, which Laurel grabbed and ducked under, using Dig's momentum to fling him away. "Oh, my God!" Felicity shrieked, hastily backing away.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Mon-El blocked Kara's next punch, staggering slightly. "Kara!" he protested.

Kara's next punch collided hard with his torso, and Mon-El doubled over, grunting in pain. Kara stared at him, then turned away, clenching and unclenching her fist in shock.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Demos_**

Laurel pulled a knife from her boot, swiping at Dig's head. The man ducked and grabbed her wrist, his other hand going for her knife. Laurel kicked him in the back of the leg, making him buckle and fall forward. As he did, he reached behind his head and grabbed Laurel's hair, pulling him down with her. Laurel stumbled, and Dig finally brought his other hand up and punched her across the throat.

Laurel's eyes bugged open wide, and she retched and gagged, coughing as she reached up for her throat. An ominous click made her freeze, and she slowly looked up to look into the barrel of the gun Dig had drawn. She chuckled lowly. "So that's how it's gonna be?" she challenged. "Go on. Wonder how much Oliver will _really_ appreciate you if you shoot me!"

Demos finally pinned Winn down on the table, and the man smirked, pressing down hard on Winn's throat. He was smirking until he heard the click of his own gun, and he looked down to see Winn had pulled his sidearm free and was holding it against his side. "Get . . . off me!" he growled. _"Now!"_

Demos held his hands up and started backing away at once, and Winn straightened with an ugly sneer on his face, aiming at Demos as Dig kept aiming at Laurel, Felicity watching with wide eyes off to the side.

* * *

 **A/N: For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, this episode will also touch on the Oliver and Dig fight that occurs in "Brothers in Arms;" it's something I believe M'yrnn's psychic attack would bring to the forefront.**

 **And based on Laurel's thoughts . . . Dig's issues are gonna go a bit beyond what was originally in the episode.**


	80. In Search of Lost Time - Part Two

**Things continue to come to blows at the D.E.O. before J'onn reveals what's going on, Lena shows Sam who she is, and . . . words are had between parties. And more blows. Thank you, M'yrnn, for giving me a way to deal with the arguments that happened in "Brothers in Arms."**

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott/Laurel Lance/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Really, coward?" Demos narrowed his eyes as Winn pushed the barrel into his chest. "Have you ever even held a gun before?"

"I'm holding one now," Winn pointed out, clicking the safety off; it gave Demos enough time to bring his hands down quickly and grab the gun, pulling it out of Winn's grasp.

"Go on," Laurel glared at Dig. "Do it. Do you _really_ want to shoot Laurel Lance right after she's been brought back from the dead?"

"But you're not Laurel," Dig shook his head. "You will _never_ be Laurel."

Laurel faltered, opening her mouth, and Dig tightened his grip on his gun. "John!" Felicity shouted.

A dark grey blur just narrowly missed her, and Felicity jumped back, yelping in surprise. That morphed into a shriek as Dig yelled in pain, dropping his gun and reaching for the knife embedded in the back of his hand. "Back away from her!" Malcolm's yell rang through the D.E.O., and Dig whipped around as the assassin approached, the man twirling another knife into his hand. "Or this one won't miss your heart!"

"Ever trying to be the hero, huh, Malcolm?" Dig narrowed his eyes, pulling the knife out of his hand with a grimace, even as Laurel backed away, still massaging her throat. "Not sure it suits you."

"Because every hero's resume is only covered with glitter and gold," Malcolm scoffed as he walked forward, blue eyes like ice. "You wanna try that again?"

"It's funny," Dig scowled. "Every time I hear someone say you and Slade have changed, I almost believe it . . . then you go and pull something like this!" he gestured to his injured hand.

"Then next time, you should be smart," Malcolm growled. "Don't pull a gun on someone I love!"

Laurel blanched, but before she – or a suddenly speechless Felicity – could respond, Dig had readjusted his grip on the knife he held and lunged. Malcolm effortlessly dodged, letting Dig stumble past him before throwing his knife. It clattered against Dig's, the force of Malcolm's throw knocking both to the ground. Dig glared at the black-haired man, about to lunge again when Laurel finally opened her mouth and screamed, trying to hit Dig, but with how close in proximity they were, both men were caught in the scream, flying over the center console and sprawling on the ground.

Laurel gave Dig a dirty glare, then turned and rammed her fist into Demos's gut. The agent staggered back, then Laurel gave him a swift uppercut, knocking him over the table. "See?" she told Felicity, pointing at Winn. "Cleaning up messes!"

"Get that out of my face!" Winn swatted her hand to the side.

"Oh, you want me out of your face?" Laurel spat, grabbing his hand and twisting his arm violently.

Winn cried out in pain, then Alex was running across the floor. "Laurel!" she shouted.

Laurel looked up, eyes narrowed to slits, then she doubled over, groaning as she reached for her head. She staggered away from Winn as he collapsed on the ground, his own hand on his forehead. Alex blinked rapidly, looking around to see other D.E.O. agents seeming confused. "What the hell just happened?" she asked.

"It was a psychic anomaly," J'onn answered as he walked over. "I put a barrier up to protect you all."

"What the _hell?"_ Oliver's stunned voice came from the stairs as he ran down.

"What happened?" Slade looked around.

"Yeah," Malcolm grimaced as he got to his feet, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned heavily against the console, Kara skidding to a halt as she ran in from the training rooms. "That wasn't fun."

Laurel grimaced as she stood up, offering her hand to Winn. "I'm sorry. Are you OK?"

"I kind of – I feel like I'm gonna bleed," Winn grunted, reaching up to check his face. "Yup."

Laurel winced, looking over the table. "Demos?" she asked, watching the agent get up. "I'm so sorry."

He held up his hand, assuring her he was fine. "I'm sorry for what I said," he told Winn.

"For the record, I think you're super smart," Winn smiled weakly.

"What was this?" Kara looked around in bewilderment.

"Everyone just went psycho on each other and then started fighting!" Felicity stammered, not seeming to know who she should check on. "Literally _everyone!"_

Kara blinked. "Just like what I saw the Kalanorian do in the bar?"

"Yeah, exactly," Demos nodded in agreement.

"So why didn't it affect Felicity?" Winn frowned.

"Probably because Demos went after you and then someone went after me," Laurel guessed.

"That's . . . not very comforting," Felicity grimaced.

"I told you she needed more observation," Alex grumbled.

"Well, it's still visiting hours," Kara shrugged. "Let's go see her."

J'onn nodded. "In the meantime, Agent Schott," he turned to where Winn and Demos were. "Round up the inhibitors we used against Psi. Recalibrate them. Make sure there's enough to go around. I didn't take enough precautions last time. I will now."

Winn nodded, and Felicity smiled at him. "I'll help."

"OK," Winn nodded.

"Anything we can do?" Oliver asked as Kara and Alex headed for the cells.

J'onn opened his mouth, then blinked and turned to Laurel. "Perhaps get Ms. Lance checked out."

Laurel blinked, reaching up towards her throat. "Bruising?" she guessed, wincing at how raspy her voice sounded.

"Holy crap," Winn blinked.

"Who did that to you?" Slade frowned.

"John did," Malcolm gestured to the man still working on getting himself upright, which was difficult considering one hand was bleeding. "And then he pulled a gun on her and didn't seem to like it when I intervened."

"No, he didn't," Laurel agreed, narrowing her eyes at Oliver. "Seems like that conversation you two had earlier isn't over yet."

Oliver and Dig exchanged wary looks as she headed for the stairs, Malcolm giving Dig a long look as well before he went after Laurel. Winn cleared his throat awkwardly, reaching down to pick up the gun he had taken from Demos. "It's a good thing you came when you did, man."

"Yeah," J'onn agreed, looking between those still left. "Good thing."

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"You came in around the same time I did," Kara told Alex as they walked through the cells. "Do you know what happened?"

"Barely," Alex shook her head. "I heard the shouting, and when I got there . . . I don't know. I've never felt anything like that. It's like something was inside my brain. I couldn't control it. Are _you_ OK?"

"I felt it, too," Kara admitted.

"Wait a minute," Alex stopped short. _"You_ were affected?"

"I hit Mon-El," Kara told her. "Hard. We were training and I was frustrated 'cause I wasn't getting it, and then he brought up our past, when I used to train him, and that's when the rage set in."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Are you _sure_ you were affected?"

Kara blinked. "What do you mean? Of course I was."

Alex shrugged. "It seems like you two still have some unresolved issues. Maybe it's not a good idea you train with him."

"That's ridiculous," Kara scoffed, walking on with her. "No, whatever issues I had with Mon-El before, those are behind me. I've worked it out with him, he and Oliver have worked things out. This is just about getting Reign."

They stopped in front of the Kalanorian's cell, and Kara stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. "Oh, no," Alex gasped, running to open the cell, seeing the Kalanorian seizing on the bench. "No, no, no, no! Turn her on her side!"

"OK," Kara ran to do just that.

"Prep the med bay," Alex ordered into her comms. "We got incoming."

The Kalanorian suddenly froze, eyes opening wide. Kara and Alex both backed away as she started whispering the same three words over and over. "What's she saying?" Kara asked.

"I don't know," Alex shook her head. "But it is _definitely_ Martian."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"I just wanna go home, Lena, please. _Please_ let me out of here."

Lena took a deep breath, then turned away from her computer and walked over to the edge of the containment unit. "I wanna get you home to your daughter as much as you do," she said. "Believe me. I am just trying to protect you. _Both_ of you."

"I told you this before," Sam sighed. "If I had hurt people, I would remember."

"You're right," Lena nodded. "You _would_ remember. On some deep level, you would feel what you had done." She tapped on her tablet, bringing the clips up again. "When you look at this, do you remember what it was like? Attacking Morgan Edge?" She watched Sam sigh and look up, and Lena smirked. "What I wouldn't have given to see _that_ one up close." Though it had been very satisfying to see Harry, Lucy, James, and Joe gang up on him. Sam closed her eyes and turned away, and Lena tilted her head. "No? No recollection?" She tapped the tablet to continue on. "Supergirl. I mean, that's a difficult one to forget." She spoke through gritted teeth, still remembering her and Harry being unable to do anything as they watched Kara fight. "I mean, you took out those other heroes without even batting an eye. But toe to toe with Supergirl? The most powerful hero on this Earth? How could you forget having your fist connect with something so solid, so powerful?"

Sam abruptly stood up, starting to pace. "This is _insane!"_

"How did it feel to _obliterate?"_ Lena pressed on, bringing up the next reel. "You _tore_ those men apart! You _ripped_ the limbs from their bodies and you _dragged_ them across the beach!"

"Why are you doing this?" Sam demanded, turning to face her. _"Why?_ I just wanna go home to my daughter!"

Lena steeled herself, then said coldly, "Like I'd let someone like _you_ near Ruby."

Sam stopped short, then glared at Lena. "How dare you?"

"What did it feel like?" Lena asked, stepping closer to the forcefield. "Living in that house, day in, day out, pretending to be her mother? Watching her sleep, so vulnerable, knowing that any minute you could rip her apart with your bare hands?" Sam turned away, and Lena gritted her teeth, bracing. "You're not a mother. You're a _monster._ And I will make sure you _never_ see Ruby again."

"Enough!" Sam burst out, moving to the forcefield and banging on it.

Despite knowing she wouldn't be hurt, Lena staggered backwards, watching the forcefield ripple, and she swallowed hard, seeing Sam's eyes glow red with heat vision.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam opened her eyes, and she stared in shock, seeing she was standing in what looked like a wheat field, the sun glowing innocently in the sky.

Except then the sun turned into the moon, and the sky turned from blue to black. Everything around her shifted, and Sam swallowed hard, finding herself in a dark forest, everything shrouded in night and shadows.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Thanks," Laurel took the ice pack Malcolm offered her, pressing it against her throat with a wince.

"You're welcome," Malcolm nodded, pulling a stool up to sit next to her. "It didn't feel like anything was broken."

"Guess he didn't punch hard enough," Laurel grimaced.

Malcolm's eyes darkened. "He threw the first punch. You just hit him back."

"Yeah, but whatever caused that psychic attack made me goad him into it," Laurel sighed.

"What exactly did you say to him?" Malcolm frowned.

Laurel tilted her head. "I think it was 'if you can't punch Slade, you might as well punch me.'" Malcolm raised an eyebrow, and Laurel gave him a look. "Oh, come on. You know as well as I do that most of his problems with us probably lie with Slade. Considering all he did with the mirakuru, and now he's working practically as Oliver's second in command?"

"Except the mirakuru warped what he did," Malcolm pointed out. "And after all he's done _after_ he's had the cure?"

"Well, somehow I don't think John sees it that way," Laurel sighed. "Since according to him, I'll never be Laurel Lance."

Malcolm blinked. "You're _not_ Laurel Lance." Something flickered in Laurel's eyes before she looked down, and Malcolm put a hand on her shoulder. "Personally, I think you're _better_ than her."

Laurel's lips quirked up in a smirk. "Is that just because I like you better than she liked you?"

"Well, partly," Malcolm smirked back. "But you also know there's plenty of grey in black and white. And you're always willing to do what's needed to get something done." He sighed, looking down. "But you're also Laurel Lance from Earth-2. You know who that woman is. You still don't know entirely who Earth-1 Laurel was. That can be a good thing. Black Canary Laurel looks uncomfortable on you. Now, Black Siren Laurel is a badass and a woman comfortable in her own skin. _Own that._ Diaz may have tried to force you into being Earth-1 Laurel . . . but a siren is much more powerful than a canary could ever be."

Laurel ducked her head, hair falling to hide her reddening cheeks. "Sometimes I think you just like to hear yourself talk."

"Sometimes," Malcolm shrugged. "It's better if others like hearing what I'm saying, too."

Laurel snorted, looking up at him with a smile. "I did."

"Good," Malcolm nudged her with his shoulder. "That was the goal."

Laurel leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling when he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Thank you, Malcolm."

Malcolm kissed the top of her head. "Anything for you, Siren."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara was still trying to comprehend what she had just heard. "J'onn, you _knew?"_

"I didn't wanna believe it was getting worse," J'onn sighed, looking at her and Alex. "My father has been using a Martian practice called Ta'ar Kar'iq to move his memories and emotions from the decaying parts of his mind to the healthy parts, but it takes tremendous amounts of energy. Sometimes psychic bleeds can happen. And the more powerful the Martian, the more powerful the bleed. Other psychic species, like Kalanorians, would be the first to feel the effects. When an attack intensifies, it can affect anyone in close proximity, and not just other psychics." He sighed, leaning his head against the doorway. "I brought M'yrnn to the D.E.O. because I felt I could put a shield over this place and keep you all safe, but . . . my father's angry about what's happening to his mind, and his aggression was being funneled into all of you."

"Can't you help him with the dampening technology?" Alex frowned.

"He has relied on his mind his entire life," J'onn frowned. "First as a theologian, and then as a prisoner." He sat down at the conference table, looking down at the floor. "It's what kept him alive for three hundred years. The White Martians may have had him locked in a cage, but he was still free. This technology would make him reliant on me." Kara frowned and sat down across from J'onn. "It would strip him of the one thing the White Martians never could. His independence . . . his dignity."

Alex sighed, walking over to stand on J'onn's other side. "I remember sitting in my kitchen when my mom got the call that my grandmother drove through a traffic light. By the grace of God, nobody was hurt. That was one of the hardest things my mom had to do, taking away her keys. She told my mom off, and she cried. Suddenly, she's in this position she's never been in before: she's an adult being treated like a child. And it was ugly and painful, but it's what had to be done for her protection, for _everyone's_ protection."

J'onn sighed, putting his head in his hand. "I can face down the toughest adversaries without fear, but talking to my father about this . . . " He cleared his throat, tears clogging his voice as he kept speaking. "I don't wanna take away more from him than he's already lost. I just got him back. The practice of Ta'ar Kar'iq keeps him as close to the man I've always known, and I . . . I don't wanna give that up."

Kara reached over and put her hand over J'onn's. "My uncle Jor-El used to say 'The son becomes the father, and the father the son.'"

J'onn sniffed, holding tears back, and Kara squeezed his hand tightly, watching him nod.

* * *

 _ **Samantha Arias**_

Sam woke with a gasp, her body trembling from pain she couldn't feel. She slowly sat up, gasping for breath as she sat up. She looked down in confusion . . . when had she fallen asleep on the floor?

A familiar conversation played through speakers, and Sam slowly looked up, seeing herself and Lena speak on the screens in the containment unit. She slowly scooted towards it, eyes wide in horror.

When red heat vision sprayed from her eyes and she sped around the containment unit, Sam burst into tears. "Oh, my God!" she cried. "Stop! Stop!" She screamed, looking down and closing her eyes, but the rageful screams of herself in the video rang in her ears. "No, make it stop!"

She heard the video shut off, then heard Lena's voice. "I needed you to see it for yourself."

Sam shuffled on the floor, turning to look at her friend with wide eyes. "All those people," she sobbed.

"It wasn't your fault," Lena told her, walking forward as she turned off the forcefield. "You weren't in control." Sam closed her eyes, whimpering as Lena crouched next to her and ran a hand over her hair. "When you transformed, I was finally able to get some data of Reign's DNA, OK? We have knowledge now, and knowledge is power." Sam sniffled, and Lena put her hand on Sam's cheek. "Hey, we're gonna get you through this. It's OK."

Sam let out her shaky breath in a rush, nodding numbly as Lena pressed their foreheads together in a comforting gesture.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Alex walked towards the lab to where Winn and Felicity were finishing the psychic dampeners when she caught sight of someone pacing one of the training rooms. She paused, looking at her tablet, then sighed, shutting it off and walking towards the conference room. As she saw this situation, if she could help in any way to settle it, the sooner it would be over.

So she raised her hand and knocked on the door, startling the man inside into looking up. "You look like you could use a distraction," she said.

"Oh," Dig cleared his throat, rubbing a hand over his face. "Sorry. I didn't know someone needed the space."

"No one does," Alex shook her head, closing the door behind her. "You apparently do, though."

Dig sighed. "I just . . . I don't know."

"Well, I have an open ear if you need it," Alex shrugged.

Dig snorted softly. "You're not gonna be biased?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna state the obvious and say I've known all of you for about the same amount of time, and while I've admittedly been around a few of you more than others, my job kind of dictates me being unbiased. And the way I see it, the sooner everything gets settled, the better."

Dig sighed, stopping in place and putting his hands together, looking like he was trying to figure out what to say. "Oliver told me he's keeping the hood," he finally began. "And at the same time, he apologized for stringing me along about it. It was actually a good apology."

"Which you sound slightly surprised by," Alex tilted her head.

"Well, apologizing isn't exactly Oliver's strong suit," Dig snorted.

"Still sounds like you've accepted it," Alex told him.

"I did," Dig nodded, though there was a small frown on his face. "I thought we cleared the air. But then that . . . psychic attack happened, and I attacked Laurel. She's OK, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is," Alex nodded. "Do you think what's bothering you has to do with Laurel?"

"I don't know," Dig admitted, running a hand over his face. "But when she mentioned Slade, it set me off . . . and then Malcolm cut in . . . " He shook his head. "I feel like it's staring me right in the face, Alex."

"I don't know what to tell you," Alex shook her head, walking over to him and putting a hand on his arm. "But I think that after all you and Oliver have been through, and with everything that's been going wrong in Star City nowadays, you owe it to him to figure out what the problem is."

Dig nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, Alex."

"Like I said," Alex smiled as she headed back to the door. "Open ear when needed!"

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara was moving through the techniques Mon-El taught her, feeling as though she was dancing. She finished facing the windows, taking a deep breath.

"Footwork looks excellent."

Kara turned to see Mon-El by the door, and she nodded, hands on her hips as she turned back the other way. "Thanks."

"So, you, uh . . . " Mon-El cleared his throat awkwardly. "You punched me."

"Yeah," Kara confirmed.

"Didn't feel like part of the sparring. Can we talk about it?"

"I'm really sorry," Kara turned to look back at him. "I think it was M'yrnn's psychic episode." She frowned thoughtfully. "Why weren't you affected?"

Mon-El held up his fist. "Yeah, the Legion ring acts as a shield."

"Huh," was all Kara had to say about that.

"Another perk from the future," Mon-El nodded, walking over. "Are you sure that's all it was?"

"Yeah," Kara told him.

"Nothing between us?"

"No."

"'Cause, look, I thought we were in a good place, but if we need to stop, we'll just – "

"No, it's fine," Kara shook her head, gesturing between them. "This is – this is a good thing. There are Worldkillers out there, we have . . . " She took a deep breath. "Let's do this." She adjusted her stance, looking at him. "I'm ready."

"OK," Mon-El nodded, walking forward.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig nodded to himself, finishing his thoughts and heading for the door to the training room. He opened it and stepped outside –

And nearly ran straight into the man he was about to go look for. "John," Oliver blinked, backing up at the same time he did. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in – "

"It's fine," Dig shook his head. "The door doesn't exactly have a way to see out of it."

"No," Oliver agreed, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Um . . . " He took a deep breath. "I think – "

"We still need to talk more?" Dig finished.

"Yeah," Oliver cringed.

Dig nodded as well, stepping back. "In here?"

Oliver nodded, stepping inside. Dig was facing Oliver as he stepped inside, so he didn't see Slade walking down the opposite hall. He also didn't see Slade pause and look down the other hall, a small frown forming on his face as Dig closed the door.

* * *

 _ **J'onn J'onzz**_

J'onn opened the door to the room he was moving his father into, and he tapped a panel on the wall. M'yrnn watched lights on the walls activate, then turned towards his son. "Why did you bring me in here?" he asked.

"Just to talk," J'onn answered.

"I'd prefer to go back to my prayer room," M'yrnn frowned. "Or, better yet, take me home."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," J'onn said heavily. "As you've been struggling with your illness, your psychic waves have escaped. It's . . . it's affecting people."

"No," M'yrnn shook his head, backing away. "I would know if it did. I've done nothing wrong. I would never hurt anyone."

"No one thinks you're trying to hurt them, Father," J'onn tried to assure him. "It happened with the Kalanorian."

"A Kalanorian?" M'yrnn frowned. "On this planet? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

J'onn frowned, too. "We spoke about it."

"We did no such thing," M'yrnn denied.

J'onn sighed, putting a hand on his forehead. "Dad, you're forgetting."

"No!" M'yrnn insisted. "I will get control of it!"

"I'm afraid you are not able to," J'onn said apologetically. "Not by yourself."

"Don't you dare tell your father what he is or isn't able to do!" M'yrnn snapped, and J'onn winced, feeling M'yrnn's anger rise in another psychic attack.

* * *

 _ **Oliver Queen**_

Oliver leaned against the wall, watching Dig pace. "I should've told you sooner," he began.

"That's not what this is, Oliver," his friend shook his head. "Um . . . thanks for a bit of time after . . . " He cleared his throat. "You know."

"Sure thing," Oliver nodded, not sure what else to say in response to that. "You doing OK?"

"Yeah," Dig nodded. "I just needed some air. And, uh . . . a word with Alex, apparently."

"Alex?" Oliver raised an eyebrow curiously.

"An open ear when I need one, apparently," Dig smiled.

"Yeah, she has that effect on people," Oliver agreed. "So . . . did it work?"

"It did," Dig nodded, stopping his pacing. "I got some clarity." He turned to look at him. "Oliver, it's totally within your rights to keep the hood. It's yours. I've been . . . off, lately, regarding wanting it back."

"I've noticed," Oliver smiled dryly, hoping a bit of humor would diffuse the tension a bit.

Dig's lips quirked up in a small smile. "Well, I realized my frustration hasn't been with the uniform. It's been with the man underneath it."

That made Oliver blink and frown. "I don't understand."

"I didn't, either," Dig shook his head. "Not at first. I so appreciated your apology, but something about it gnawed at me. That you needed to be the Green Arrow, that it completed you. This was supposed to be about saving Star City, helping the people, not ourselves."

"I know that," Oliver nodded. "It's a little too dangerous, and I've lost just a little too much along the way for it to be about that."

"But yet, here you are," Dig gestured. "Raising a son, engaged to be married. You've become the mayor of Star City."

"So what?" Oliver asked, genuinely confused.

"So, Oliver, you were never supposed to stretch yourself so thin and in so many different directions, literally even _another universe,_ that the people suffer," Dig answered.

"We have been in tough spots before," Oliver frowned, unease growing.

"We have, with a team," Dig nodded. "Even before Curtis, Rene, and Dinah, there was Roy, there was Thea. But, Oliver, the way you lead alienates everyone and everything around you."

"And I've alienated Slade?" Oliver pushed off the wall, narrowing his eyes. "Malcolm, Laurel?"

Dig continued as if he hadn't spoken. "Look, putting the team under surveillance was a mistake. We had an opportunity to save the Vigilante. You made a different call."

"I wasn't the only one to make those decisions," Oliver scowled. "They aren't magically mine alone. I seem to remember you right there next to me."

"Begging you to exercise restraint, caution, Oliver, but that's not you," Dig countered. "You have changed, and you've grown so much, and it's been my honor, it's been my _privilege,_ to watch you, but Oliver, you're still you, and if you're just doing this for you, like you just admitted – "

"I didn't say I was doing it just for myself!" Oliver protested.

"If this isn't one hundred percent for Star City, then you are not the hero that it deserves, and you never will be," Dig told him, making Oliver's mouth shut with a click.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"Good," Mon-El nodded, watching Kara's footwork. "That's good." Kara stumbled suddenly, not swinging her cape correctly, and she seethed, almost stomping her foot in frustration. "Hey, we survived a black hole, we can get through this together," Mon-El told her optimistically. "Come on, try it again."

Kara gave him a dubious look, but sighed and turned around. She went through the steps again, and Mon-El finally saw what was wrong as she growled angrily. "You just missed the pivot. Keep your left foot – "

"Will you _shut up?"_ Kara finally turned around and spat angrily.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver's eyes narrowed to slits as he finished comprehending what his friend had just said. _"Just_ Star City?" he asked. "So I can't try and be here, in _National_ City, when my help is needed? Where _my fiancée_ could need it?"

"Oliver, right now, National City's biggest threat are Kryptonians who are more powerful than your fiancée," Dig told him. "You, and us, don't stand a chance. Ricardo Diaz is who we need to focus on. And he has the police force and God knows how much of our city in his grip!"

"So you're picking now to lecture me or to whine about not getting a promotion?" Oliver asked incredulously.

"This isn't about a promotion, man," Dig scowled. "This is about _you._ And yes – now, because Diaz can't wire up another universe! Unless maybe he gets here under your watch?"

" _My watch?"_ Oliver repeated angrily. "Like hell I would give him anything to get to this universe. And he showed up while _you_ were the Green Arrow! Youbought drugs from him, John! You funded what he is doing right now! The entire time I put you in that hood, and you hid having a drug problem!"

"And I was putting my body through hell for the sake of our city!" Dig snapped.

"No, you put the team at risk by lying!" Oliver retorted. "Kara dove after Rene to save his life because you were in the field, you weren't one hundred percent, and nobody knew it!"

"You really want to bring up Rene right now when he is still hospitalized?" Dig growled.

Oliver opened his mouth to come up with a counter to that, but paused, realizing something. "Why are you putting that on _me?"_ he demanded, his confusion back.

The door to the training room shut, and both Oliver and Dig spun around, not realizing it had ever opened in the first place. "Because, Oliver," Slade leveled Dig with an expressionless look as he closed the door behind him, "I think he's just reached his main point – the hood isn't his biggest problem."

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"Please," J'onn whispered, wincing as he tried to contain the psychic waves. "Please, Father, just – "

"What are _these_ for?" M'yrnn demanded, gesturing around the room.

J'onn looked at the lights glowing on the walls. "They're just in case," he answered. "They suppress our powers."

"Is that to help me, too?" M'yrnn scowled.

"It's to help quell your mind, Father," J'onn shook his head. "So that I may assist you in the practice of Ta'ar Kar'iq."

"You would cage me?" M'yrnn demanded.

J'onn grimaced in pain, working harder than ever to contain the psychic waves. _"Never,"_ he managed to ground out.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"You're right," Kara glared at Mon-El, her tone laced with bitterness. "We _have_ been through a lot together. Like that time when you promised you wouldn't leave the D.E.O., and instead you ran off. You got wasted. You were reckless, selfish, you _lied,_ and you didn't apologize."

"Kara, I – " Mon-El began.

"And then there was the time I got you a job at CatCo," Kara plowed on. "I vouched for you at my place of employment. And then you had Eve do all of your work for you, and then you _screwed_ her in the closet. You didn't apologize for that. And, shocker, _I_ apologized to _you_ for trying to make you into a better person!"

"I hear you," Mon-El nodded, hiding a wince. "I get it."

"No, I don't think you _do_ get it," Kara spat, her voice trembling in anger as she got in his face. "I don't think you get that I gave my heart to a _lying jackass_ who was unaware of his behavior towards me, who disrespected me at every turn, and now is this reformed person who . . . what, he wants to reminisce about the good times?"

The door to the room opened, and Felicity's nervous voice cut through. "Kara?"

She looked past Mon-El to see the blonde looking past Alex, who was holding the door open, both with inhibitors attached to their temples. "Put this on," Alex held up one of them.

Kara gave Mon-El one last look before storming over She plucked the inhibitor from her sister's hand and fastened it on her temple, and she froze in shock. "What did I just do?" she breathed.

"Most likely, poured out whatever crap you felt about him," Felicity smiled nervously.

Kara took a deep breath, then paused. "Wait . . . " She looked at Alex, who looked back when she spoke. "Who else has these?"

"Us, Winn, Malcolm, and Laurel," Alex answered. "John was next on my list to get one."

Kara swallowed hard. "Before Mon-El and I started training, Oliver went to talk to John."

"And we haven't found Slade yet," Felicity blanched.

All three women looked at each other, eyes wide, before Kara sped off, Alex and Felicity stumbling to run after her because _none_ of that boded well _at all._

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson/Oliver Queen_**

"I don't think you were invited into this conversation, Slade," Dig scowled.

"I wasn't?" Slade raised an eyebrow, folding his arms and leaning against the door. "So you weren't about to blame Oliver for putting Rene in the hospital for a wound _you_ were partly responsible for?"

"Well, now that you're here, I'm perfectly capable of blaming you," Dig turned to him, Oliver still blinking in confusion behind him. "Since it _was_ you who put that beating on him."

"After he pulled a gun on me, and Malcolm, and Laurel," Slade narrowed his eye. "And after I asked him repeatedly to stand down. That was when he decided the best course of action was to pick up a bloody _axe_ and swing it like a madman. He ripped that wound open himself due to choices _he_ made. Did I beat him? Yes, I did. That was _after_ he threatened our lives. Pretty self-explanatory, if you ask me."

"And you seemed all too eager to give them a beating," Dig snarled. "Didn't you?"

"If that's what it took to get them to back down, then that's what we were willing to do," Slade retorted. "You clearly weren't."

"Because I still think they could have been talked to!"

"Words weren't going to work with them," Slade countered. "Actions spoke louder. We told them not a single step. Rene took that step. And we upheld our word."

Dig snorted. "Because a villain's word means so much."

"John," Oliver began.

"No, Oliver, let him say it," Slade shook his head, chuckling darkly. "That's his biggest problem. It's not the hood. It's that three former supervillains have more trust than he does. It's just like Laurel suggested . . . cheetahs don't change their spots, wasn't it? Actually, you seemed to imply it was more regarding me and Malcolm." At Dig's surprised look, Slade rolled his eye. "Believe it or not, the top-secret government building has security cameras. I checked to see what happened. I heard every word you exchanged."

"And what do you plan on doing about it?" Dig narrowed his eyes.

"Simple," Slade held out his hands as he pushed off the wall and walked forward. "Keep the fighting where it belongs. It didn't belong with Laurel. She's fine, by the way, if you were actually concerned about her."

"I was," Dig scowled. "I asked Alex."

"Good to know," Slade said curtly. "But it wasn't the villains changing their spots that set you off. Not entirely, anyway . . . though I imagine it burns to know Oliver trusts us watching his back."

"The girl impersonating a deceased teammate, the man who was responsible for the _Gambit_ sinking and his father's death, and the man who tried to break him and burn his city to the ground, not to mention killing his mother?" Dig snorted. "Forgive me for being a _little_ wary."

"Laurel is not _impersonating_ her doppelgänger by choice," Slade growled lowly. "That was because of Diaz's actions."

"Yeah, remind me who let him go when she was kidnapped?" Dig tilted his head, pretending to think. "Right . . . that was you and Malcolm."

"So we were supposed to let the cops figure out who we were and that two of their most notorious terrorists were alive," Slade scoffed. "What a _brilliant_ alternative. As for the wizard – "

"Magician," Oliver felt the sudden need to cut in.

Slade's warning growl made him glare at him. "You clearly were blind or deaf when the Guild came to visit," the Australian continued, not taking his eye off Dig. "Because he _has_ changed."

"He's the magician because he's an illusionist, a manipulator," Dig countered.

"So all he's done in the past year has been an illusion and a lie?" Slade scoffed. "Not bloody likely." Dig shook his head, and Slade stepped forward. "And yes, I've been a villain. I had the mirakuru running in my veins. I tried to burn Star City, I killed Oliver's mother. I will always regret those actions. But just because I have earned Oliver's trust again does _not_ mean that you take out that anger on Laurel. Because that was what made you throw the first punch . . . you don't like that the first teammate Oliver saw as his brother is back."

"Maybe if it wasn't the man who tried to kill him, make his life hell, and once again _killed his mother_ and tried to _burn his city,_ I wouldn't feel so off about it," Dig snapped, eyes flaring. "I can't say much for Black Siren, but you and Merlyn, you leave trails of bodies every damn place you go, whether it's in Star City or here in National City. You've both killed a Queen once, you could damn well do it again!"

Slade's snarl almost drowned out the end of Dig's sentence. "We've both also killed _for_ Queens before. One of my bodies you mentioned? That was my son's godfather. He was like a brother to me. And I killed him to save Oliver."

Dig snorted loudly. "You killed one surrogate brother before. You could do it again."

"I would rather take my other eye before I killed my brothers and sisters again," Slade growled lowly, stepping forward. "But that's one thing you have over me . . . my trail of bodies doesn't include my _blood brother."_

That was when Dig threw his punch at Slade. "No!" Oliver shouted, lunging forward.

Slade snarled and ducked under Dig's fist, throwing his arm out and knocking Oliver back. As the archer stumbled back, Dig spun around, eyes flashing murderously. Slade just turned back to face him and revealed the combat knife he had in his sleeve. "Like I said," Dig growled. "Every time I hear it said you and Malcolm have changed, I almost believe it and then you go and pull that."

"I'm not the one who threw the first punch," Slade countered, prowling in a circle opposite Dig. "But that doesn't matter to you, apparently. After all, you never trust a villain's word."

Dig charged again, and Slade held up his hand, catching his fist. He pulled the same move he had pulled on Rene in the forest: he used Dig's momentum against him, dropping to a knee and pulling Dig over his shoulder, sprawling the other soldier on the floor behind him. "Hey!" Oliver finally recovered, running to put himself between the two men. "Stop it!"

The door to the training room banged open, and Oliver heard Laurel's startled yelp, closely followed by Malcolm's furious voice demanding _"What the hell?"_

Dig scrambled to his feet, about to turn on Malcolm when Laurel sent a sonic scream in his direction. Dig flew back into the wall, and Oliver quickly ran to hold him back, Malcolm and Laurel grabbing Slade's arms before he could charge. "When I said _conversation,_ I didn't mean _tear each other apart!"_ Laurel ground out as Malcolm managed to get one of the inhibitors on Slade.

Kara flew into the room next, eyes wide as she took in what was going on. She quickly sped over to Oliver, seeing Slade take a few deep breaths, blinking rapidly as he regained his bearings. "Put this on," she said quickly, handing an inhibitor to Oliver before reaching up to put one on Dig.

Oliver quickly did so as Alex and Felicity ran into the room, Felicity bent over double as she gasped for breath. "What the hell?" Slade finally managed to ask, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"That was my exact reaction," Malcolm glared between Slade and Dig. "What _was_ that?"

"Laurel was right," Oliver answered as he took a deep breath, seeing understanding, followed by disbelief, dawn on Dig's face as well. "That conversation _definitely_ wasn't over."

* * *

 **A/N: I was actually really worried about how the argument between Dig and Slade would go. Hopefully I did it justice in the end.**


	81. In Search of Lost Time - Part Three

**Just a small public service announcement before I begin: midterms are upon me once more, and I have four this week along with an orchestra concert, so if there are any updates at all, it's because I needed a break from studying. I'm just asking, please respect my time so I can work to pass these exams.**

 **Everything becomes chaos in the D.E.O. due to M'yrnn's psychic attack, and there's a lot to be said in the aftermath between several people.**

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"For _three hundred years_ I lived in a cell," M'yrnn snarled angrily. "My son will not put me back in one!"

"Father!" J'onn protested, struggling to hold back the psychic waves.

The panels on the walls exploded, throwing J'onn back into one of the walls. M'yrnn flew up through the ceiling, causing alarms to wail.

" _Containment breach. Containment breach."_

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

The tense atmosphere in the training room was broken with the wailing sirens and flashing red lights, making everyone look up. "How the hell did that happen?" Felicity asked, looking at her tablet.

"Does it matter?" Alex gritted her teeth. "Come on!"

" _Containment breach,"_ the alarm continued to say as Mon-El gave Kara an unreadable look and followed Alex. _"Containment breach."_

"Can we let the two of you go?" Malcolm looked between Slade and Dig. "Or did you recover enough sanity to help solve whatever's going on out there?"

Slade and Dig exchanged wary glances, but Slade nodded curtly. Malcolm and Laurel released him, and Dig sighed and nodded as well. "Good," Oliver released him as Kara headed for the door. "Because _all of us_ need to work together out there, differences or not."

"We're behind you," Laurel promised.

Oliver nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara caught up to Mon-El as the door to the cell block raised, and Kara took a deep breath. "I think we need to talk after this."

"Hopefully without the punching?" Mon-El asked.

Kara smirked. "Oliver can play peacemaker."

Mon-El laughed as the door slid open entirely, and the two marched forward to meet the aliens snarling at them.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Oh, my God!" Felicity's eyes widened when she saw all of the agents attacking each other in the D.E.O.

"Get over here!" Winn shouted.

"Go!" Oliver gave her a small push, and Felicity bolted to join Winn behind the desks. "Alex?"

"Who wants shock sticks?" Alex asked, running for a nearby panel.

"The three of us," Oliver gestured between himself, Slade, and Dig, both of whom had already started raising their hands. "Malcolm, tranquilizer shots if you can't bring them down. Siren, scream, help Winn and Felicity distribute those inhibitors."

"Don't let yourselves get killed," Laurel looked over all of them before running over.

"Shock sticks," Alex jogged back over, handing out pairs.

"Great," Oliver flipped one over in his hand. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen_**

"No hard feelings, Demos!" Laurel shouted before screaming at him.

The agent slid on the ground, wincing in pain, and Winn hurried out from behind cover to smile at him. "Hey, bud!" he said, fixing one of the inhibitors on him.

" _Winn Schott!"_

Felicity blinked when she saw the woman storming towards her friend. "Who's that?" she asked.

"Pam from HR?" Winn blinked rapidly, Demos staring in just as much surprise.

She didn't make it very far before one of Malcolm's tranquilizers hit her in the back, making her slump forward. "Was _that_ a necessary arrow to use?" Laurel glared up towards the rafters.

"I'm taking shots where I can, Siren!" Malcolm shouted back down, drawing and aiming elsewhere.

Laurel rolled her eyes, watching Winn quickly put an inhibitor on Pam. "Sorry," he apologized, pulling the arrow out of her shoulder.

All around the room, the vigilantes were at work using the shock sticks to incapacitate the other agents, several of them swarming Oliver at the same time. He found himself backed up to the wall, narrowly missing a punch from one of the agents.

Then the wall behind him exploded, and Oliver grunted as he was caught in the debris, falling along with the other agents to the ground. "Oliver!" Felicity shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

"Supergirl!" Malcolm's voice joined hers.

Oliver's head shot up when he saw Kara scramble to sit up, brushing debris off her. One of the aliens from the prison cells sneered and stormed forwards, and Kara balanced herself enough to fire her heat vision at the alien, knocking him back.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

J'onn finally found his father on one of the upper levels, lying limply on the ground. "Father," he knelt by him. "You need to listen to me."

"Stay away from me!" M'yrnn cried, increasing his psychic waves and making his son groan in pain.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver rolled away from one of the aliens coming after him, and a blue cape swatted the alien away like a fly. "You good?" Mon-El asked.

"Just – " Oliver jabbed one of his sticks into the back of an agent trying to sneak up on the Daxamite. " – peachy!"

"Yeah, figured," Mon-El delivered a sharp uppercut to another alien. "Anything interesting happen?"

Oliver looked around as a black arrow flew past him to hit one of the agents sneaking up on Dig, and Dig looked back in surprise before up at Malcolm. "Define interesting."

Mon-El grimaced. "I think I just got my answer."

"Oh, and it wasn't even Malcolm John tried to punch," Oliver shook his head.

Mon-El did a double take. _"Slade?"_

"You missed a bit," Oliver said dryly. "So can we discuss this _after_ we get this place under control?"

"Good plan," Mon-El nodded.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson/Oliver Queen_**

Slade punched one of the D.E.O. agents in the side, then jammed one of the shock sticks into their stomach, bringing them down. "Down!" Alex shouted, and Slade dropped as well, letting Alex leap on his back to bring her shock sticks into the man trying to jump on him from behind.

Slade took a second to admire her handiwork, then heard a loud click from nearby. He looked up, and his eye widened when he saw what one of the other agents had brought out. "Alex, down!" he shouted. "Malcolm! Siren!"

The two whipped around at the same time, and Laurel bolted towards the agent, though all of them knew she wouldn't make it in time. "Mon-El!" Oliver barked, looking over his shoulder at the Daxamite.

Mon-El nodded as Laurel barreled into the D.E.O. agent just as he fired the flamethrower, and Mon-El quickly threw out his cape, wrapping it around the missile. Oliver jerked back when he felt the heat of the flames, then looked at Mon-El in surprise as he unraveled his cape, revealing no harm had been done. "Nice," he finally complimented.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Across the room, close to where Slade was holding his own, Kara was engaging two aliens at the same time. She managed to shove one away to focus on the other, and almost unconsciously, she threw her cape out. The fabric wrapped around the wrist of the alien trying to punch her, and Kara blinked before turning to find her target. She yanked as hard as she could, and she threw her captive into the alien charging towards her, knocking both to the ground easily.

Kara stared for a few seconds, surprised that she had done exactly what she couldn't just a few minutes ago, then looked up to see Mon-El give her a proud smile. She giggled happily, giving him a thumbs up. Mon-El nodded to her, then his gaze slid past her and behind her, turning worried. Kara quickly turned to see Slade's sticks were locked with another agent, and she bent her knees to fly at the agent sneaking up on him from behind.

She didn't need to do anything because Dig beat her to him, one of his arms going around the agent in a headlock, the other sticking him in the stomach. Kara chose to crash into the agent Slade was engaged with, and the Aussie looked behind him at the agent collapsed on the ground. He then raised his gaze to Dig, who flipped his stick back into his hand. "Watch your six," he warned.

"No kidding," Slade agreed, eyeing him warily. "Thank you."

Dig nodded in response. "Maybe next time we talk when there's _not_ a psychic attack going on?"

Slade nodded in agreement, the two of them looking around to see who else they needed to stop from doing something drastic.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz/Kara Danvers/Malcolm Merlyn_**

"Father, look around you," J'onn begged M'yrnn. "You're hurting people. Your mind is doing this."

"No," M'yrnn shook his head. "You are trying to trick me."

"I would _never_ do that!" J'onn denied, swallowing hard. "I love you. All I want to do is protect you as you have tried to protect me my entire life. Trust me, Father."

M'yrnn stared at him, then his eyes averted, and his entire form tensed further. "No!" he cried. _"No!"_

J'onn turned to see a White Martian stomp across the balcony, snarling violently. Kara flew up to land on J'onn's other side, and Malcolm grappled up as well. "J'onn!" Kara cried.

"Stay with him!" J'onn ordered.

Kara nodded immediately and rushed to M'yrnn's side, Malcolm firing arrows to distract the White Martian as J'onn morphed into his Martian form and charged. When both Martians crashed through the glass into the labs, Malcolm raised an eyebrow and lowered his bow. "Guess I wasn't needed."

" _Then get back down here!"_ Laurel's annoyed shout echoed through the comms.

"You're bossy!" Malcolm rolled his eyes, though a fond smile was on his face as he jumped down.

Kara hid a smile as she crouched down by M'yrnn, drawing the older Martian's attention to her. "Hey, I'm here," she told him. "You're OK." She laid a gentle hand on his arm, continuing to speak. "I know how hard it is when everything we know to be true changes. But sometimes all we can do is just accept the way things are and make the best of that."

M'yrnn stared up at her, and she silently nodded in encouragement. He winced suddenly, and Kara flinched when she heard a pop near her ear. The inhibitor fell off her temple, and Kara stared down at it when it landed in her hand. "Oh, God," she gulped.

She heard footsteps behind her, and she stood up, quickly backing away as J'onn approached. He morphed back into human form, taking her place by his father's side. "J'onn," M'yrnn rasped.

"The son becomes the father," J'onn said, reaching up and putting his hand against his father's face.

His eyes glowed red as he connected with M'yrnn, and Kara watched both Martians wince as they struggled to contain the psychic waves. Then M'yrnn lifted his arm, looking up at J'onn. "Do it."

J'onn swallowed, then locked the power dampener around his father's wrist. The psychic waves ended, and as Kara kept an open ear for the startled D.E.O. agents coming back to themselves, she watched J'onn hug his father tightly, crying into his shoulder.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias/Lena Luthor_**

"I know," Sam spoke to Ruby on the phone, sniffing as she looked down at the picture of herself and her daughter. "I don't want you to worry about me, OK? I just have to stay in the hospital for a little while." She smiled faintly through the tears she was crying. "I miss you, too. Yeah, the doctors are saying it's contagious, so I don't want you getting sick. Lena is gonna check up on you, and I will be home as soon as I'm better. I love you so, so much, baby."

She hung up and sobbed, closing her eyes. "Don't worry about Ruby," Lena said quietly from next to her. "I'll take her to – "

"Don't tell me where she is," Sam cut her off, looking over at her. "You keep her away from me until I'm cured."

Lena swallowed, nodding as she watched Sam bow her head and continue to cry.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"So those are cape tricks, huh?" Oliver asked as he observed the two aliens being led off.

"They're impressive," Slade toed the little debris from when Mon-El had caught the missile from the flamethrower.

"I'm just happy I finally got it," Kara smiled. "Kind of wish it wasn't in the middle of a battle, though."

"Sometimes that's the only way you know you've got something down," Alex shrugged.

"May I speak to you all?" M'yrnn asked from where he stood with J'onn. The four exchanged looks, then walked over to the Martians, joining Winn, Mon-El, Felicity, Malcolm, Laurel, and Dig. M'yrnn looked at J'onn for support, and when he nodded in encouragement, M'yrnn swallowed and looked around at all of the heroes and D.E.O. agents around him. "I am sorry for the pain I caused," he told them. "I hurt you, _all_ of you. I was so fearful of losing control of what's left of my life, I refused to accept what was happening, and it nearly cost me everything I hold dear."

J'onn put a hand on his father's shoulder supportively, looking around at his agency. "I hoped I would've been able to protect you all better."

"You protect us all the time, J'onn," Alex shook her head.

"Tonight was our turn," Kara stepped forward, rubbing M'yrnn's back.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena stepped into her office, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She was exhausted and ready to eat after the day she had had.

A chirp from her phone made her frown and look at the device in her hand, and she pulled up the many messages that had piled up in her inbox. With a small smile on her face, she tapped out a quick message.

 _Progress is being made, slow and steady_

She didn't expect the onslaught of messages that returned, several of them wishing her luck on helping Sam and a few reminders from the more sciency people reminding her that she needed to sleep and eat as well as help Sam. Touched, she tapped out a thank you and sat down on her couch, leaning her head back.

There were times the group chat between the teams was annoying, but it was times like these she was really glad it existed.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver leaned in the doorway of the med bay, watching Dig roll his shoulder around. "Are you OK?" he asked.

Dig looked up, then cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah," he said, sitting up straighter. "It just hurts from when I landed on it."

Oliver nodded as well, walking into the room. "John, I won't deny that I have made bad calls during my time as the Green Arrow," he said, sitting on the bed across from Dig. "But I'm not the only one who has. We've all made our bad calls."

"You're right," Dig nodded after a second. "I lied to the team. I wasn't in the field at one hundred percent capacity. And Diaz _did_ show up while I was the Green Arrow."

"And maybe I am spreading myself thin," Oliver admitted. "Especially between Star City and National City." He took a deep breath. "There's another reason I've been clinging to the hood in Star City." Dig frowned, tilting his head, and Oliver looked up at him. "Think about it," he said. "I live in Star City on Earth-1. Kara lives here, in National City, on _Earth-38._ That is over three dozen universes apart. We're fine moving between our universes right now, but I don't want that when we're married. Neither of us deserve that – neither does William. We're going to have to make a choice soon."

Dig blinked, realizing where Oliver was going with this. "You're thinking about moving here?" he asked. "For good?"

"Either William and I will end up here, or Kara may end up in Star City," Oliver nodded heavily. "We haven't discussed it, but I want us grounded somewhere in one place. That's either in my universe or here in hers. The question I'm thinking of . . . which city needs its hero more than the other? Does National City need Supergirl more . . . or does Star City need the Green Arrow more?"

"Both cities need their hero," Dig frowned.

"True," Oliver nodded. "That leads to another point . . . Supergirl can't be replaced. Neither can her cousin. They're the only Kryptonians left. The Green Arrow _can_ be replaced. It won't be the same, but Star City would have a Green Arrow anyway." He looked up at Dig to see a stunned look on his face. "Kara and I need to discuss this soon," he said. "But there is a very good chance that after I marry her, William and I will move here to Earth-38. Star City will still need the Green Arrow. That could still be you, John."

Dig swallowed hard. "After all I just did?" he asked, gesturing vaguely out towards the D.E.O.

"That depends," Oliver tilted his head. "You said your issues are with me. I think I saw the issue isn't _just_ with me."

Dig sighed, slumping a bit. "It's not just you," he admitted. "I don't know. It's just . . . having three former supervillains, two of which have been constant pains in our asses in the past, on the team . . . it's bugged me, Oliver. And after all that's happened, with the team splitting up, the battle between them and our former teammates, and the revelation that Diaz has been pulling strings all this time . . . I guess I just snapped."

"A lot has gone wrong," Oliver nodded. "I get where you're coming from. I just wish you had brought it up and not kept it inside. John, you are one of my brothers. You've been with me longer than anyone else. I don't want to lose you . . . but it's your decision."

Dig swallowed. "That means a lot to me, Oliver," he said quietly. "Really, it does. Let me think about it?"

"Take all the time you need," Oliver nodded, standing up and heading for the door.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"So let me get this straight," Max frowned from the video call Winn had pulled up in the D.E.O. "I leave you all alone for . . . what, a few days, and in that time, you not only manage to deal with a psychotic Toywoman and then it's all Kill Bill because of an out of control Martian?"

"Thank you, Max, for putting that oh so eloquently," Alex scowled.

"I'm simply asking," the man held up his hands placatingly. "Sounds like I missed quite a bit is all."

"Oh, try to sound a little less disappointed," Lucy huffed.

"The way I hear it, you weren't there, either," Max countered.

"No, because I'm dealing with my dad being dishonorably discharged," Lucy snorted.

"Ah," Max nodded, then looked at Alex. "Don't worry, Danvers, I'll be back to annoy you soon enough."

"Wonderful," Alex said through clenched teeth.

Max gave her a smirk and a lazy salute before ending the call. "Was he always that . . . annoyingly charming?" Felicity tilted her head.

"Yes," Alex turned around. "I'm just happy he's not doing it as an enemy this time. Are we anywhere with our Worldkillers?"

"Imra and Brainy haven't checked in yet, and there's nothing from Purity," Winn shook his head.

Alex bit her lip. "And Sam?"

"Lena's making some progress."

Alex sighed, nodding. "Let's hope we get more progress soon."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig was skimming through the D.E.O. armory when he heard a knock on the doorframe behind him. "If I walk in here, you won't lunge for one of the guns, will you?" a dry voice asked.

Dig looked behind him and snorted when he saw Slade raise an eyebrow. "I'll even step away from the racks so you're not intimidated," he exaggerated raising his hands.

Slade snorted, stepping into the room. "I figured you wouldn't have gone for one of them anyway."

"You're that certain?" Dig raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Because you didn't let the agent yesterday get the jump on me," Slade answered simply. "Bit surprising, given you were trying to punch me not even ten minutes earlier."

Dig cleared his throat awkwardly. "Not my finest moment."

"Not mine, either," Slade shook his head, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. "Though I would certainly punch back if you tried to put something I did, or the wizard's actions or Siren's, on Oliver."

"Next time, don't throw my brother in my face," Dig countered.

"Next time, don't imply I would betray Oliver's trust after all I've done to try and gain it back," Slade shook his head. "I understand your hesitancy to trust us after all we've done, Malcolm and myself in particular, but do you truly think we would have made it this far if we wanted to turn on him?"

Dig sighed, hands on his hips as he looked down. "Probably not."

"Kara would fry our hearts if we tried," Slade smirked.

Dig chuckled, nodding in agreement. "She probably would."

"There's no _probably,_ she just _would."_

Dig nodded in agreement. "This year's thrown me through a loop," he finally said, looking up at Slade. "First with coming here to help Kara with Cadmus, my injury, the team splitting apart, Diaz turning out to be the one we're supposed to focus on . . . guess it took a Martian attack to make me let it out."

"And I'm guessing me acting as another second in command to Oliver hasn't helped, either," Slade guessed.

"No offense, but definitely not."

"None taken," Slade shook his head. "You have been by Oliver's side longer than any of us. And, in your words, I'm a former villain. And part of the reason it may be hard to trust us . . . we mentioned to the other three that they never really trained with us. I think I can count on less than ten fingers the amount of times we've actually worked together in the field."

Dig tilted his head, thinking. "You're right," he said after a moment, blinking in surprise.

"That might be another trust issue," Slade shrugged.

"After all I've said, you really think this could be worked out?" Dig frowned.

"After all I've done to hurt Oliver, and after all Malcolm's done, Oliver's given us another chance," Slade shrugged. "Some of our sins are unforgivable in my eyes and the wizard's, but here we stand anyway. What you've said is hardly a crime."

Dig was silent for a few seconds. "Look," he finally said. "I've told Oliver I need to think. I have a _lot_ to think about, actually."

"I think we all do after today," Slade nodded. "A word of advice?"

"This'll be good," Dig said dryly, but nodded.

Slade's lips quirked up in a smirk. "You said it yourself. We just found out Diaz is the one we need to focus on, and he has God knows how much of the city in his pocket already. He's already tried to dig his claws into Laurel. Oliver is strong, we both know that, but there is always strength in numbers. Whatever your decision is . . . please keep in mind that the more support Oliver has, no matter what form it takes, the stronger he will be."

Dig gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

Slade nodded back and left the armory, leaving Dig to his thoughts.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

Oliver leaned against the wall watching Kara move through the sequence Mon-El had taught her, a small smile on his lips. Kara eventually swept around and saw him, then blinked when she saw his face. "What?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Oliver raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything."

Kara fidgeted. "You're smiling."

Oliver grinned. "I can't admire how you're doing? My sincerest apologies, angel."

Kara ducked her head, chewing her lip. "It feels like dancing, almost."

"I can see that," Oliver nodded, watching her start the sequence again. "Though I typically wouldn't associate dancing with bowling one alien into another with a cape."

"Oh, God," Kara groaned, stopping and putting her face in her hands. "What I did to Mon-El . . . "

"What did you do?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"The first or second time?"

Oliver's other eyebrow joined the first. "Yes."

Kara sighed, dropping down to sit on her heels. "Well, the first time, I punched him," she answered. "Hard."

"In the face?" Oliver smirked.

"Ha ha," Kara gave him a look, which he returned innocently. "No, in the ribs."

"That's not bad," Oliver shrugged.

"And then I called him a lying jackass the second time and completely poured out every negative thought I ever had of him," Kara sighed, dropping her head into her hands again.

Oliver blinked. "Whoa."

"Yeah," Kara blew out her breath. "I thought everything was water under the bridge, but . . . "

"Hey," Oliver walked over to her and crouched down in front of her. "From what you told me Mon-El was like before . . . well, before he became a hero, it sounded like that was something he needed to hear. Maybe everything after your relationship was water under the bridge, but not what happened _before_ you realized you loved him. And even when you were together, it might not have all been glitter and gold." Kara bit her lip thoughtfully, and Oliver gently took her chin, making her look at him. "Sometimes things need to be said, otherwise when it comes out, it could get _very_ ugly _very_ quickly. I think all of us found that out yesterday. Talk to Mon-El. The man he is now will listen to what you have to say."

Kara nodded silently. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Any time," he kissed her gently, then leaned his forehead against hers. "And if he doesn't listen . . . well, lead weapons can still hurt him, right?"

Kara giggled. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Oliver kissed her forehead, holding out his hand to help her stand.

"Speaking of yesterday," Kara said, accepting his help. "How did it go with John? And Slade?"

"Well, I know Slade was going to talk to John today," Oliver said, wincing a bit. "As for John . . . he needs time to think."

Kara bit her lip, then gave him a tight hug. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Thanks, angel," Oliver squeezed her back thankfully.

Footsteps caught their attention, and Oliver looked over Kara's shoulder as she turned her head. Mon-El froze in the doorway, then cleared his throat, looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I can come back later," he began, starting to back up.

"I was about to leave, actually," Oliver shook his head. "I need to check in with the rest of my team."

Mon-El nodded, and Oliver kissed Kara's cheek, she returning the gesture before he left. The two aliens stood in silence for a few seconds, then Kara sighed. "We were going to talk about yesterday."

"Yes," Mon-El confirmed, walking further into the room. "You were whammied by the psychic attack."

"Yes, that's true," Kara nodded. "But I . . . the things I said . . . I thought I had dealt with my feelings about us. But when we were in this episode, it made me realize that our relationship was not perfect." She sat down on the bench against the wall, Mon-El walking over to join her. "You know, maybe I – I knew that deep down. But especially when you were gone, I was so busy missing you and romanticizing us." She sighed, looking up at him, watching him sit. "I do feel a big weight off my shoulders, so in a way, I'm grateful that it happened." She smiled a bit. "I'm just really sorry that it took a Martian attack to make it come out, and I'm sorry it was so brutal."

"You know, the truth can be brutal," Mon-El shrugged. "It's not news to me that I used to be a jerk. And I'm sorry," he told her sincerely. "I'm sorry for all of it. I didn't really grasp your perspective back then."

"Yeah, but still, I shouldn't have hit you," Kara muttered. "I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry for . . . " She trailed off, then sighed. "I'm just sorry."

Mon-El smirked. "Can we make an agreement?"

"Yes," Kara nodded.

He held out his hand. "No more apologies."

Kara nodded, shaking his hand, then gave him a wide grin. "Do you wanna go be heroes?"

Mon-El smiled back.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

Laurel tilted her head, watching a few D.E.O. agents clean up the glass from where J'onn had fought the White Martian. A chuckle came from behind her, and Laurel turned, raising an eyebrow when she saw Malcolm walk up, looking around at the glass on the floor. "Something funny?"

"This is the second time in about two months that the glass surrounding this lab's been broken," Malcolm answered with a grin. "How unlucky."

"Because the lab has feelings," Laurel rolled her eyes fondly.

"Well, have you ever talked to it?"

"Have _you?"_

"Don't turn this on me."

"You're the one who brought it up."

Malcolm snorted. "Traitor."

Laurel smirked, hip checking him. "You know I love you."

Malcolm's smile was tight. "Yeah."

They stood in tense silence, then Laurel cleared her throat. "How about we strive to make sure there aren't any fights in the D.E.O. any time soon now?"

"Good idea," Malcolm nodded quickly, grateful for the subject change. "Can I add something to that?"

"Add what?" Laurel asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Malcolm pressed his lips together. "Don't charge an agent with a flamethrower, for one?"

Laurel snorted. "I'll put that on my not-to-do list, yeah. As long as _you_ put 'don't attack a White Martian' on _yours."_

"For one, that Martian came nowhere close to hurting me," Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "And you're one to talk, Miss Rile Spartan Up."

"For one, that was M'yrnn's psychic attack speaking," Laurel mocked. "And you're one to talk, Mr. Interferer."

"Yes, I'm so sorry for stopping him from potentially shooting you and killing you," Malcolm gave her a stern look.

"And you couldn't have been?" Laurel countered.

Malcolm snorted loudly. "Oh, ye of so little faith."

"Hey!" Laurel shoved him in the shoulder, and he did a double take, looking at her. "I'm serious! With the psychic attack? Anything could have happened!"

"Yeah, well, I'd do it again," Malcolm narrowed his eyes. _"Especially_ if someone was gonna shoot you."

"You're not bulletproof, Malcolm."

"At least the gun wouldn't be aimed at you."

Laurel stared at him, eyes wide. "You really mean that?" she asked quietly.

"Do you doubt it?" Malcolm asked with a small frown.

Laurel gulped. "Well . . . I definitely don't now."

"What I did to protect you I would do again in a heartbeat," Malcolm promised, raising a hand and cupping her cheek.

Laurel swallowed hard. "About that, when you first challenged John . . . what you said – "

Startled shouts came from Winn and Felicity on the ground floor, and Laurel cursed the timing as Oliver's shout rang through the open area. "Malcolm? Laurel? You need to get down here!"

"For the love of – " Laurel growled, seething as she stormed towards the staircase.

"Laurel!" Malcolm called after her.

"What?" she snapped, turning around.

He faltered at her anger, but recovered quickly, eyes hardening. "We're finishing this conversation later."

Laurel took a deep breath, then nodded in agreement. "I'm holding you to that."

"Please do," Malcolm muttered, following her down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Laurel asked as she joined Oliver at the foot of the stairs.

"Kara and Mon-El just called in," Oliver answered, a steely glint in his eyes. "We've got a problem."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara and Mon-El stood atop one of the skyscrapers in National City, watching pigeons drop onto the roof all around them. Kara already had a guess as to what was going on as she watched the pigeons flop lifelessly, but it was confirmed by Mon-El's grim, simple statement.

"Pestilence."

* * *

 **A/N: So Dig hasn't given an answer yet as to what his decision is going to be. I can tell you he will have his decision made by the time the next two Supergirl episodes are over.**

 **Speaking of those episodes, one of three is done, and the next one's the one that will probably be the most emotional of them. The next time I update, it'll be time for "Of Two Minds!"**


	82. Supergirl - Of Two Minds - Part One

**Team SuperArrow finally starts to see what Pestilence can do and what she can do to the team's members, Kara and Imra don't see eye to eye, and Sam talks to . . . well, herself.**

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Well, that was a very sick creature," Alex declared, standing up straight from examining the bird on her table and looking at everyone in the room. "And what's odd is that I can't find a virus or infection of any kind."

"Well, something must have done that," Kara frowned.

"The Blight," Imra answered grimly.

"OK, I can't be the only one thinking this," Dig frowned. "Why pigeons?"

"Yeah, I'm with Dig," Malcolm pointed. "What did pigeons ever do to Worldkillers?"

"My guess?" Slade raised an eyebrow. _"Existed."_

Felicity giggled, but quickly disguised it as a cough when Imra looked at her. "We went through this on Winath," Mon-El said. "The Blight is preceded by mass wildlife death and plant life, crops rotting in the Earth."

"Soon it will manifest in people," Imra nodded.

Unconsciously, all members of Team Arrow took a small step away from the bird, making Kara, Alex, Lucy, and J'onn look around at them in mild amusement. "It's a short incubation period," Mon-El continued. "It's one hundred percent fatal and extremely contagious."

"Oh, this just gets better and better," Dig grimaced.

"Based on my tests, whatever this bird had, it wasn't transmittable," Alex said. "Not even from bird to bird."

"Good?" Oliver asked cautiously.

"It had to have come in contact with Pestilence herself," Alex explained.

"Still not sure if that's _good."_

"It might not be contagious yet, but if Pestilence gets stronger, even _half_ the strength of the Blight, the entire city would fall ill in a matter of days," Imra told them.

" _That_ definitely _isn't,"_ Lucy frowned.

"But we won't let her get stronger," Kara shook her head.

"Now remember, the cure is written in our DNA," Mon-El looked at everyone.

"With Brainy's help, we'll be able to extract it, weaponize it, and use it to kill Pestilence before she ever becomes the Blight," Imra nodded.

Kara blinked as Imra headed to leave. "Whoa!" she hurried after her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're not killing anyone. We got too aggressive with Purity, and that's when things got worse. I'm not making the same mistake twice. There is a human side to Pestilence. We're gonna find her, and we're going to save her."

"We came here to end the threat to our time, and that means ending her life in this time," Imra frowned.

"It's just not how we operate," Kara told her.

"That's not how _I_ usually operate, but these are extreme circumstances," Imra countered.

"OK, how about before we get into _another_ argument that we _don't_ need right now," Oliver began to cut in, only for his eyes to go past Imra, locking on a man in a black jumpsuit walking into the room. "Hey!" he barked, making the man halt.

"Stop right there!" Alex quickly drew her gun quickly, followed by J'onn, Slade, and Dig.

"Whoa!" Mon-El stood in their path. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys, it's Brainy!"

"What?" Laurel blinked.

"Oh, of course," the man nodded. "I'm wearing a personal image inducer." He touched his forehead, and Querl appeared in his Coluan form. "I had to purchase some apple cider vinegar, and I nearly caused a riot at the Piggly Wiggly."

"Huh," was all Kara had to say in response as Querl activated the inducer again.

"I thought this would, uh, help me fit in better," Querl nodded. "In your universe as well, if the need arises," he added to Oliver.

"Whoa," Felicity grinned widely. _"Cool!"_

"Why am I more comfortable with _that_ than you shifting right in front of me?" Dig asked J'onn curiously.

"No idea," the Martian shook his head.

"Hey, guys!" Winn hurried into the room. "I just god word from City Hall . . . " He trailed off, looking at Querl, then nodded. "Hey, Brainy."

Felicity's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, you recognize him?" Kara asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Winn nodded, looking Querl over, who looked just as surprised as Kara. "What is that, an image inducer, eh? Ah, so our brains just _think_ we're seeing a human, but no. Hey, can I borrow that for Halloween?"

"Agent Schott," J'onn interrupted him. "You were saying?"

"Oh, yes!" Winn nodded. "The mayor, the chief of police, uh, like, five city councilmen are all sick. High fevers, bloody noses. So either it was sushi day at City Hall cafeteria or . . . " He shrugged.

"It's her," Imra said confidently. "Let's go."

"OK, wait," Oliver held up his hand. "Imra, wait a minute. We're not going to walk into this without knowing who Pestilence really is, let alone if she's still there. Right now, the people who are sick are our priority."

"Oliver's right," Kara nodded as Imra opened her mouth to argue. "So let's go run some tests on them. Meanwhile, you guys extract the cure so we can give it to the victims," she looked at Mon-El.

"It won't take long on our end," Mon-El nodded in agreement, giving Imra a warning look. "So we'll meet up with you later."

"Thank you," Kara nodded gratefully, then looked at Imra. "Don't worry, we'll get her."

Imra nodded reluctantly, watching the rest of the team file out of the lab.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

"Explain it to me again," Sam looked at Lena.

"When Reign is triggered, your genome is rewritten," Lena answered. "It's why you can't shoot heat beams out of your eyes whenever you want."

"So you think there's an enzyme in my body that triggers a change," Sam frowned.

"Yes," Lena nodded. "And if we can isolate it, we can eliminate it, and no more Reign." She took a deep breath before continuing. "But in order to find it, I need to study you while you're her."

"And the only definite way to turn me into her is to electrocute me," Sam said with a frown.

"The pain response brings her out," Lena nodded.

Sam took a deep breath. "How much is it gonna hurt?"

Lena bit her lip. "We're gonna start with five hundred volts – "

"That's not what I asked," Sam gave her a small glare.

Lena sighed. "A lot," she answered quietly. "If we had more time, we could find another way, but we don't, so we have to do it."

Sam closed her eyes. "OK."

"OK," Lena nodded, standing up to put the electrodes on Sam's head. She backed up out of the containment unit as Sam laid down, triggering the forcefields to activate. When she was by her computer, she took one more look at Sam before tapping a key.

Sam gasped in pain as she was shocked, then she yelled in pain, her eyes glowing red.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam woke up surrounded by smoke in the dark valley, and she slowly sat up, looking around.

"You." Sam shot to her feet when she heard the reverberating female voice, eyes wide. "I see you."

Sam swallowed hard, looking behind her to see where the voice was coming from. When she didn't see anyone, she started to run, looking in front of her.

She gasped and stopped when she came face to face with a black-clothed Kryptonian. "They're coming for us," Reign hissed, making Sam's eyes widen in horror.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak/Kara Danvers_**

"Oh, my God," Felicity swallowed in horror, using her tablet to keep updated on all of the victims as she and Dig watched gurneys roll past.

"This is a nightmare," Dig agreed.

"The sooner we find this Worldkiller, the better," Lucy walked over from where she had been speaking to first responders. "Preferably before anyone else gets sick."

"It's a nightmare," the mayor told Kara, J'onn, Alex, and Malcolm, the four standing around where he was resting. "It happened so fast. My chief of staff and the councilwoman, we ordered a quarantine immediately."

"You did the right thing," Kara assured him, reaching out comfortingly as he started coughing. "You rest. We've got this."

The mayor nodded weakly, closing his eyes. The quartet stepped away, and Malcolm looked at Alex as he, she, and J'onn lowered their masks. "Alex, did you see that mark on his hand?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "It must not be airborne."

"You two check and see if any other patients have similar marks," J'onn ordered. "I'll check the visitor logs."

They nodded and walked off together, Kara looking around to check in with everyone else. Her gaze was drawn to a redhead sitting on the floor and leaning against the couch, and concerned, she walked over to her. "Hey, are you OK?" she asked. "Do you need a doctor?"

"No, I'm not sick," she shook her head, smiling nervously. "Just scared."

"Everything's gonna be OK," Kara promised, crouching in front of her and squeezing her hand.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"As you can see, most of the patients have scratches, but none of them remember being scratched," one of the doctors said, taking a clipboard back from Alex as she took her mask off.

"Maybe they didn't feel it," Oliver frowned thoughtfully.

"That makes it a probably origin of the infection," Malcolm nodded. "Which means that everyone who's sick was scratched by the source."

"That confirms your theory that it was not passed person-to-person," Winn told Alex.

"Well, if you're sure it's not contagious, then I need the quarantine lifted and the patients transferred to the nearest trauma facility," the doctor told them.

"We have a lead on a treatment," Alex told her.

"You do?" the doctor raised an eyebrow. "Already?"

"Well, we work very fast on account of being _really_ smart," Winn grinned.

The doctor chuckled sarcastically. "Some people find humor charming during stressful circumstances. _I_ find it's a mask for a lack of confidence."

Malcolm snorted loudly, not even bothering to hide his amusement. "Well, _I_ find," Winn began, then trailed off. " . . . that I have no retort."

"Smooth," Oliver rolled his eyes fondly, patting him on the shoulder.

"We'll get the patients transferred as soon as possible," Alex told the doctor. "And when the treatment is ready, we'll have it widely distributed."

The doctor smirked. "You, I believe," she declared, walking past her.

"When did you get so smart about infections and diseases?" Alex asked Malcolm curiously as they turned around to meet J'onn, Kara, Lucy, Dig, and Felicity.

"The League," Malcolm answered simply.

"Why do I get the feeling that's always the answer with you?" Winn tilted his head.

"Because it most likely is," Oliver smirked.

Winn conceded with a nod, looking at the other five. "OK, so mean doctor says we have to lift the quarantine."

"She's not _mean,_ she's just _serious,"_ Alex looked at him. "And she's correct. If the same thing that happened to the birds happens to these patients, they could descend into catastrophic organ failure."

"And there's still the possibility that Pestilence is still here," Lucy pointed out.

"Mon-El did say that there's an incubation period, but those scratches did not look new," Alex sighed.

"So she's _not_ here anymore?" Dig frowned.

Alex shrugged helplessly. "Let's get all these people to the hospital," Kara finally said. "J'onn, you and I can fly the really sick ones."

J'onn nodded in agreement, turning to look at the D.E.O. men. "All right, people, let's keep it calm," he said. "The last thing we need is a panic."

Bright light suddenly came from outside, followed by surprised screams. "What the hell is _that?"_ Lucy grimaced, shielding her eyes.

Kara and J'onn ran outside, and Kara skidded to a halt when she saw the shimmering blue forcefield encompassing the entire building, police cars smashing into it. Imra stood inside the bubble, surveying everything that was happening. "So much for avoiding a panic," J'onn grumbled.

Kara scowled, storming up to Imra as she turned away from the forcefield. "Take down the forcefield!" she ordered.

"Did you find her?" Imra asked.

"Take it down, now!" Kara snapped. "We have to get these people to a hospital!"

"Is Pestilence here?" Imra insisted, stepping forward.

"There's no sign of her now," Kara narrowed her eyes. "Just scared people who need medical attention. _Take it down!"_ Imra sighed, then turned and put a finger on her temple. The forcefield hummed and vanished, letting the sound of sirens back in. "Shouldn't you be working on the cure?" Kara asked.

"Brainy and Mon-El are getting the transfer set up now," Imra told her.

"Well, we can handle this," Kara told her.

"You say that, but you do not know what you're up against," Imra scowled, turning on her heel and leaving.

Kara watched her go, then turned back and headed towards the entrance of the building, where Oliver was watching and coordinating with D.E.O. men. "Why does she want Pestilence so badly?" he asked when she reached him.

"I don't know," Kara admitted.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam groaned in pain as she woke up, slowly sitting up. She heard the forcefield sizzle as it turned off, and she looked up at Lena as she walked in. "Reign was there, in the dark valley," she told her, holding her forehead.

"What valley?" Lena frowned.

"I just thought it was in my dreams, my nightmares, but it was real this time," Sam answered. "And I remember everything. She was talking to me like I'm talking to you."

Lena's eyes lit up. "It's a parallel dimension," she realized. "It's where you go when Reign takes over. It's why you can't remember anything. When your body transforms into Reign, your mind literally goes there."

"Well, we were both there this time," Sam told her.

"I mean, I've been suppressing Reign's consciousness," Lena thought out loud. "She couldn't manifest fully in this world, so she existed in that one with you, together."

"She said they were coming for us," Sam said.

Lena frowned. "Who's coming?"

"I don't know," Sam shook her head with a sigh. "Did you find what triggers the transformation?"

"Not yet," Lena shook her head, giving her a cautious look. "I need to increase the voltage. I need more time to observe Reign."

"OK," Sam acquiesced, bracing herself as she laid back down.

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"You shouldn't have gone to City Hall," Mon-El told Imra as they sat in the Legion ship, waiting for the cure to be extracted. "Kara said she had it handled."

"She's not taking it seriously enough," Imra scowled.

"No one takes the protection of this planet more seriously than she does," Mon-El shook his head. "Look, I know what this mission means to you."

"This isn't about me," Imra shook her head at once. "This is about the Legion, and our mission is to save the people of our time."

"There has to be a way to do this without making a moral compromise," Mon-El told her. "We base the entire philosophy of the Legion on Supergirl. Have you considered that she might have the right approach here?"

"Success is the only thing that matters," Imra didn't answer completely.

" _Transfusion complete."_

Imra looked at the machine she was attached to, then sat up and started taking the equipment off her. "You're done already?" Mon-El asked in surprise.

"You always were a little bit slow," Imra joked, standing up and walking off.

* * *

 _ **Kara Danvers**_

"So Winn and Felicity are running through security footage to see who came in contact with everyone who got sick," Kara told Alex as they walked through the D.E.O.

"Well, I just got word that Brainy, Imra, and Mon-El have extracted the cure and they're manufacturing doses as we speak, so hopefully it's just a matter of time," Alex told her.

"Hopefully," Kara repeated, nodding with a sigh.

"Hey," Alex stopped her. "I know that you're frustrated, OK? But there's still a really good chance that Imra could come around, you know, and that we can work with her on this. She might have some really important insight into Pestilence."

"Yeah, to kill her," Kara huffed. "I don't kill. I mean, you know it's possible to reach them. You of all people understand how important it is to help whoever's in Pestilence."

"Yeah, of course I do," Alex nodded. "But I didn't see that at first. You and Slade were the ones who convinced me that the Worldkillers could even be saved. So maybe Imra just needs a little more convincing."

"I've been trying," Kara sighed. "She's – she's being irrational. She's just not listening to me."

"We found her!" Felicity's gleeful voice called. "We found her, we found her!"

"Actually, we _think_ we found her," Winn amended, he and Felicity running up, both panting. "OK, so there was one person who came in contact with everybody who got sick at the mayor's office."

"Meet Adelaide Swanson," Felicity held up her tablet as Team Arrow followed after them. "An administrator known for her famous lemon poppy seed cookies."

"A Worldkiller that bakes cookies?" Laurel raised an eyebrow.

"The last Worldkiller we met could belt out Lisa Loeb at perfect pitch, I think we can cut this one some slack," Malcolm pointed out.

"Wait, let me see," Kara blinked, leaning towards the tablet. "Yeah . . . yeah, I saw her at City Hall. She looked . . . well, she looked terrified."

"Just like Julia?" Slade asked.

"Just like Julia," Kara nodded.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Supergirl, I have Green Arrow, Deathstroke, and Dark Archer suiting up," Alex spoke through her comms as she flew through National City. "They'll meet you there with J'onn and a strike team."

Kara nodded, putting on a new burst of speed. When she arrived at Adelaide's apartment, she was immediately on edge when she found someone else already there. "Imra, get away from her!" Imra just gave her a look and gestured to the ground, and Kara's eyes widened when she saw Adelaide lying there, face deathly pale. "What did you do?" she demanded, crouching to check on her.

"I didn't do anything," Imra shook her head. "She was dead when I got here. It's not Pestilence, she's human. A victim."

"How did you know she was here?" Kara frowned.

"Brainiac 5 has all the same data you do," Imra answered.

"So you came here without telling me?" Kara scowled.

Imra looked back at her defiantly, then the door behind them opened. "Saturn Girl?" Slade's incredulous voice asked.

"Stand down," Kara held up her hands as Oliver and Malcolm followed Slade in, J'onn and the strike team behind them. "Stand down. We got the wrong person, she's a human. A victim."

"Oh, no," Oliver sighed, lowering his bow as he looked down at Adelaide.

J'onn lifted a hand to his comms as Slade and Malcolm lowered their weapons as well. "Winn, Felicity, Alex, keep looking."

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Man, I was so sure it was gonna be her!" Winn complained, flopping back in his seat.

"I know," Felicity frowned, checking through her tablet. "I mean, according to the security footage, she's the only person that came in contact with all the victims."

"Because we know security footage is always so reliable," Laurel sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Dig nodded in agreement. "You'll find her," he said, then paused, looking at Winn. "Is your nose OK?"

"What?" Winn blinked, reaching up to check. "My nose?"

He faltered, and Dig's eyes widened when his hand came away with blood. "Oh, my God."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"Oh, my God."

"John?" Oliver frowned, absently scratching the back of his hand when he heard the voice in the comms. "What's wrong?"

"Guys, you need to get back here now," Alex's startled voice said. "It's Winn."

"Winn?" Malcolm repeated sharply, all of them exchanging startled glances.

"But we weren't at City Hall when the outbreak happened," J'onn said in confusion.

"Unless he got in contact with one of the victims," Oliver pointed out.

Slade tilted his head. "You all right, kid?" he asked, nodding at his hand.

"Fine, just an itch," Oliver shook his head.

Malcolm stiffened. "Oliver." At the tone in his voice, Oliver looked up at the assassin. "Most of the victims had scratches on the back of their right hand."

Kara blanched, and Oliver quickly removed his glove. Kara hurried to his side, and Oliver swallowed hard, showing them the back of his hand. "It's not just Winn."

Kara whimpered fearfully, seeing he had the same scratch on the back of his hand that the other victims had gotten. "Oh, my God."

"Let's move," J'onn ordered, shepherding the D.E.O. "Now!"

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"James!" Winn called gleefully when the man hurried into the medbay. "Hey, Oliver, look, it's James!"

"I can see that, Winn," Oliver rolled his eyes fondly as James joined the semicircle around the beds the two men were lying in.

"He's grumpy," Winn smiled widely.

"He's very drugged," Oliver huffed.

"He's also very chatty."

"Says the one who can't stop talking in general."

"You're both drugged, we get it," Slade pinched the bridge of his nose; Malcolm squeezed his shoulder supportively, feeling just how tense and on edge the Aussie was.

"Hey, at least we're not dying," Winn pointed out, then he gasped. "Hey, tell him we're not dying!"

"You just did that, Winn," Oliver closed his eyes in exasperation, a small smile forming on Kara's face as she squeezed his other hand from where she sat as close to the bed as she could get.

"I did?" Winn blinked. "Oh. I guess I did. How about that?"

"Like I said," Oliver gave James a pointed look. "Can't. Stop. Talking."

"And you're definitely chatty," Dig eyed him worriedly.

J'onn cleared his throat, turning to James. "We're giving them the Legion's cure."

"Which, by my calculations, should have them rebounding in approximately 2.4534 hours," Querl told them.

"That's . . . precise," Felicity blinked.

"OK," James frowned, then looked between the two. "How you guys doing?"

"Fine," Oliver answered.

"At least compared to everyone that was at City Hall," Lucy said uneasily.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Slade grumbled.

"Seconded," Dig nodded.

"Ditto," Kara agreed at the same time.

"You should be at CatCo," Winn frowned at James.

"It's called delegation, I've got every reporter in the building working on this," James told him. "Which actually reminds me," he turned to J'onn, "the city is pretty panicked about this. So if you have any information I can disseminate, that would be helpful."

"Doses of the cure are on their way to all the hospitals," J'onn answered.

"And the Worldkiller is still MIA," Kara muttered.

"Yeah, but now that Winn and Oliver are infected, doesn't that give us another lead?" James asked.

"Yes," Querl nodded, leaning forward. "The scratch on your hands seem to be the point of infection – "

From where she was working on Oliver, Alex reached over and smacked his hand away. "Don't touch that."

Querl blinked once, then looked between the men. "You are slightly smarter-than-average humans – "

"Oh, _that's_ what they're called?" Laurel muttered, fidgeting when Malcolm nudged her with a short look.

Querl ignored her. "Please tell us you remember who scratched you."

"Not a clue," Oliver shook his head, closing his eyes. "Like I said at City Hall . . . didn't feel it."

Kara sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"'S not your fault, angel," Oliver frowned down at her. "You didn't scratch me."

"I know," Kara mumbled. "It's not making me feel better, though."

Oliver squeezed their joined hands, then looked over when Winn gasped. "Oh! Well, there was the guy with the gloves and the knives and then the burnt face."

"Go on," Querl nodded quickly, looking up. "This sounds like a very promising lead. What else do you remember?" he asked.

"Oh, so scary, man," Winn smiled widely. "I couldn't even look at it – "

Laurel blinked. "Is he describing Freddy Krueger?"

"That's _exactly_ who he's describing," Oliver sighed.

"You know him, too?" Querl brightened. "Eureka!"

"Yeah, I know him," Laurel rolled her eyes. "Earth-2 was like a living horror story, I know my horror movie characters."

Querl blinked, then frowned at Winn when he laughed. "Facetiousness," the Coluan grumbled. "It's my greatest weakness."

"Based on all of the victims, the scratches don't seem to manifest until the symptoms do," Alex said. "Oliver's scratch and a few others showed up as one of the first. The only trace evidence I could find is a mild anesthetic."

"No feeling," Oliver pointed at her.

"Well, Alex, keep running those tests," J'onn ordered. "In the meantime, take a team out. See if you can talk to these patients and find a common link."

Kara sighed and sat up. "Get some rest, OK?" she whispered to Oliver.

"I'm not going anywhere," he gestured to where he was.

Kara giggled quietly, kissing him on the forehead. "I know." She squeezed his hand and stood up, looking at the next two men in line next to her. "Please tell me you two at least came to some kind of understanding to handle this while he's out," she said quietly, eyes narrowed.

Slade and Dig exchanged glances, then both nodded firmly. "We have," Slade said.

"Good," Kara nodded curtly. "Because _both_ of you have been his seconds. That leaves you the leaders of his team."

"You're as good as one, too, Kara," Dig frowned.

Kara didn't respond, instead stepping around them to see Winn. "I'll come check in, but there's something I have to take care of."

"Okie dokie," he smiled goofily.

Kara patted him on the arm, then saw Imra walk around the corner, sparing a quick glance at the med bay. "Hang in there," she said, barely hearing him hum a response as she hurried outside after the Titanian. "Imra!" she called sharply. "Why did you go behind my back?"

"I didn't have a choice," Imra sighed, walking on.

"You always have a choice!"

"No, I don't!" she snapped, turning around. "Look, I don't wanna kill her or anyone. I have the same ideals you do."

"Then you should know you don't get to pick or choose when your ideals matter," Kara told her. "You either live by them or you don't."

"You think this is bad?" Imra narrowed her eyes. "The Blight is _so_ much worse. _Every_ hospital bed in _every_ city on _every_ planet is overrun. _Mass graves._ So if it's between _her_ and the _millions_ of people who die by the Blight in the future, I'm going to kill her."

"The best way to defeat the Worldkillers is by saving their human sides," Kara scowled.

"The man you love is dying because of one of the Worldkillers and you still want to save her?" Imra asked incredulously.

"Don't you dare!" Kara growled, getting in her face and making Imra take a step back. "Don't you _dare_ bring Oliver into this because he would not want me to sacrifice my ideals or my ways for him!"

"Your ways for this are wrong," Imra told her bluntly. "I'm from the future. I've seen what happens if you're left to deal with the situation the way you want to. The Blight happens, Pestilence survives. Whatever you do in this time to try to stop her fails. _You_ fail. So if I get the chance, I _will_ end this."

Kara watched Imra walk off, then clenched her jaw and looked back towards the medbay, where Alex and Brainy were working on Oliver and Winn still. She knew she was right when she said Oliver wouldn't want her to sacrifice her ideals for him.

That didn't mean she wasn't determined to save him. On the contrary – he had risked his entire team to bring down Cadmus for her, had braved Earth-X to reach S.T.A.R. Labs and save her, had flat out chosen to fight a Nazi invasion over surrendering her. He'd shown what lengths he was willing to go to for her.

It was time for her to do the same for him, and there was no way she was going to accept failure, no matter what Imra said.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam slowly walked through the dark valley, her breath escaping her in short breaths. She knew she had to do this, she really did . . . that didn't mean she was terrified of facing her other self, one that was a murderer, one that hurt others.

"I was here for so long," Reign's voice said, and Sam turned to see her standing behind her. "Alone. You kept me here. You're strong, much stronger than you should be . . . but that will change. Your friend, she's breaking your body. You should stop her."

"Why?" Sam asked. "Because you're afraid we're getting closer?"

"No," Reign shook her head, walking towards her. "Because it will be so much better if you give in. There's bliss in surrender. I've seen your life. All those sleepless, solitary nights where you stare into the dark, not even able to dream of an escape. You've been trapped since Ruby was born. It doesn't have to be that way. There's another life, one of power, control. It's here for you. Just reach out and _take it."_ Sam stared at Reign in shock as the woman smirked. "You'll be _free,_ Samantha. _Surrender."_

She extended her hand, and Sam gasped, forcing herself to wake up. She did with a violent gasp, shooting upright in the containment unit and ripping the electrodes off her head. "Sam!" Lena ran to her side. "Sam, it's OK. Just deep breaths, deep breaths. Calm down."

"I can't go back in there," Sam stammered, holding her head in her hands. "We have to find another way."

"There is no other way," Lena shook her head. "I know how hard this is – "

"No!" Sam yelled at her, standing up and glaring at her. "No, you don't! It's like facing your shadow – everything dark you've ever feared about yourself!"

Lena swallowed, looking at her. "If you don't do this, Reign will take control of your body, and she will condemn you to that place forever, OK? She will _win."_

Sam held her head for a few seconds, taking deep breaths. "OK. Just give me a minute."

"OK," Lena nodded as well, watching her carefully as Sam worked to get her breathing back under control.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, some of you probably figured that Oliver would be one of Pestilence's victims. I think it's a nice twist to see what Kara is willing (and not willing) to do when it's her fiancé on the line.**


	83. Of Two Minds - Part Two

**Things with the cure go wrong, Team SuperArrow is dealt another huge blow, and many emotional conversations are had.**

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

The lights in the medbay were off, allowing Winn and Oliver to sleep without any disturbances. Though Kara wanted more than anything to be by her fiancé, she chose instead to stand in the doorway, chewing her lip nervously, unable to stop worrying. The doses had been given before any horrible symptoms were showing. That meant they were going to be OK.

"Kara?"

Kara turned quickly at her name, and she slumped a bit as Dig walked up to her. "Hey," she said quietly. "They're sleeping."

"Yeah, probably one of the only decent amounts of sleep Oliver's gotten recently, huh?" Dig guessed, stopping by her side.

Kara shrugged absently, her gaze going back to the archer. "He hates hospitals," she remembered from when he had first come to Earth-38. "And he didn't refuse at all to be put in the medbay." She sniffed, angrily reaching up and swiping at her eyes. "It's bad."

"Hey," Dig put a hand on her shoulder. "I've been with Oliver for six years. He's been through a lot. Hell, he survived a sword in the gut. He'll get through this."

Kara nodded, exhaling shakily. "Thanks, John. I know you and Oliver are going through . . . whatever's going on – "

"That doesn't matter right now," Dig shook his head, looking over towards Oliver's bed. "Not while he's like this."

Kara sighed, nodding. "He needs all the support he can get." Her eyes slid to Winn, and tears blurred her vision as she looked at her best friend. "Both of them do."

Dig carefully tugged her into a hug, and she buried her face in his neck. "They'll get through this," he told her. "They're strong."

"Listen to him, little one," Slade's Australian rumble came from behind her, and Kara relaxed as he put a hand on her back, rubbing gently. "They'll pull through."

Kara nodded silently, then took a deep breath and stepped back out of the hug. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"No problem," Dig nodded.

Kara turned to lean into Slade, who put his arm around her comfortingly, and she saw J'onn with him as well. "Hi."

J'onn chuckled. "Hi yourself."

Kara sighed, closing her eyes. "Do you think I'll get through to Pestilence?" she asked suddenly.

J'onn considered. "There's no way of knowing. You just have to try."

Kara made a face. "That's not what Yoda would say."

Slade laughed as Dig rolled his eyes. "'Do or do not.'"

"Yeah, I think it's fair to say he didn't get that one right," Dig smirked.

Kara giggled quietly, and J'onn put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, these days, I don't know what my father will remember," he told her. "I wake up and have the same conversation with him every day. I keep at it because sometimes he remembers we've had that conversation before, and we actually laugh about it. I keep trying. I keep talking so that he can find those moments of clarity and laugh. Just because something's hard doesn't mean it's impossible. You break through impossible every day. You inspire the rest of us to do the same."

Kara smiled. "You're a good son." She reached up for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "And thank you. All of you."

J'onn squeezed her hand back, and Slade kissed the top of her head as Dig gave her a smile

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Mon-El walked into the cruiser to see Imra looking through data holograms. "Did you talk to Kara?" he asked.

"Yes," Imra answered, annoyance in her tone. "And she didn't listen to reason."

Mon-El raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell her the whole story, did you?" Imra pursed her lips and looked down, and Mon-El sighed, walking towards the console. "You keep saying this is a Legion mission, but you made this decision on your own out of vengeance."

Imra scowled, turning the console off. "I'm doing this to save countless lives in the future," she told him. "I'm perfectly capable of keeping _my_ personal feelings out of this."

White hot anger seared through Mon-El as Imra walked past him, seeming to think the conversation was over. "You brought me here!" he snapped, turning and stopping her in her tracks. "You can't keep punishing me for it."

Imra just turned and kept walking, right past Querl and further into the cruiser. The Coluan paused in the doorway, watching her go, then looked at Mon-El. "Are you two having a marital conflict which I should stay out of, or is this a work-related quandary where my intellect might be of use?"

Mon-El groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Considering they were back in the past where his ex-girlfriend was, himself married and her engaged to be married, he thought he was doing a pretty good job of keeping his personal feelings out of this mission. "Why didn't you tell me about this mission before we came here, Brainy?" he asked tiredly.

"Because you would've never agreed to it," Querl answered, walking further into the room. "To come back."

"How do you know?" Mon-El asked.

"Obviously I ran simulations based off specific emotional behavior data taken from your brain over the last seven years," Querl shrugged. "The results were troubling."

Mon-El abruptly turned and started pacing, hands behind his back. "We took an oath when we formed the Legion," he finally said. "To preserve all that is good and to never harm the innocent. How is this mission in line with that? We should not kill Pestilence." When Querl didn't say anything, Mon-El huffed. "And you're obviously on Imra's side."

"It's not about picking sides, Mon-El," Querl shook his head. "If we kill Pestilence when we find her, there is a 98.459% chance the Blight will never happen. Millions of people will be saved. Now, if we try to rescue the person inside of her in order to defeat her, that chance is reduced to 52.744%."

Mon-El sighed. "Some decisions can't be made with a math equation."

He turned to leave, but stopped when he heard Querl inhale sharply. "Mon-El!" He turned around, surprised to see a panicked look on his friend's face. "Something's happened to Oliver and Winn."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Malcolm Merlyn_**

Kara had finally pulled herself away from the medbay and was out on the balcony of the D.E.O., arms braced on the railing, leaning her forehead on her clasped hands. She recognized the footsteps approaching her, but she didn't look up. "I don't know what to tell William," she said quietly.

"When the cure works, there won't be anything to tell," Malcolm told her, stopping and leaning on the rail next to her.

"And if it doesn't?" Kara asked bitterly. "I'll have to tell him one of the Worldkillers infected him with a virus that is one hundred percent fatal. Oliver gave up the hood originally so William wouldn't have to worry about losing him, and now William might do it anyway when he wasn't even wearing the hood at all."

"Hey," Malcolm put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure people have already told you this, but that's not going to happen, all right? Oliver's going to pull through this. He and Winn _both_ will."

Kara sighed, nodding. "I've heard that a lot, actually."

"If we're all saying it, you should probably listen to us," Malcolm smirked.

Kara smiled. "Maybe."

Malcolm chuckled and squeezed her lightly. "More like _definitely."_

Kara nodded, but paused when she picked up something with her hearing. "Hang on . . . "

"What?" Malcolm frowned.

Two familiar pained cries rang clearer, and Kara's blood froze. "No," she whispered, pushing herself away from the railing and taking off. "No, no, no, no, _no!"_

She arrived in the medbay just a few seconds before Mon-El and Querl did, almost tripping over her feet when she found Winn making ugly noises as he spasmed, Oliver's back arched off his bed, both grasping their abdomens in pain. "Just – just a thought," Winn gasped out, James hovering by him as Kara ran to Oliver's side, putting her hand over his, her other hand cupping the back of his head. "I – I don't – don't think the cure is working!"

"Kara," Oliver ground out, eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm here," Kara whimpered, adjusting her hand so Oliver was gripping it tightly with both of his, the rest of the team crashing into the medbay. "I'm right here."

"Oh, my God," Laurel swallowed hard, covering her mouth with both hands.

"Alex, _do something!"_ Slade snapped, pushing through the others to get to the other side of Oliver's bed.

"Working on it!" Alex hurried to Winn's IV line. "Someone get Oliver's?"

"Got it," Lucy moved to check on it.

"Come on, kid," Slade growled quietly, fist clenched as Lucy injected a sedative into the line.

Alex looked up after she finished the same injection, Winn's breathing evening out. "This should keep them stable for now," she said.

"Oh, my God," Felicity repeated Laurel's words in a hushed voice, tears in her eyes.

Dig hastily pushed a chair behind Kara as the Kryptonian collapsed into it, relief clear on her face as she stifled a sob. He put a hand on her shoulder, then looked around the room. "I thought this cure was supposed to work?" he frowned at the Legionnaires.

"So what the hell happened?" Malcolm glared as well.

Querl muttered quickly under his breath, then perked up. "Oh, yes, there it is, I see it now. The cure is designed to cure victims of the Blight, but because Pestilence is not technically the Blight but the forebearer of it, the cure we have needs to be modified to fight her particular strand of virus."

"So what do we have to do to make that happen?" Laurel asked with a scowl as Malcolm paced, a look of irritation on his face.

"We need a piece of Pestilence's DNA," Mon-El answered.

"So if we can't find her, more people could get infected?" Slade's eye narrowed, his voice a dangerous growl.

"Which means that the people already infected," Lucy began.

"Yes, and yes," Querl nodded; behind him, Malcolm slowed his pacing before halting entirely, a horrified look crossing his face. "Finding her as soon as humanly or nonhumanly possible would be – "

There was a crash from behind Kara, and Slade's anger abruptly morphed to concern. "Malcolm!" he barked, moving away from Oliver's side and making Kara's head shoot up.

Malcolm's only respond was a groan of pain as his legs buckled under him. From the table she was sorting medical supplies on, Alex collapsed as well. Slade and Dig moved quicker, grabbing Malcolm before his head hit the table next to him, Alex landing in a heap on the floor. "No!" Laurel screamed as the room burst into movement.

"Alex!" J'onn ran to her, Lucy behind him.

"No, no, no," Kara sobbed, seeming unable to decide who to check on as Laurel dropped to her knees, one hand over her mouth as her other hand found Malcolm's limp one, Slade and Dig carefully easing him to the floor as J'onn and Lucy checked on Alex.

"Imperative," Querl finished unnecessarily.

Kara finally sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she cried. Felicity crouched next to her, and the Kryptonian latched onto her immediately, Felicity trying to keep herself together as she looked at the two other team members, Mon-El exchanging helpless looks with Querl.

* * *

 ** _Lucy Lane_**

Lucy chewed her lip as she watched the doctors put Alex and Malcolm in beds of their own, then heard footsteps race up the steps. She quickly turned and sighed in relief when she saw who arrived. "Thank God, you made it."

"I tried to get here as fast as I could," Max nodded, looking into the medbay with wide eyes. "This was Pestilence?"

"Yes," Lucy narrowed her eyes angrily. "And we _still_ have no idea who she is, and we need to find out before they die."

Max nodded, seeing Kara anxiously move between Alex, Malcolm, and Oliver's beds, looking one second away from having a breakdown. "How's everyone holding up?" he finally asked.

Lucy shook her head sadly. "Either like Kara or like Slade."

Max noticed Slade pacing, a furious look on his face, and he cleared his throat. "I would not want to be this Worldkiller when they find her."

"I want to be there when they do," Lucy said bluntly. "I want to watch her go down."

Max conceded the point with a nod. "True."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara's attention was drawn to the horrendous coughing from Alex's bed, and she hurried to her sister's side, seeing her struggle to cover her mouth with her arm. "Hey," she whispered, taking her other hand, J'onn walking over from Winn's bed to see her.

"I should be helping," Alex gasped, inhaling hard.

"You need to rest," J'onn shook his head immediately, putting his hand on her head.

"No," Alex shook her head. "Let me – "

"No," Kara insisted. "We're on it, I promise."

"Alex, whatever you have attacking you, you are stronger than it," J'onn told her. "You are one of the strongest fighters I know. Keep holding on, OK?"

Alex nodded weakly, and Kara bent down and kissed her forehead. A sharp inhale from the bed behind her made her turn, and Malcolm started hacking as well. "Hey," Laurel immediately moved forward, Slade turning from Oliver's bed. "Malcolm, it's OK."

Malcolm continued to cough, groaning as Kara and Slade surrounded him. "How long was I – " he began, cutting off as he coughed again, more violently this time.

"Not long," Slade shook his head, hands in tight fists as Laurel squeezed his hand. "You look like hell."

"I feel like hell," Malcolm admitted, closing his eyes.

"Hey," Laurel swallowed, looking down at him. "You're going to be OK. You hear me? You're gonna be OK."

Malcolm nodded weakly, squeezing her hand with a surprising lack of strength that made her eyes tear up more. "Owe you a conversation, don't I?"

Laurel swallowed hard, nodding jerkily. She pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head before stifling a sob, releasing his hand and all but running from the medbay. "You better hang in there, wizard," Slade gave him a warning look with no heat in it.

"Magician," Malcolm croaked automatically, giving him a small glare.

Slade's mouth quirked in a small smirk before he went after Laurel. Kara finally shuffled forward and put her hand on top of her brother's. "You're gonna get better," she whispered, though she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him. "We're gonna get Pestilence."

"I know you will, almas," Malcolm gave her a small smile, squeezing her hand lightly.

Kara nodded, squeezing back and stepping away, and Malcolm shifted to get as comfortable as he could, wincing in pain as he closed his eyes. She covered her mouth, feeling tears sting her eyes as she looked around the medbay. Her fiancé, her brother, her sister, and her best friend, all lying here and dying because of a Worldkiller they had yet to even know the identity of.

Why did life seem to want to make her suffer?

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Slade Wilson_**

Laurel pushed through the D.E.O. agents, so desperate for air that she didn't apologize when she bumped into people. She finally burst out onto the balcony and went to the railing, bracing against it and inhaling greedily, closing her eyes as she tried to keep her tears under control. Oliver and Winn had been bad enough . . . but Pestilence was _this close_ to taking Alex and Malcolm from them, too.

"Siren!" Slade's voice behind her called.

Laurel ducked her head. "Leave me alone!" she tried to call back, internally cursing when her voice broke.

"I don't think it's a good idea for _either_ of us to be alone right now," Slade shook his head, walking up behind her, keeping a small amount of distance between them. "We might go on a suicide mission after Pestilence ourselves."

"I'm down for it," Laurel seethed, opening her eyes and glaring out at National City. "If it means screaming in that bitch's ear, I'll _gladly_ do it."

"She could infect us," Slade reminded her.

"Then she can infect me!" Laurel exploded, whipping around to glare at him through her tears. "At least I'd know I was able to kill her before – !"

She broke off before she could say another word, and she clenched her jaw, turning back around. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. There was silence from Slade before he spoke quietly. "Before Malcolm dies, right?"

"Shut up," Laurel whispered.

"That's what you were going to say, isn't it?"

"I said _shut up!"_

"You're not the only one hurting because he's infected!" Slade growled, eye flashing. "That's _both_ of my brothers in there now, and you don't think I want to go out there with anything that could put Pestilence six feet under?"

"Maybe I'm not the only one hurting," Laurel glared at him. "But if _any_ of them die? How many of you can say that his death would hurt the most?"

"Losing _any_ of them would hurt like hell," Slade ground out. "But I'm aware that I don't care for any of them like you care for Malcolm."

Laurel laughed bitterly. "Slade – "

"Don't even try to lie," he shook his head. "You don't need to do it with me. Not when Malcolm's lying back there fighting for his life. You love him, Laurel. Don't you?"

She swallowed hard. "Yes," she finally whispered, covering her mouth to cover a sob.

Slade crossed the remaining distance, and Laurel moved to hug him tightly, crying into his shoulder, her arms tight around his neck. "Oh, my God, what are we gonna do?"

"We'll save him," Slade promised, squeezing her. "We'll save all of them. And then Pestilence is going to pay. You hear me?"

Laurel nodded jerkily, a whimper coming from her throat as she kept crying. Slade shushed her quietly, kissing the top of her head, letting her get her emotions out.

Neither of them noticed Dig swallow and back away from where he had been watching on the stairs.

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen/Harry Wells_**

" _Holy frickity frack!"_

The startled yelp from just outside the breaching room made those gathered to see Jesse Wells off back to Earth-2 look at each other in surprise. "Cisco?" Barry called in concern, Harry and Jesse exchanging looks.

"OK," Cisco ran into the room, panting. "Who has checked their phones in the last minute or so?"

"None of us," Iris said slowly, gesturing to Jesse behind them.

"Check them," Cisco held up his phone. _"Now."_

"What?" Caitlin frowned, though she did as he said, the others doing the same. "What's – " She cut off with a gasp, hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God!"

Barry's eyes were wide in horror when he read the message from Dig: _The third Worldkiller appeared. Winn, Oliver, Malcolm, and Alex have all been infected by her._ "Oh, no."

"We need to get over there," Caitlin shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Cisco nodded.

"Dad?" Jesse asked as Harry swallowed hard, putting his phone back in his pocket, too. "What's going on?"

"It's a long story, Jesse, but Allen's friends in another universe, Earth-38, they need our help," Harry answered quickly as Barry sped off and quickly returned with duffels, distributing them across the team.

Jesse frowned. "Earth-38 . . . that's the universe you said – "

"Lena," Harry nodded, clearing his throat. "Yes, that's where she lives."

Jesse took a deep breath. "OK . . . better hope Earth-2 can survive without me a little longer." She shouldered her bag, a determined look on her face. "I'm coming, too."

Harry blinked. "You're sure?"

"Dad, you like this woman," Jesse gave him a look. "I'm meeting her and helping at the same time. Yeah, I'm sure."

"Great," Cisco gestured impatiently. "Can we go kick this Worldkiller's ass now? And save Kara's team while we're at it?"

"I'll let you know if anything comes up," Iris quickly kissed Barry. "Go."

"Do it, Cisco," Barry ordered.

Cisco opened a breach, and Barry grabbed him and Caitlin and sped them through, Jesse following with Harry a split second after.

* * *

 ** _James Olsen_**

A bitter chuckle came from Winn's bed, and James turned to look at him, seeing him look down at the scar on his hand. "I can't even."

"What's going on?" James asked, walking closer.

"No, it's just ironic," Winn scowled. "After twenty years, I finally make peace with my mom . . . and then I get infected by Pestilence."

"You're gonna get better," James told him confidently.

"Maybe," Winn huffed. "Dude, I was attacked by a _Worldkiller._ There's no cure."

"Hey, don't go there," James shook his head, pulling up a chair to his side. "Winn, you cannot think like that, brother."

"It's just . . . " Winn made a helpless gesture. This is just making me reflect on my life." He sighed, turning his head to look at him. "You know what? After we reconnected, my mom and I . . . I hadn't realized, like, so much of my baggage was tied into her abandoning me. Like, all my life, I never felt like I deserved _anything._ But you know what? I have done _great_ despite circumstances. I made some _true_ friendships." He sniffled, looking at James as he sniffed, too. "That has been the _best_ part of my life. And now I can finally let myself imagine what I'd do if I could do anything. Like, if I could really be _anything._ Like, I could be the next Steve Jobs! Or I could make a rocket for NASA. I can build human transportation to another planet, show Elon Musk how it's done." James choked on a mixture between laughter and tears. "Like, I'm _ready!"_ Winn sobbed, eyes glassy. "And I think it might be too late!"

"You are gonna do everything that you want," James declared, reaching over and taking Winn's hands in both of his. He squeezed tightly, and Winn gave him a small smile. James nodded jerkily, then rubbed a hand down his face, standing quickly. "Get some rest."

"Yeah," Winn mumbled, taking a deep breath as James left.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

A change in breathing from Oliver's bed made Kara look up from where she had buried her face in her hands. "Kara," he croaked, groaning in pain.

"Hey, don't talk," Kara scooted her chair closer. When that wasn't enough, she moved to sit on the side of the bed, slipping her hand into both of Oliver's. "Save your strength."

"Need to talk," Oliver shook his head, taking a deep breath, cutting it short with a cough. "Kara . . . William and Evelyn – "

"No," Kara shook her head wildly, already guessing what he was about to say, and she didn't want to hear those words _at all._ "Oliver – "

"They need to know," Oliver told her, shaking his head from side to side, wincing with the motion. "Kara, _please_ . . . you have to tell them."

"Oliver," she begged, voice breaking.

"I believe in you, I really do," he told her. "But they need to know what's happening. You have to tell them, and look out for them." He squeezed suddenly, and Kara gasped at the strength he gripped with. "Kara – "

"I will," she finally nodded, squeezing back and resting her chin on top of their joined hands. "I promise. I'll bring them here."

Oliver exhaled slowly. "Thank you."

Her throat clogged by tears, Kara nodded jerkily in response, then leaned down and kissed him. Oliver kissed her back, using one of his hands to run his fingers through her hair when he felt her tears land on his face. "I love you," he whispered.

Kara made a strangled noise in response. "I love you, too," she managed to say before she kissed him again and all but ran from the medbay, tears streaming down her face.

She made it to the stairs when she heard a familiar sizzle behind her. She spun around and watched with wide eyes as a breach swirled into existence, then Barry sped out with Caitlin and Cisco. "Kara!" he called, then caught sight of inside the medbay, and he froze in shock. "Oh, my God!"

Kara finally let out an ugly sob, her legs giving out from under her. Barry and Caitlin ran for her at the same time, Cisco covering his mouth in horror as Harry and a brunette girl came from the breach last, the three of them watching Barry and Caitlin try and comfort the hysterical Kryptonian, Imra watching from the other side of the level, tears of her own staining her cheeks.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig found Slade in one of the training rooms, and he winced, swearing he could feel the waves of anger rolling off the Australian as he sliced through the dummies set up. "I'd offer to spar if I wasn't certain you'd gut me during it," he said after knocking on the door.

"It's not you I want to gut," Slade ground out, viciously stabbing the last dummy in front of him.

"Yeah," Dig nodded, narrowing his eyes. "What I would give to have a gun that could actually work on a Worldkiller."

"We're of the same mind there," Slade nodded curtly, pulling his sword free and walking to place it on the bench against the wall. He growled lowly, bracing a hand on the wall as he tried to regain even breaths, then he chuckled darkly. "I wonder if this is how they felt."

"Who felt?" Dig frowned.

"The island," Slade answered, clenching his other hand in a fist. "When I was dying, I wonder if this is how desperate and lost Oliver and Shado felt . . . all to try and find _some way_ to save my life." He shook his head, chuckling bitterly. "What I wouldn't do to have a miraculous cure right now."

Dig watched him for a few seconds, then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Slade paused, turning to look at him. "What?"

"What I said during the psychic attack," Dig elaborated, walking further into the room. "And after everything that's happened today . . . Winn, Oliver, Alex . . . Malcolm . . . " He exhaled slowly. "Yeah, I have trust issues with the three of you, I don't think that's a secret."

"You could have fooled me," Slade rolled his eye sarcastically.

"But that's also my fault for not trying to see past what we've been through on opposite sides," Dig told him. "There's been too much bad blood, especially involving you and Malcolm, that I let it continue to taint my vision for a long time. You were right, we've barely worked together at all, or even had a decent conversation."

"That's not just your fault, John," Slade told him.

"Yeah, but I probably wouldn't have been the kindest if you tried to have one," Dig shook his head. "But after seeing how you and Laurel reacted to Oliver's infection . . . after _Malcolm_ collapsed . . . " He took a deep breath. "I was gonna say something to both of you, but you were already out on the balcony when I found you."

Slade sighed, closing his eye. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know I was out of line," Dig answered. "I never really believed it until Pestilence attacked. Yeah, Siren isn't the Laurel I knew . . . but that's what makes her who she is. And I saw the man Oliver told me about from Lian Yu when you were standing with him and Malcolm. I believe it now." He walked forward, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry for not believing it sooner," he sincerely said, holding out his hand.

Slade considered, then reached out and shook his hand. "Apology accepted." He tilted his head. "I don't suppose you've made up your mind?"

"I have," Dig nodded, a determined glint in his eyes. "I've been with Oliver this far. I'm not gonna let a suit or a grudge stop me. I'm staying."

A vicious smile formed on Slade's face. "That's good to hear."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"He's what?!" William's eyes were wide as he stared at Kara, Evelyn dropping her water glass in shock as she registered Kara's words.

She swallowed hard and nodded shakily, sitting down across from William. "The third Worldkiller, Pestilence, infected him," she explained, trying to keep her voice from wobbling; she was failing miserably. "He and Winn were sick first."

"And then Malcolm and Alex?" Evelyn whispered, bending down to pick up the pieces of glass to distract herself.

"Yes," Kara nodded. Evelyn hissed suddenly, and Kara quickly stood when she saw Evelyn had cut her hand on one of the pieces. "Here," she sped and got a towel, handing it to Evelyn.

She took it with trembling hands, trying to calm her breathing as Kara picked up the glass instead. "It's just . . . " She hiccupped, covering her mouth. "He just gave me a chance to get better, and now he's . . . they're – "

"I know," Kara nodded, placing the glass down and helping her stand, moving to where William was still sitting frozen on the couch. "It's hard." She swallowed, sitting down between them and putting her arms around them both. "We're working as hard as we can," she vowed. "We're going to find Pestilence, and we're going to get a cure. We're gonna save them and everyone in the city who got infected. I promise."

William swallowed hard, looking up at her. "Can I see him?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," Kara nodded, tugging him closer. William curled into her side, tucking his head under hers, and Kara kissed the top of his head, arm tight around him. "Yeah. I told him you would."

Evelyn shifted uncomfortably, and Kara silently reached out an arm for her, too. Evelyn gratefully collapsed against her, and Kara brought her into a hug, too. "Both of you can."

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena swallowed back tears when she saw the dozens of messages she had from everyone at the D.E.O., keeping everyone updated on what was happening with Pestilence. Taking a deep breath and clearing her throat, she turned to where Sam was sitting on the bed waiting for her. "Ready?" she asked.

Sam took one last sip of water, then leaned back on the bed, closing her eyes.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

When she opened them, she was shivering behind a tree in the dark valley. "Why would you hide from me?" Reign's voice echoed behind her. "Now that you've seen what you can be, the power you can have."

Reign was suddenly by her, and Sam gasped, recoiling immediately. "I don't want it!" she told her. "You're nothing but a cancer. I know you think you're gonna escape and take control, but my friend and I are gonna stop you."

Reign blurred, and Sam gasped as Reign grabbed her by the throat and lifted her. "Just wait and see what your defiance will cost you," she sneered. "I will turn your world into ash . . . especially her." Sam blinked in confusion, and Reign smirked. "Your heart, your strength . . . I will kill Ruby, burn her, cut her inside out."

"No!" Sam screamed, squeezing her eyes shut.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor_**

Lena hastily turned off the forcefields and ran into the containment unit as Sam shot upright, still screaming. "Stop, stop, stop!" she grabbed her by the shoulders.

"No," Sam whimpered, tears filling her eyes.

"It's OK," Lena shushed her. "Hey, hey."

"She said she was gonna kill Ruby," Sam sobbed.

"No," Lena shook her head at once. "No, she can't kill her. Ruby's safe."

"Did you find the trigger?" Sam asked.

"No," she admitted.

"Then Ruby is not safe," Sam shook her head. "We need to stop Reign."

"That is what we are doing, Sam," Lena told her.

"We need to get some help," Sam sniffed. "Before we started this, Alex was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Or maybe Supergirl? You can call Supergirl. You can – you can find her, right?"

"Sam," Lena swallowed hard. "They know."

"They know?" Sam repeated, eyes wide.

"They know," Lena nodded. "But something's happening out in the city, and they can't be here to help right now." Sam whimpered, and Lena squeezed her shoulders. "But they trust me to help you, OK?"

"There's no one else?" Sam's voice cracked.

Lena opened her mouth to respond, then heard the elevator behind her open. Sam gasped and curled up in a ball, and Lena stood up straight, turning around to glare at whoever dared to disturb her. Harry took one step out of the elevator, saw what was going on, and raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture. Lena's breath left her in a rush, and she hurried out of the containment unit towards him. "Thank God."

"I checked in at the D.E.O. then came here," Harry explained, hugging her when she reached him. "Thought you could use what help you could get."

"Definitely," Lena nodded, taking a deep breath. "Whatever you can help with."

"Anything," Harry promised.

Lena took a deep breath, kissing his cheek gratefully, then walked back towards Sam, who was watching with wide eyes. "Sam, do you remember Harry from Kara's engagement party?" she gestured to him.

"Yes," Sam nodded, managing a smile. "Kara and I teased you about him."

"Right," Lena cleared her throat. "We got a lot of teasing afterwards, actually."

"Seriously, a lot," Harry nodded.

"But we're gonna solve this," Lena told her. "And we are not gonna let Reign hurt Ruby."

Sam's eyes flicked to Harry, who nodded. "Trust us," he told her.

Sam swallowed and nodded, and Lena nodded back.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Querl Dox_**

When Kara flew William and Ruby into the D.E.O., she led them right towards the medbay, only to stop in her tracks when Caitlin and Max walked, speaking in quiet tones, Caitlin's face full of worry. "Caitlin?" she asked nervously. "Max?"

Both looked at her, and Max sighed. "Kara."

"What happened?" William asked, eyes wide.

Caitlin swallowed. "We had to sedate them," she answered. "All four of them."

"They were coughing nonstop," Max explained, seeing Kara's face drain of color. "I'm sorry, but they're knocked out."

William made a whimpering noise that made Kara tug him tighter to her. "Are we able to see them?" Evelyn asked in a small voice.

Max and Caitlin exchanged looks, then Max nodded. "I'll keep an eye on them," he told Kara.

"OK," Kara took a deep breath, then turned William and Evelyn to her, crouching down in front of them. "We'll fix this," she told them. "I promise."

Evelyn bit her lip and nodded, then hurried past Max into the medbay. William looked at Kara, swallowing hard. "Get her," he begged. "Don't let her get away with this."

"Oh, William," Kara hugged him tightly, closing her eyes. "We'll get her. Oliver's gonna be OK."

"I can't lose him," his muffled voice told her.

Kara squeezed him tighter. "You won't," she vowed. "He once told me there was nothing he wouldn't do for me." She pulled back, looking into his eyes. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, either."

William took a deep breath, then nodded. He headed into the medbay as well, and Max nodded at Kara. "Go get her," he said.

Kara nodded back, and Max followed William into the medbay. The boy went right to Oliver's side, Evelyn hovering by Malcolm's. Kara's gaze swept over everyone inside, then set her jaw and headed for the stairs, Caitlin hurrying after her. "What are you gonna do?" she asked.

"Try things my way first," Kara answered tightly.

"And then?"

"We'll see how that goes."

Caitlin gulped, not used to seeing this side of Kara at all. Still, she took a deep breath as they made it to the ground level. "They're going downhill," she reported.

"With all the information we have, we have to be able to find _something,"_ Kara looked around.

"Well, we're doing the best we can here," Querl told her.

"We've followed all of them on security footage when they were at City Hall, assuming they ran into Pestilence, but they spent sixty percent of the time in blind spots," Felicity said miserably.

"It's like they were trying to evade cameras," Querl nodded.

"What about Adelaide?" Slade asked.

"We followed her like the others on every camera we could find in the city," Cisco shook his head.

"Didn't reveal any suspects," J'onn said grimly.

Kara frowned. "What about social media?"

Querl blinked. "Social what?"

Mon-El cleared his throat as Felicity spun around to type rapidly on her keyboard, Cisco pouncing on another computer to do the same. "In this time, a generation called millennials would share their whereabouts with family, friends, and complete strangers on the Internet," he explained. "It's a short-lived trend."

Querl frowned. "Sounds delusional."

"Guessing we're not introducing him to the group chat," Barry mumbled under his breath.

"Your what?" Jesse blinked.

"Here!" Felicity cried, and everyone was immediately by her. "Twenty-four hours before her death, she brought cookies to a mobile flu unit at City Hall."

"That doesn't tell us anything," J'onn frowned. "She works there."

"Wait," Kara pointed on the screen. "Look who's behind her. That's that doctor. She was talking with everyone at City Hall. If she was there twenty-four hours earlier, she must have infected the mayor and everyone else. I'm sure of it."

"I didn't see her with them in the security footage," Querl frowned.

"But you said there were blind spots," Mon-El reminded him.

"She's Pestilence," Kara declared. "She has to be."

" _Finally,"_ Laurel's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Here we are," Cisco called, pulling up a profile on the screens. "Dr. Grace Parker: first in her class at Metropolis University School of Medicine, now practices emergency surgery at National City General."

"She's a doctor," Kara whispered. "She heals people for a living."

"You can get through to her," Mon-El told her.

Kara took a deep breath. "We're not gonna make the same mistake we made with Julia."

"Is she still at the hospital?" Dig asked.

Querl examined his tablet, then blinked. "Actually, according to a simple scan of security cameras throughout the city, it seems she entered the Silvermine Health Insurance building five minutes ago."

"I'm going," Kara said at once.

"I'll come with you," Mon-El nodded in agreement.

Slade and Dig exchanged looks, then both turned. "You're taking us, too," Slade said.

"The three of us," Laurel lifted her chin.

Kara stopped and opened her mouth, then abruptly shut it and walked over. Every second they wasted was precious time Oliver, Winn, Malcolm, and Alex no longer had. "Fine," she took the backs of Slade's and Laurel's suits, taking off.

Mon-El grabbed Dig and took off, and Barry turned to Caitlin and Cisco. "I'm – "

"Go!" both urged.

"Yep," Barry disappeared in a flash of lightning.

Querl watched them go, then took a deep breath and turned his comms on.

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen_**

"Imra, they found her."

Imra's eyes hardened when she heard Querl's voice, and she turned on her heel determinedly, walking to suit up.

At long last, Pestilence was going to die.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I did say this was going to be an emotional episode. At least Dig's staying with Team Arrow . . . there's something to smile about.**


	84. Of Two Minds - Part Three

**Spring break is here, and I celebrate by finishing this episode. Not entirely sure how much I'll write over break because I'll be doing stuff with my family, too, but if I get the chance to, I will.**

 **Team SuperArrow and guest take on Pestilence, her four victims wake up, many conversations are had, and a trinity emerges.**

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Barry Allen_**

"So how many chances are we giving this Worldkiller?" Barry asked through the comms as Kara flew through the city.

"None," Laurel answered at once.

"One," Kara amended.

"How many is one going to turn into?" Slade asked.

"Just the one," Kara answered, narrowing her eyes as she found the building they were looking for. "Oliver, Alex, Malcolm, and Winn are at stake, and so is the rest of the city. I'm drawing the line at one."

"I'm down with one," Dig said.

"You're sure?" Mon-El asked.

"What Kara said."

The six landed inside the building, and Kara rushed forward, shooting her heat vision from her eyes, disintegrating the claw Grace extended from her finger to scratch one of the executives at the table. "Don't take another step, Grace!" she warned.

Grace glared at her, her eyes sickening yellow. "It's not Grace anymore," she said, her voice reverberating.

"Come on," Dig gestured to the executives. "Move!"

"Get to the exits, go," Barry herded them off.

Grace watched them go, sneering in disgust. "You would save even these scabs? They who profit on the suffering of others?"

"Everyone deserves saving," Kara told her.

"Not them," Grace shook her head. "They're not good."

"But you are."

Footsteps came from behind them, and Mon-El held out an arm, stopping his wife in her tracks. "Imra, wait," he ordered. "Give her a chance."

Imra glared at him, but huffed and stood her ground when she saw no one else was moving, even though Slade and Dig had their guns aimed at Grace, Barry and Laurel ready to move at a moment's notice. "Think of the lives you've saved," Kara told Grace, the two of them walking around the table. "You're a doctor, Grace. The day you took an oath, you swore you would do no harm."

Grace stopped in her tracks. "Do no harm," she echoed faintly.

The claws coming out of her nails retracted, and Barry's eyebrows shot up. "She's doing it," he whispered.

"Grace?" Kara asked hopefully. When Grace looked back up, the yellow in her eyes was gone, and her normal dark eyes were looking at her. "It's gonna be OK."

"My mother used to always say that good would be rewarded with Grace," Grace smiled, then walked around to face Kara head on across the table. "But when I became a surgeon, I finally saw the truth. There's no reward for being good."

"Whatever's happening to you doesn't give you power over who lives," Kara walked over to face her. "Only over who dies. You don't want that. We can stop it."

She held out her hand, and Grace walked over, tracing the lines in her palm. "Stop it," she repeated. Kara nodded, but froze when Grace raised an eyebrow. "Why would I ever wanna stop it?" she asked. "This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I don't have to worry about saving anyone anymore because I don't want to."

"No," Kara begged.

" _I_ get to choose who dies."

"Grace!"

"They say that surgeons have a God complex, but it's simple," Grace sneered, voice reverberating once more. "I _am_ a god!"

"One!" Laurel snarled as Grace's eyes flickered back to yellow and the Worldkiller lifted her hand, claws extending from her nails.

Mon-El lashed out with his cape, wrapping it around Grace's wrist. She glared at him and yanked, tossing Mon-El over the table and to the ground. Slade and Dig started firing, distracting Grace long enough for Imra to telekinetically lift one of the chairs and throw it at Grace. The Worldkiller shoved it off her like it was a fly, landing in a crouch on the table. She jumped back up, landing in a fighting stance, claws fully extended.

Laurel's scream hit her in the back, and Grace went flying through the glass windows, out onto the walkway in the building. "That was for Malcolm!" Laurel growled, storming around the table.

Grace sneered, climbing onto the railing and jumping down to the ground floor. Barry disappeared in a flash of lightning, and he crashed into Grace when she hit the floor, sending her sprawling. Grace grunted as she tried to get to her feet, glaring at Barry when he skidded to a stop, joined by Kara a second later. "You honestly thought you could talk me into being redeemed?" she scoffed. "You're such a child. Words will never hurt me."

"What about sticks and stones?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

TV screens and furniture rained down from above, and Grace swerved to dodge all Imra threw at her. She made complex twisting moves with her hands, and the towering light poles on either side groaned and twisted inwards, crashing down on Grace. Grace backed up quickly, then grabbed a fallen pole on the ground. She grabbed it and hurled it up towards Imra, but Mon-El flew in the way, snatching it out of the air. He landed back on the ground and swung with all his might, hitting Grace hard enough she flew into the air.

Grace hovered and looked around, finding Imra still on the walkway, Slade and Dig on either side of her. She sneered and flew towards them, but Kara intercepted her, delivering a punch hard enough to smash her into the wall nearby. Barry skidded up to find a vantage point to help her if he was needed, but he watched with wide eyes as Kara delivered blow after blow to Grace, her eyes glowing with her anger. "Uh, guys," he swallowed. "I think Kara's pissed."

"What gave you that idea?" Dig shot him a glare.

Kara finally punched Grace hard enough she hit the floor hard, and Kara smirked victoriously, hovering above her. Grace didn't seem intimidated, however – in fact, she laughed as she looked up. "Oh, Supergirl!" she called mockingly, tapping a clawed finger on her cheek. "You got a little something."

Kara blinked, then blanched, reaching up for her face, trying to find where Grace had scratched her. When her fingertips came away smeared with blood, she gasped and lost her concentration, dropping to the floor. "Supergirl!" Laurel shouted, eyes wide.

Barry ran to Kara's side, helping her sit up, Mon-El not far behind him. Grace got to her feet and approached with a sneer, then ran smack into shimmering energy. Kara looked up to see one of Imra's forcefields surrounding Grace, the Titanian behind her, a determined glare on her face. Barry swallowed, then looked down to see Kara was glaring at Grace. "You sure?" he asked.

"I said one," Kara muttered in reply.

Imra held out her hand, and a syringe hovered above it. She thrusted her hand forward, and the syringe flew through the forcefield, stabbing Grace in the heart. As Grace collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain as her veins glowed gold, Imra lowered the forcefield, glaring at her. "No one else's family is going to die because of you," she said coldly.

"Please tell me I can scream in her ear," Laurel clenched her hands into fists.

Grace finally yanked the syringe out, then she froze. A smile formed on her face, and she laughed in relief. "She's here."

Laurel blinked in confusion, then thunder crashed and the glass ceiling shattered above them. Slade and Dig turned, guns drawn, and Slade lowered his gun in surprise when he saw the dark-skinned woman who landed, her eyes white. "Julia!"

"Wait, as in – ?" Barry looked at Laurel, eyes wide.

Laurel quickly opened her mouth, but Julia was quicker. Her scream caught all seven heroes and blasted them back, away from Grace. Laurel groaned, pressing her hands to her temples. _"God,_ I _hate_ that!"

Kara and Barry struggled to their knees first and watched Julia extend her hand to Grace, a satisfied smile on her face. Grace took her hand, and with a gasp of relief, she appeared to relax, the gold vanishing from her veins. "Sister," Julia almost purred as she helped Grace up. "I found you."

Grace grinned, and the two Worldkillers leapt into the air, crashing through the glass. Imra growled in frustration, getting to her feet. "She was dying!"

"Purity made her stronger," Mon-El seethed.

"Great, so one starts to go down, the other gets them back up," Dig grumbled. "Wonderful."

Kara nodded in agreement, starting to stand, only to wobble and collapse again. "Whoa!"

"She still scratched you," Barry quickly caught her. "Take it easy."

Imra gritted her teeth angrily, then a glint from the floor caught her eye. "Wait!" she dashed forward, snatching the syringe off the ground. She lifted the needle to her line of sight, and she grinned, seeing the blood on it. "It's hers," she looked at the others. "It's her DNA."

"Is that enough for the cure to be altered?" Slade asked.

"It's more than enough," Imra nodded, smiling in satisfaction.

Kara gasped in relief, collapsing against Barry and burying her face in his neck, vaguely hearing Slade laugh and Dig and Laurel cheer. That meant everyone in the city was going to be all right.

And most importantly, it meant Oliver, Alex, Malcolm, and Winn were going to be all right, too.

* * *

 ** _William Clayton/Kara Danvers_**

Despite still feeling drained and exhausted, Kara refused to even sit down until she saw Querl alter the cure and inject it into Winn, Oliver, Alex, and Malcolm. It was only afterwards, and some pushing from William, Barry, Caitlin, and Slade, that she took the last bed in the medbay and let the sun lamps beat down on her. She was out quickly, making Evelyn chew her lip as she watched the Kryptonian doze. "She looks so . . . harmless," she said, sounding surprised.

"I don't like seeing her in medbays," William tucked his knees closer to his chest as he sat between his father and soon-to-be step-mother.

"It never gets easier, William," Slade squeezed his shoulder. "But she's just resting now."

"I know," he sighed.

Incoherent mutters came from the left side of the medbay, followed by a groan. "Why do I feel like I just got hit by two Kryptonians at the same time?" Winn's tired voice asked.

James burst out laughing, and J'onn smiled widely as his agent's eyes blinked open. "Welcome back, Winn," the Martian said.

"Right," Winn mumbled. "Pestilence . . . " He blearily looked around the medbay, then yelped and shot upright. "What hap – _OK,_ never moving that quickly again," he grimaced, dropping back down on the bed.

"You OK, brother?" James asked, moving closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm good," Winn held up a tired thumbs up. "I've just been in bed for a _long_ time."

"Yes, you have," J'onn nodded.

Winn sighed, bringing his head off the bed to look around. "What happened to Kara?" he asked.

"Pestilence scratched her," Felicity answered.

" _What?!"_

Winn's startled yelp was accompanied by Kara shooting up from her bed, looking around for danger. "Oh, well, she's up now," Felicity smiled. "Hooray!"

"Winn!" Kara scrambled off the bed, then wobbled a bit. "Whoa."

"Easy, little one," Slade held out a hand for her to take, grabbing her by the arm as well as Kara tried to find her balance. "There you go."

"Thanks," Kara smiled, then rushed to Winn. "You're awake!"

"Just woke up, yeah," Winn smiled, accepting her hug. "And how did _you_ get scratched by Pestilence?"

"By being a badass as usual," Dig smirked.

Kara blushed red as Slade laughed. "She went hand to hand with the Worldkiller and punched her to the ground."

"She hurt my fiancé, my best friend, my sister, and my brother!" Kara protested, blushing even redder as William and Evelyn gawked at her, not having heard _that_ part of the story. "She had it coming!"

"I would have done it if she hadn't," Laurel shrugged from where she was leaning against the wall by Malcolm's bed, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I still say she should have screamed," Slade shrugged.

"Wouldn't have protested," Dig admitted.

"Wait," Winn narrowed his eyes. "You sure everything's good? Because those two just agreed with each other."

A weak chuckle came from the bed next to Winn, making everyone's heads turn. "I'll take it," Oliver said hoarsely, coughing to clear his throat. "At least they're not fighting."

"Oh, thank God!" Kara sped to his side, hugging him tightly.

"Dad!" William was next to race over.

"Careful," Oliver winced, shifting in the bed to make sure he could hug both at the same time.

"Sorry," both said at the same time, voices muffled because they wouldn't let him go.

"You're forbidden from being harmed by Worldkillers now," Kara declared.

"I second that motion," Slade held up a hand.

"Thirded," Dig chimed in.

"Fourthed," Felicity went on.

"I get the idea," Oliver held up a hand, seeing James was about to voice his opinion. "No more getting scratched by Pestilence. Got it." He leaned back a bit so he could look Kara in the eyes. "Now you know how I've felt when you've been in this position."

Kara plopped down to take up what space there was on her side of the bed and leaned down, kissing him. "I hate the feeling."

"I do, too."

"So do I," William piped up.

Oliver chuckled, reaching up and ruffling his hair. "Hey, buddy."

William smiled at the motion, but it quickly disappeared as he scowled at Oliver. "Don't scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry," Oliver winced, not complaining when William hugged him tightly. "Believe me, William, I didn't plan on getting attacked by Pestilence."

"I know," William curled up with him. "You still scared me."

"And me," Evelyn added tentatively.

Oliver lifted his head up and smiled at her. "Thank you for the concern, Evelyn."

She smiled shyly in response. "I think I speak for everyone when I say it's a relief to know the cure we finally got correct is working," J'onn looked between Winn and Oliver.

"Definitely for me," Winn held up a hand.

"Same here," Dig nodded.

"How did you manage to get her DNA?" Oliver frowned.

Kara fidgeted. "Well, she scratched me – "

" _What?!"_ Oliver balked.

"Nothing solar radiation couldn't fix," J'onn promised.

"It better have," Oliver grumbled.

"And while I was down, Imra injected her with something that should have killed her had Julia not shown up," Kara continued, lying awkwardly on the bed, though her head was on Oliver's chest. "But there was more than enough of Grace's DNA in the syringe to adjust the cure."

"Grace?" Winn parroted. "Wait, that doctor we talked to? Wasn't her name Grace?"

"Grace Parker," Slade nodded, smirking. "You should have seen her, kid. She was a _menace."_

Kara buried her face in Oliver's chest, groaning in embarrassment. "I hate you!" she declared as everyone laughed. "I hate every single one of you who teases me for being protective of my family!"

"No, you don't!" Slade and Felicity said at the same time.

If possible, Kara scooted even closer to Oliver. "No, I don't."

Oliver laughed, kissing the top of her head. "I love you." He ran a hand through her hair and tugged William closer to hug him as well. "I love _both_ of you."

"Love you, too, Dad," William grinned.

"New question," Winn piped up, pointing at the opposite side of the medbay. "When are _those two_ waking up?"

Laurel bit her lip worriedly. "Good question."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Laurel Lance/Malcolm Merlyn/Alex Danvers_**

The answer was half an hour.

Winn had insisted on going back to work, blocked every time by J'onn. He had a way out of that, though, and started constantly talking in the medbay, despite everyone else's attempts to stop him. J'onn finally conceded to letting Winn work once everyone started complaining to him; the techie hadn't shot out of his seat fast enough and was soon chatting with Felicity and Cisco as they headed back to the main floor.

Oliver took his benching with more grace, considering Kara had basically draped herself on top of him and declared he wasn't facing any more Worldkillers until he was cleared by Caitlin. She had bounced up with a pleased smile, happy she had won as she headed over to the other side of the medbay, where Malcolm and Alex were still out cold.

That left Oliver with William sleeping next to him as Dig and Slade walked over. "You're looking better, kid," Slade smiled.

"I'm feeling better," Oliver nodded. "Not one hundred percent, but better."

"Good," Dig sighed in relief. "You scared us, man. Especially Kara."

Oliver's face fell at the words. "I gathered. The relief on her face when I told her I would sit out Worldkiller fights for a while . . . " He shook his head. "Have _I_ ever looked that relieved before?"

"Most likely when she woke up after facing Reign, but none of us were there for that," Slade offered helpfully.

"So another Worldkiller," Oliver grimaced. _"Great."_ The two other men exchanged looks that said they weren't quite sure how to respond, and Oliver raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of them. "So the not fighting is still happening?"

"Let's just say we came to an understanding," Slade looked at Dig.

"Yeah, that's the best way to put it," Dig nodded. "There's a lot I was wrong about. I realized that after everyone went down. I guess you could say I got my head out of my ass."

Oliver's eyebrows shot up. "That's a bit harsh."

"But true," Dig argued.

"You two can argue about that later," Slade looked between them. "The important part right now is that we're as back to normal as can be."

Oliver turned to look back at Dig. "You made up your mind?" he asked as casually as he could, but there was hope in his eyes.

Hope Dig was happy to respond to. "I'm staying with the team, Oliver," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're stuck with me."

Oliver smiled, reaching up as best he could to put his hand on Dig's shoulder as well. "Happy to be stuck with you."

Laurel smiled from where she listened, then a hoarse chuckle from the bed next to her, followed by a cough, distracted her at once. "So did they actually settle differences?" Malcolm asked, voice rough from no use as he forced his eyes open. "So I'm not dead, then?"

Laurel let out a small hysterical laugh, throwing herself at Malcolm to give him a huge hug. "Oh, my God!"

"Easy, Siren," Malcolm grimaced as surprised noises filled the medbay, though he was smiling as he maneuvered to hug her as best as he could. "I'm OK."

"You scared us, wizard," Slade accused.

Malcolm glared at him over Laurel's head. "Magician!"

Oliver laughed loudly as Slade grinned, Dig sighing fondly and rolling his eyes. "Yeah, he's gonna be fine," the man exchanged amused looks with Oliver.

"Malcolm!" Kara cheered, running around Alex's bed to join the hug. "Move over, Siren, I wanna hug him."

A small glimmer of disappointment was in Laurel's eyes as she released Malcolm, but she snagged a chair and dragged it as close as she could to make up for it as Kara hugged Malcolm gently. "Hey there, almas," Malcolm smiled.

"I'm glad you're up," Kara mumbled into his shoulder.

"Well, that makes two of us."

"More like _all_ of us," J'onn smiled from the doorway. "Welcome back, Malcolm."

"Thanks, J'onn."

"Is he up?" a bleary voice came from the last bed.

Kara's head shot up, and a wide grin formed on her face. "Alex!" she whooped, and Malcolm let her go so Kara could rush to her sister, J'onn beelining for his second in command as well.

"Well, look at that," Malcolm gave Laurel a smug smile. "You got me back to yourself."

"I better have," Laurel shifted from her chair to sit on the bed, hugging him tightly. "I wasn't done hugging you."

Malcolm chuckled, raising his hand to run it through her hair. "I can see that."

"Well, I wasn't gonna tell Kara 'no,' was I?"

His laughter made her smile widely. "I would have loved to see you try."

"Hi," Kara smiled at Alex.

"Hey," Alex smiled back weakly. "How is everyone?"

"For someone who just woke up, surprisingly well," Malcolm answered. "Though maybe if Laurel sat up, I could, too."

Laurel smacked him on the arm. "You could have asked me!"

"Laurel, can you sit up?"

"Oh, my – " Laurel cut herself off, shaking her head as she sat up. "There. Happy?"

"Extremely, thank you," Malcolm smirked.

"I'm good, too, thanks, Alex," Oliver called from his bed.

"Yes, it's good to see everyone healthy again," J'onn nodded.

"Good," Alex smiled, then shot up when she saw the empty bed. "Wait a minute, where's Winn?!"

"Against my better judgment, he's back at work," J'onn answered, rolling his eyes.

Alex groaned, closing her eyes. "Oh, what a suck-up."

Oliver laughed. "More like he talked his way out of it."

"Literally, he was such a chatterbox," Evelyn nodded.

"Of course he was," Alex chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "Did we get her?"

"Not yet," Kara shook her head.

"But we'll keep trying," Slade said.

"Yeah, I owe her a scream," Laurel's face darkened.

"I would not be opposed to that," Malcolm remarked.

"Good," Laurel abruptly stood up. "You're the reason I'd do it."

Malcolm blinked as she strode out. "Wait, what?"

"I'll – " Kara pointed after her.

"Yeah, go," Slade nodded, and Kara gave Alex a quick hug and Oliver a quick kiss on the top of the head before she hurried after Laurel. "Can I just say," he gave Malcolm a look, "you two _really_ need to have that conversation of yours before the Worldkillers show up again."

Malcolm sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You don't say."

"Conversation?" Alex frowned at J'onn as he walked over.

"I don't know," he shook his head, then cleared his throat as he stood closer to her. "You know . . . maybe I'm being a little selfish, but, um . . . I couldn't imagine getting through the next few months without you. Dealing with my father and all of the unexpected things to come."

"I would never let you go through that alone," Alex shook her head. "Even though there are so many other people here for you, too." She sighed, though, dropping her head into her hand. "It's been a _big_ year," she mumbled, tears in her voice.

"Hey," J'onn wrapped her in a hug. "Come on."

Alex sighed and leaned against J'onn, closing her eyes when he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Laurel!" Kara ran after the blonde as she strode across the upper level. "Hey, what was that?"

"That was me being a coward," Laurel glared over her shoulder. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"Not really, but thank you for telling me the truth," Kara folded her arms as she caught up to her. "What's going on?"

"Well, I _thought_ he was going to die, and he wasn't awake for me to tell him I love him, and then I wanted to scream until Pestilence was _dead_ so at least he wouldn't die for nothing, and then he wakes up and I have no idea how to tell him!" Laurel threw her hands up in the air and spun around to face her.

Kara stopped, blinking. "What's wrong with just _telling_ him?"

Laurel barked in laughter. "If he doesn't love me back."

"You _do_ know I have super hearing, right?" Kara raised an eyebrow. "I can tell you that's not going to happen." Laurel swallowed hard, biting her lip, and Kara put her hands on her shoulders. "You just told him you're ready to face down a _Worldkiller_ and _scream in her ear_ for him when she could crush you to pieces or poison you to death. You can tell him. You _need_ to tell him."

Laurel closed her eyes. "I know." She chuckled bitterly. "Why is it so easy to charge against a Worldkiller but you're terrified to talk about your feelings?"

"Because feelings suck sometimes," Kara answered promptly.

Laurel laughed. "No kidding."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"So then Mon-El explained to Brainy what 'social media' is," Dig was explaining to Oliver as the duo, along with Slade and William, headed down to the main floor of the D.E.O. "And . . . well, he wasn't impressed."

"He called it _delusional,"_ Slade snickered.

"And then Barry said he's not getting into the chat," Dig finished.

"Insult the chat, you can't get in," Barry grinned as he walked around from the center console. "Hey, Oliver."

"Barry," Oliver smiled widely, accepting his friend's hug. "You didn't have to come."

"Well, we wanted to," Barry gestured to Caitlin and Cisco, and a brunette who was watching curiously. "Harry's over at L-Corp – "

"I'm stunned," Oliver deadpanned.

" – and this is his daughter, Jesse," Barry gestured to the brunette. "Jesse Wells, meet – "

"Oliver Queen," Jesse finished, walking over and holding out her hand. "We have one of you on Earth-2. Or, well . . . _had."_

"I died on the _Gambit?"_ Oliver guessed.

"Yeah," Jesse nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"You, too."

"It's good to see you up, Oliver," Caitlin smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Caitlin," Oliver smiled back.

"What about Danvers and Merlyn?" Max asked from where he was with Lucy.

"They're up, too," Oliver nodded. "Alex is still resting."

"The wizard headed right for the training rooms, stubborn bastard he is," Slade rolled his eye. "Not a word," he glared at Winn when he opened his mouth.

He gulped and shut his mouth with a click. "Got it."

Oliver chuckled. "Good to see you up, Winn."

"Yeah, you, too," Winn beamed, offering a fist bump, which Oliver returned fondly.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara left Laurel to find Malcolm and walked back towards the staircase when she saw Imra leaning against the door to the balcony. She changed her course and headed towards the Titanian. Imra saw her coming and sighed, shaking her head. "We were _so close."_

"There was no way of knowing Purity would show up," Kara told her, walking over to join her. "Or that she would make her stronger." She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "You said I would fail. I should have listened to you."

"No," Imra shook her head, turning to look at her. "Don't say that."

"I've always followed my instincts, but now I – " She scoffed. "I don't know what to follow."

"I never came here to make you doubt who you are or what you believe," Imra told her. "I was wrong to try and make you change." She chewed her lip, then looked up at her. "I never told you what I saw on Fort Rozz, when Psi got into my head. It was my sister."

Kara blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you had – "

"I don't," Imra shook her head. "Not anymore . . . because of the Blight." Kara's mouth formed an O of understanding, and Imra continued. "Her name was Preya. She was quiet, and she stuck to herself, but she always had my back. Then, one day she was gone."

"I'm so sorry," Kara whispered.

"I saw you with them today," Imra swallowed. "Holding your beloved's hand, standing by your sister, worrying for your friend and fearing for your brother while they fought the same disease my sister did. If I had just killed Pestilence, the Blight never would have happened. Preya would still be alive."

"I would probably do the same thing if they were gone," Kara admitted.

"No, you wouldn't," Imra shook her head. "You said it yourself. Oliver would not want you to sacrifice your morals for him. You wouldn't for him. That takes strength, so much that I can learn from."

"Oliver once told me there was nothing he wouldn't do for me," Kara looked at her. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, either. I was ready to do what it took to take Pestilence down if it meant I could save him, and my siblings and best friend, just like you were ready to do what it took to take her down if it meant saving your sister in the future. So that's what we're going to do." She stepped forward, a determined glint in her eye. "We're going to stop the Blight. We're gonna save your sister. _Together."_

Imra smiled through her tears, nodding in agreement. Kara held out her arms, and Imra smiled wider, stepping into the hug. "Sister in arms," the Titanian whispered.

Kara nodded into her shoulder. "Sister in arms," she agreed.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn/Laurel Lance_**

Malcolm tilted his head as he examined the dummies he had just finished shooting and launching knives at, the majority of them with kill shots embedded in them. "Not bad," he finally remarked. After all, he'd just been in the medbay for most of the day because of Pestilence infecting him. He would take a few missed hits over being . . . well, _dead._

He plucked one of the knives from a dummy nearby, then heard the lock on the door chirp. That was closely followed by rapid knocking, making him frown and walk over. He disengaged the lock and opened the door.

"We're having that conversation _now,"_ Laurel declared shortly, walking past him into the training room.

Malcolm blinked rapidly, getting his bearings before clearing his throat. "Yes, please, Laurel, come right on in."

"You would have let me in anyway," she tossed over her shoulder.

Malcolm conceded the point with a nod, closing the door. He thought for a second, then locked it again. He had a feeling that, like him, Laurel didn't want anyone barging in. "All right," he turned and leaned against the door, watching Laurel pace through the dummies, unable to stand still. He frowned, tilting his head. "You OK?"

Laurel let out a startled laugh, pulling one of his arrows out of one of the dummies. "I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine," Malcolm shrugged. "I'm the one who spent the last several hours in bed fighting an alien disease. You were the one who was watching us – "

"Don't finish that," Laurel pointed the arrow right at him, eyes blazing. "Don't you _dare."_

Malcolm's mouth shut with a click, and he narrowed his eyes, pushing off the door and walking towards him. "And that's why I asked."

"Fine," Laurel held out her arms. "I'm not OK. I wasn't OK when Diaz got me, I wasn't OK when we fought the Thanatos Guild, and I sure as hell haven't been OK since Pestilence arrived. So no, Malcolm, _I'm not OK!"_

She finished with a crack in her voice, and she abruptly, turned on her heel, going back to pacing anxiously. "Laurel," Malcolm swallowed, walking forward.

"It was bad enough when Diaz threatened to expose you or Slade when he had me," Laurel finally turned to look directly at him, tears in her eyes. "How would I choose between the two of you? Then the Guild was after you and Nyssa, and you were ready to go with her _right_ after we figured everything out and you were safe. And then Pestilence, and – " She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I don't like close calls, Malcolm. Not when they threaten your life."

"Laurel, these jobs come with close calls all the time," Malcolm told her, walking up to her. "Earth-X, when Talia and Evelyn took you, when Sobel shot at you, when Diaz's men beat you black and blue, do you think that didn't terrify me?"

"You didn't have to watch me fade away in the medbay!" Laurel snapped, glaring at him. "I watched it _twice!_ Once on the _Waverider_ with the Nazis, then today with Pestilence, and there was a much grimmer chance of getting Pestilence's DNA than healing a gunshot wound!"

"Are we _seriously_ arguing about who felt worse when the other person was dying?" Malcolm asked in disbelief.

Laurel scoffed, closing her eyes. "Malcolm, I was ready to scream in Pestilence's ear, my death be damned, if it meant getting her DNA for a cure to save you. I think that says how horrible I felt."

"There's no way I would have wanted you to do that if it meant you died for me," Malcolm shook his head.

Laurel gave him a nasty look. "You weren't exactly in a position to communicate that."

"Oh, for the love of – " Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose. "Laurel, your life is _not_ worth mine!"

"I say it is!" Laurel snapped.

"I say it's not," Malcolm countered.

Laurel finally stepped forward and stood on her toes, crashing her lips against his. It took Malcolm a second to unfreeze due to surprise, but he kissed her back just as fiercely. They only broke apart when Laurel needed to breathe, and Malcolm cupped her face, pressing their foreheads together as she looked up at him. "I say it is," she whispered, swallowing hard. "I can't lose you. Not when I love you this much."

"Laurel," Malcolm sighed, threading his fingers through her hair to hold the back of her head, his other arm going around her waist as she hugged him tightly. "You're not gonna lose me."

"I almost did," she choked out.

"You didn't," he shook his head, kissing the side of her head. "Not when I had you to come back to." She sniffed and looked up at him, and Malcolm kissed her this time, much less desperately. "I love you, too," he whispered.

Laurel smiled widely in relief, a small giggle coming from her as she tucked her head under Malcolm's, content to just stand there as he hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head as she relaxed for what felt like the first time in weeks.

This was where she belonged for sure.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

Mon-El whistled lowly as Kara and Imra walked into the room together, both with the same determined looks on their faces. "I don't know, Oliver . . . I think we're doomed if our girls team up on us."

"You haven't figured that out already?" Oliver smirked.

"Shut up," Kara playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Also, new face," she turned to the brunette in a red and gold suit similar to Barry's. "Wait, speedster uniform . . . " She gasped in realization, eyes lighting up. "Jesse Wells?"

"Yeah," Jesse blinked in surprise, smiling shyly. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," Kara smiled brilliantly, holding out her hand. "Kara Danvers."

"Yeah, I know," Jesse shook her hand. "I kind of guessed when Barry shouted your name."

"Harry's at L-Corp," Barry explained.

"I figured," Kara chuckled, walking past him and wrapping her arms around her friend's neck. "Welcome back, Winn."

"Ah, against all odds," Winn beamed, patting her hands.

"So, Worldkillers," Barry clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "I want to punch one."

"Please try and let us watch," Felicity grinned.

"Well, last time we fought Purity, we managed to identify the frequency of the waves that she emits," Winn turned to his computer.

Querl nodded, continuing from Winn's words. "We put a tracker on that specific frequency which would alert us when it's present in – " Beeping came from the monitors, making Querl jump to his feet. "In the city."

"Well, that was fast," Cisco blinked in surprise.

"Already?" J'onn asked in surprise.

"She's on the move," Winn quickly pulled up the tracer.

"Hopefully with Pestilence," Mon-El exchanged glances with Imra.

"Where is she heading?" Barry asked.

The location appeared on screen, and Winn blanched. "Toward L-Corp."

"Aunt Lena!" William's eyes widened.

"Harry's there, too," Kara whispered, making Jesse pale.

"And Sam," Oliver swallowed.

"Let's move!" J'onn barked, and Kara and Mon-El instantly took off, followed by Imra.

"OK, OK, I'm not sitting this out," Cisco grabbed his glasses as Barry sped off, Jesse quick on his heels as J'onn flew over their heads.

Caitlin's hair turned white, and her voice echoed as she spoke. "Neither am I."

"Be careful!" Oliver shouted as Cisco opened one of his breaches, jumping through with Caitlin, Dig, and Slade, Felicity rapidly typing on her tablet.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Kara Danvers/Barry Allen_**

"Wait," Lena blinked. "Harry, I think I found something."

Harry looked over her shoulder, smiling when he saw what she had. "Good. Now we just tell – " He looked over his shoulder, then frowned and lowered his glasses. "Sam," he finished in an odd tone.

Lena turned to see Sam sitting cross-legged, hands limp on her legs, staring straight ahead. "Sam?" she asked.

"They're coming," Sam mumbled in a monotone.

Harry's tablet started beeping rapidly, and Lena looked at him as he pulled up whatever the notification was. "What's that?" she asked.

Harry did a double take, then looked back up at Lena. "We're about to have company."

"What?" Lena blanched.

Lightning crackled and papers blew everywhere as Barry sped into view, followed by another blast of gold lightning. "Lena!" Barry sighed in relief.

"Dad!" the other speedster grinned in relief.  
"Dad?" Lena looked at Harry sharply.

"Right," Harry winced. "Lena, Jesse, Jesse, Lena."

"Oh," Lena blinked, looking at Jesse. "He didn't mention you were here."

"I was a bit more occupied with the Worldkiller problem," Harry pointed over his shoulder at Sam.

"Well, so were we," Barry shrugged.

"Yeah, speaking of Worldkillers," Jesse began.

Kara, J'onn, Imra, and Mon-El were next to arrive through the ceiling. "The Worldkillers are coming," Kara gasped out.

"That," Barry pointed at her.

"Oh, God," Lena swallowed.

"I told you," Sam's voice said darkly from the containment unit.

As one, everyone swiveled to see Sam turn and put her feet on the ground, reaching up to pull the electrodes off her head, moving like a robot. "Um," Jesse swallowed, pointing at her. "Who's that?"

"Meet Sam Arias," Slade answered, removing his gun from its holster. "Also known as the Worldkiller Reign."

Jesse blinked. "Oh," she swallowed.

Sam stood up and stormed towards the edge of the unit, but Lena brought her tablet up and tapped a few buttons. Sam stopped in her tracks, grunting in pain and collapsing to her knees, reaching up towards a glowing green circular device on her collar. Kara swallowed hard, squeezing her hands together as she watched her friend be downed by Kryptonite. "I'm sorry," Lena apologized.

"I know," Kara whispered.

The doors across the room suddenly exploded inwards, smashing into the forcefield on the opposite side of the unit. The forcefield shorted out, the blast hitting Lena, Harry, Slade, Dig, Caitlin, and Cisco, knocking them back into the tables behind them. "Whoa!" Jesse's eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah, welcome to Earth-38, Jesse!" Harry grunted, sitting up and grabbing Lena, pulling her back.

Kara narrowed her eyes as Grace and Julia strode into the room, Julia in a suit of black and bronze, Grace in one of black and blue. Grace sped forward to reach Sam, and Julia leapt onto the top of the containment unit, looking down at the remaining heroes standing. Barry crouched to run towards Sam, but Julia opened her mouth and screamed. Barry yelped when it caught him and Kara, the two of them flying back and crashing into Mon-El and Imra respectively, the four tumbling to the ground.

Jesse swallowed and looked back to see Grace crouch down and pluck the green device from Sam's skin. She narrowed her eyes and sped forward, hoping to knock one of them away from the other. Sam's head turned to her, eyes glowing red, and Jesse skidded to a stop, realizing those were _honest to God lasers_ forming, then she was hit in the chest. As she went flying backwards, she saw the heat vision fire again, this time hitting J'onn; both landed on the tables behind them, glass shattering around them.

Kara and Barry struggled to their knees as Mon-El helped Imra up, and Cisco coughed as he looked up. "Holy frack," he sputtered as Caitlin glared.

Julia landed on the ground as Sam and Grace stood and joined her. She joined Grace in linking hands with Sam, and the brunette closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. A satisfied smile formed on her face, then her eyes opened, irises turning scarlet. _"Finally,"_ she breathed, voice reverberating.

"Oh, my God," Barry breathed in horror.

Ripples of blue energy came from the Worldkillers, and Kara flung an arm over her eyes, wincing as the light shone through her eyelids. She heard Slade cry out behind her, startled exclamations coming from Caitlin and Lena. When the light faded, she lowered her arm.

Sam hovered in the air in front of Julia and Grace, now garbed in full Worldkiller attire. She swallowed hard, heart sinking. It wasn't Sam, Julia, and Grace now.

It was Reign, Purity, and Pestilence. "El mayarah," Reign declared.

Kara watched the trio fly off in blurs of black, bronze, and blue, and swallowing hard, she got to her feet, looking around to check the others. Dig was helping Slade up, the Australian grimacing as he stood. Imra looked furious Pestilence was gone _again,_ and Cisco, Caitlin, and Jesse all looked stunned by the display of power they had just seen.

And Lena looked seconds away from dissolving into tears as she stared at the unit Sam had just been in, horror on her face. "Lena?" Kara asked, walking towards her.

"We were _so close,"_ Lena breathed, covering her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

Kara ran to her and hugged her tightly, and Lena clung to her, starting to cry as it sank in that Sam was with the Worldkillers now, and Kara rubbed her back, closing her eyes, hoping it still wasn't too late to reach out to their friend.

A hand gently touched her back, and Kara looked up to see Barry crouching behind her. He, too, looked unnerved by what he had just seen, but he set his jaw determinedly. "How can we help?" he asked, lightning flickering in his eyes.

Kara swallowed hard. "What can you do?"

Barry's answer was extending a hand to her. "What do you _need_ us to do?"

Kara took a deep breath, taking his hand. "Super friends?"

"Wherever, whenever," Barry promised.

Kara smiled, squeezing his hand as she hugged Lena tighter. "Whenever is now."

"You got it," Barry nodded, looking in the direction the Worldkillers had gone. "Let's get them."

* * *

 **A/N: Well . . . good news, DarkSiren is official. I wasn't entirely sure how to get that scene down, but I was pretty satisfied with what I got.**

 **And other good news - Team Flash is sticking around for the next episode! It's the last Supergirl episode before it's back to Arrow, and the Worldkiller trinity will face the DCTV trinity in . . . well, "Trinity." Keep an eye out for that!**


	85. Supergirl - Trinity - Part One

**Lena officially meets Jesse, Kara discovers a way to find Sam, and Sam meets Julia in the dark valley.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"They're back!" Felicity shouted, shooting upright in her chair.

Everyone gathered around the console whipped around, and when Kara blurred into view, she and Lena stumbling as they landed, Oliver ran towards her. "You OK?" he asked in concern.

"We're fine," Kara nodded as J'onn, Mon-El, and Imra returned next, Barry and Jesse speeding in a second afterwards. "We're OK."

"Lena?" Malcolm asked.

"If your definition of 'OK' is alive, then yes, I'm OK," Lena took a few deep breaths, eyes red as she tried to keep herself under control.

Oliver looked past them as Cisco opened a breach and jumped out with Slade, Dig, and Caitlin, Harry with them, and his eyes widened in horror. "Where's Sam?" he asked.

Lena let out a noise similar to a cat being strangled and shook her head rapidly, putting her head in her hand, and Kara hugged her fiercely. Alex's eyes widened and she ran over to join the hug, William's own eyes wide in alarm. "What happened?" he asked.

"In the words I never want to hear from a villain's mouth again," Slade grimaced, "stronger together."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor_**

"Whoa," Evelyn's eyes were the size of saucers when she finished hearing what happened. "Cool!" Kara's head whipped to her, looking at her incredulously, and Evelyn quickly backpedaled when she saw the miserable look on Lena's face. "But terrible."

"Maybe if they weren't supervillains, it'd be more cool," William chimed in.

"Exactly," Evelyn pointed at William, taking his way out.

J'onn cleared his throat. "Perhaps now would be a good time to hear what you've learned, Lena."

"After I showed you the footage from my office, I took Sam to a secret lab of mine in L-Corp," Lena answered, sitting at the head of the table in the conference room. "I conducted a series of tests with her consent."

"When I examined her, I found nothing out of the ordinary," Alex frowned.

"I guess you weren't looking for the right things," Lena shrugged.

"So what _did_ you find?"

"After sequencing her DNA and comparing Sam's blackouts to Reign's attacks, I came to the conclusion that we were right," Lena answered with a sigh. "Sam is Reign."

Kara closed her eyes and turned around, and immediately Oliver put his arms around her, hugging her as she buried her face in his shoulder. Seeing Sam's "blackout" in Lena's office on tape had been one thing, but to hear the confirmation from Lena was another. "Oh, Sam," Laurel sighed, leaning her head back against the wall.

"Surely something good came out of this, right?" Cisco asked hopefully.

"I was hoping to isolate the spark that turned Sam into Reign, but I didn't get a chance to finish," Lena shook her head. "Sorry, Cisco."

"Any way of tracking the Worldkillers?" Barry asked.

"No," Lena sighed miserably, lowering her head onto her crossed arms on the table.

J'onn looked across the table at the three aliens on the other side. "Anyone else?"

"They've gone to ground," Mon-El shook his head. "They're not coming up again until they have something big to do."

"The future's fate is more precarious than ever," Imra said grimly.

"Would you like to know our odds of defeating Pestilence at this juncture?" Querl looked up.

"No," multiple people around the room answered at the same time.

"OK," Barry rubbed his forehead. "Well, the good news is while the Worldkillers are all together now, you've got us helping you," he gestured to Caitlin, Cisco, and Harry. "Surely we'll find a way to track them down."

"I'll work on trying to contact the _Waverider,_ too," Cisco added. "Ray and Lily will want to help."

"Then let's do it," J'onn nodded.

* * *

 ** _Reign_**

"We are so close, daughters," the Fortress hologram smiled in dark satisfaction as she looked upon the trio in front of her. "So close to a new and clean realm. But before we can begin, the humanity within you must shrivel and submit. You must be completely mine."

Pestilence closed her eyes, then made a noise similar to a purr. "I just felt it. Grace just shriveled and gave up without a sound. My change is complete."

"And you are _magnificent,"_ the hologram declared, making Pestilence preen. "Purity, Reign, you will soon follow. Samantha and Julia cannot last long now that you're all finally together." Reign nodded her understanding, and the hologram looked between them. "You must all join and bring a blessed darkness to Earth so that it may be reborn."

Reign gestured, and Purity and Pestilence took her hands, the three of them standing in a circle as electricity crackled between their hands.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam woke up gasping for breath, looking around the dark valley in horror. She had blacked out again . . . and this time, it hadn't been because Lena and Harry had electrocuted her.

She jumped when she saw a figure laying a few feet away, and she stared at the woman in a pantsuit lying limply. "Oh, Jesus," she breathed, putting a hand over her heart. She looked the other direction, and this time, she saw someone else . . . another woman, this one with dark skin and wearing a red sweater, staring blankly with wide eyes. "Who are you?" she asked, standing up. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

The other woman screamed suddenly, scrambling backwards and making Sam jump. "I killed him!" the woman gasped.

Sam looked between the two of them, then shook her head. "I don't see anything."

"That's because he's mine," the woman swallowed. "Not yours. But your kills will come back soon."

Sam's eyes widened. "We're the same," she realized, then looked at the woman still limp on the ground. "Was she one of us, too?"

The other woman started panting, and she looked back to see her backing away. "He wants me!" she gasped. "They're coming. They're all coming!"

"Come on," Sam crossed the valley and held out her hand. 'We're not safe here. We have to go."

"There's nowhere to go," the other woman shook her head.

"There is," Sam told her. "Let's go."

The other woman swallowed, and she let Sam pull her to her feet. Sam nodded encouragingly, leading her around the woman dead in the center of the valley and further into the forest, hopefully to find somewhere safer than there.

* * *

 ** _Lena Luthor/Barry Allen_**

A thud on the table in front of her made Lena open her eyes, and a small smile tugged at her lips when she saw the water bottle in front of her. "Really?" she asked, even as she reached out to take it.

"I know what it's like when you get engrossed in what you're doing," Jesse smiled, leaning against the table. "You forget what time it is, you forget to eat . . . and hydrate."

Lena smiled fondly, unscrewing the lid. "Thank you, Jesse." She took a sip, eyeing Harry's daughter curiously. "Just so you know," she said, putting the water bottle down again. "This is nowhere near how I imagined us meeting."

"I didn't even know about you until a few hours ago," Jesse sighed, dropping down into the chair across from her.

"Yeah, you've been in different universes," Lena nodded, pointing at her. "You protect Earth-2 while he's helping Barry's team."

"That's me," Jesse nodded. "And I nearly lost my dad a few hours ago, too."

"Wait, what?!" Lena's eyes widened considerably.

"What happened to Harry?" Winn's head poked up from where he was bent over his computer, followed by Felicity after he spoke.

"None of your business!" Lena waved them off, and pouting, both went back to what they were doing. "Sorry," she apologized to Jesse with a tense smile. "All of the teams have kind of grown closer over the past year or so."

"It's good to hear that," Jesse waved her apology off. "It's good to hear Dad's found his group to be with." She sighed. "Long story short, a nuclear bomb that could have destroyed Central City started to go off, and Barry and I had to slow down time way too much to try and think of a way to stop it."

"Oh, my God," Lena pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Barry managed it, but God, it was tough," Jesse sighed. "And I was thinking . . . if we didn't manage to stop the bomb . . . I never would have really reconciled with my dad."

Lena tilted her head, curiosity overruling her worry for Sam at the moment. "What happened with you and Harry?" she asked.

"It's just . . . he was overprotective and never wanted to talk about my mom," Jesse answered, blushing a bit. "I pressured him to tell me about her."

Lena winced sympathetically. "It can be very hard to talk about family members we've lost," she told Jesse. "My mother died when I was seven. She drowned in a lake while I watched from the shore."

"I'm sorry," Jesse's eyes widened.

"It's fine, Jesse," Lena shook her head in assurance. "But on the subject of our mothers, I figure you didn't expect to learn about me when you visited S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Not at all," Jesse shook her head rapidly.

"Well, if there's one thing I can promise you, it's this," Lena leaned forward. "I have no intention of hurting Harry or of trying to become your mother."

Jesse smiled slightly. "That helps . . . a bit."

"Better a bit than none," Lena shrugged.

"Supergirl?" Laurel's voice behind them suddenly called.

"Supergirl!" That came from Caitlin.

Lena whipped around to see Kara's legs buckle out from underneath her, Barry speeding over to catch her before she hit the ground completely. "What happened?" Lena jumped off her chair and ran over, Oliver and Alex ahead of her.

"She got this weird look on her face and then swayed, and then this," Barry gestured to her, Oliver helping him lay Kara on the floor. "Supergirl?" he shook her gently.

"Allen." Harry's voice sounded odd, and Barry looked up at him to see him pointing out of the building. "Look at the sun."

Lena looked up, too, and she did a double take when she saw the darkening sky. "Is that an _eclipse?"_ Jesse's jaw dropped.

"I don't – I don't think that's supposed to happen," Felicity stammered.

"It's not," Alex shook her head.

Kara suddenly gasped and shot up, eyes wide as she tried to get her bearings back. "Hey," Oliver reached out and grabbed her shoulders, steadying her. "You're OK. Kara, it's OK."

"I saw Sam," Kara stammered, looking up and around at everyone. "I just saw Sam."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"That eclipse is like someone grabbed on the moon and pulled," Max said as everyone gathered around the main console in the D.E.O.

"But the Earth and the Moon turn on an axis," Jesse said in confusion. "Unless this Earth is really, really, really, _really_ different, no amount of technology can change that."

"That's because this isn't technology," Kara shook her head as she walked up with Oliver.

"You should be in the medbay," Alex frowned.

"Tried that on her already," Oliver shook his head. "Not gonna work."

"This is older than science," Kara told them.

"Please don't say 'magic,'" Max frowned.

" _Dark_ magic," Kara smiled apologetically.

"Great," Max rolled his eyes.

"Reign, Purity, Pestilence, they were all created by Kryptonian witches to do one thing," Kara told everyone. "Kill the world."

"As if the term 'Worldkillers' didn't emphasize that enough," Cisco mumbled.

"Well, this eclipse will do exactly that," Caitlin looked out at the eclipse as she spoke.

"How do you know this?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, I thought you said last December there wasn't anything like this in your religion," Barry nodded.

"There's no apocalypse in the Book of Rao, but there are parables about witches joining hands to create a blessed darkness," Kara answered.

"So, whatever ritual the Worldkillers are doing, it's creating the eclipse," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well, the world can't live without sunlight," Caitlin said worriedly.

"We can't, either," Felicity swallowed.

"What a cheery day we're having," Malcolm scowled.

J'onn cleared his throat, turning around. "How long have we got?"

"Two hours until totality," Winn answered.

"Then what?" Slade asked.

"Temperature drops fifty degrees, maybe more," Harry answered.

"So let's avoid that, if we can," Laurel frowned.

"Seconded," Malcolm pointed at her.

"Different topic," Oliver held up his hand, looking at Kara. "You said you saw Sam."

"I did," she nodded.

"But people don't dream during a seizure," J'onn frowned.

"It's the same dream I've been having for the last year," Kara said. "I'm in the Kryptonian valley, Juru. Normally, I see the Worldkillers, but today, I saw Sam."

"You saw Julia in your dream a month or so ago, and that turned out real," Oliver pointed out.

"Because it's not a dream," Lena turned to Kara. "The valley's real. When I was working with Sam, she told me of this place. It's an alternate dimension that she would go to when Reign would take over."

"But how could you see it?" Dig asked Kara.

"On Mars, my people would share memories, emotions, experiences," J'onn thought. "Sometimes, you would experience a particularly strong mind wholly by accident."

"Like picking up a radio broadcast?" Cisco asked.

"And Kara just happened to pick up an entire alternate dimension?" Lucy frowned.

"I think most of us around here can say that's not the most bizarre thing that's ever been suggested or done," Barry cleared his throat.

"Barry has a point," Oliver conceded.

"And if she can pick it up, then we could go in there, wake Sam up, and she could send us a message to say where the Worldkillers are," Lena smiled.

"Not to put a damper on this, but there's one problem," Harry frowned. "How do we send Supergirl back to this valley?"

Kara grinned. "We fight fantasy with sci-fi."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Let me get this straight," Querl frowned. "You want me to broadcast your consciousness into a magical dark valley dimension using the 31st century technology, which allowed me to access your mind when Reign punched you into a coma – technology specifically designed to enter human consciousness, _not_ alternate realms – and you want me to do this all before the solar eclipse achieves totality, which will happen in less than two hours?"

"Yes," Kara confirmed.

"OK, no problem," Querl nodded. "Sounds fun. To the Legion cruiser!"

Barry snickered as they left the lab to follow Querl. "He's entertaining."

"You should be in the Arrowcave with him when everyone else is out there fighting," Felicity giggled.

"Kara," Lena jogged to catch up with Kara. "I'm coming with you."

"What?" Kara looked at her, eyes wide. "Lena, this might not even be possible!"

"Oh, no, it's possible," Querl whirled around to tell her.

"Kara, I've spent weeks working with Sam _and_ Reign, every day," Lena urged. "I know what makes them tick. I know their DNA sequences better than my own phone number. And you know Sam, yes, but I've known her longer than anyone here. If anyone wants to get Sam back, it's me."

"With the sun darkening, your powers are gonna weaken," Alex added. "You might not have any powers in that valley . . . mind realm . . . thing. You're gonna need somebody to watch your backs."

Kara sighed, closing her eyes. "OK," she nodded. "I guess we're all in this together."

"Strength in numbers," Lena smiled.

"I need fifteen minutes to prepare," Querl spun on his heel, heading off.

"Oho, you're gonna love this," Cisco grinned at Jesse. "Come on!"

"Are you comfortable with this?" Oliver asked Kara in concern as they walked on, Barry catching up on her other side.

"Which part?" Kara asked. "Going into the valley or bringing Alex and Lena with me?"

"Both," Oliver looked at her. "I've been with you when you've woken up from your dreams of this place, I know you hate them. And Alex I understand, but taking Lena is a risk. You don't know what you're gonna find there."

"Believe me, I would rather take the two of you in with me," Kara confessed.

"Me?" Barry's eyebrows shot up.

"Like Alex said, I might not have powers at all," Kara looked at him. "And no offense to Laurel or J'onn, or any of your team, but I would rather have a speedster in there with me." Barry nodded his understanding. "But like Lena said, she's been working with Sam for weeks and she and Alex are Sam's friends. I don't like bringing them both, but it's the best chance we have to reach Sam."

Oliver sighed. "So I get to see you unconscious in the Legion cruiser. Again."

"What fun," Barry agreed.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

"Hello?" Sam called tentatively, leading the woman with her deeper into the valley. "Hello?" She swallowed, then called louder. "Hello?"

"No!"

Sam turned to see the woman behind her gasp and double over, her eyes wide in fear. "What?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"It's them," she whimpered, looking around. "All the people I killed."

"You're OK," Sam stepped forward. "We have to go."

"No, no, no, I killed them," she shook her head desperately, starting to breathe quicker. "I killed them. _I killed them!_ It was me, I did it! And now they're coming!"

"Hey!" Sam grabbed her. "Listen to me! Listen to me! You didn't kill, OK? The Worldkiller in you did."

"I am Purity," the woman shook her head, then seemed to still, as if saying that made her feel better. "I am Purity."

"No, you're not," Sam shook her head.

"I am," the woman insisted, spinning around and clenching her fists. "I am! I am! I am!"

"Hey!" Sam ran in front of her as she collapsed. "Hey! Snap out of it! Look at me! What's your name? Tell me your name!"

"I – " She squeaked. "I don't know!"

"Come on, you got it," Sam coaxed. "Think, think!"

"I'm Julia Freeman," she finally answered.

"Julia," Sam nodded. "What do you remember?"

"My parents," she swallowed. "I remember them. I'm a musician."

"OK, OK, that's good," Sam nodded encouragingly. "I want you to sing me a song, OK? What's your favorite song?" Julia froze, and Sam shook her lightly. "It's OK."

"I can't remember the name of it," she whispered.

"It's OK," Sam told her. "You don't have to remember the name."

"I can't remember – "

"Just the tune, just the tune," Sam said. "Just hum it to yourself. My daughter does that when she's scared. My daughter – " She paused, eyes widening. "My daughter." Her daughter . . . her daughter was . . . was . . . "My daughter," she whispered, not even realizing Julia had started to hum. "What's my daughter's name? My daughter . . . my daughter . . . "

" _You killed us."_

Sam gasped when she heard the voice in the air. _"You did this!"_ another came.

" _Reign."_

" _I have a child. I had a child."_

"No," Sam whimpered, grabbing her head. "My daughter's name . . . my daughter's name . . . "

" _You killed us."_

" _You killed us all!"_

" _I was a mother of three!"_

"Stop!"

" _You did this!"_

Sam finally had it. "My daughter's name is _Ruby!"_ she screamed out. _"Ruby!"_ She gasped for breath, collapsing on the ground, spinning around to find Julia as the voice faded out. "We have to remember who we are," she told her. She looked around on the ground, then grabbed a rock for herself and tossed another towards Julia. "Here, take that rock. Write what you know. Write what you know!"

"I don't know!" Julia shouted. "I don't know!"

"Write it!" Sam insisted, turning and starting to scratch furiously. "Write it all down!"

Julia swallowed, then picked up her rock and slowly started to scratch, Sam trying to keep her hysterics down as she repeatedly wrote Ruby's name.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"Oh," Evelyn said slowly. "My. _God."_

"This is so cool!" William grinned in agreement.

"Yes," Mon-El chuckled as he watched the two teenagers look around the Legion cruiser. "Yes, it is."

"Wait, you've never been here either?" Evelyn asked William in shock.

"I don't think I've had a reason to be here," William shook his head.

"Considering the only time you would've been here would've been when Kara was fighting for her life in a coma after Reign almost killed her, no, you haven't really had a reason," Oliver said, exchanging amused looks with Mon-El.

"OK, but if I heard there was a spaceship, I would wanna see it," Evelyn pointed around.

"You know, if you think this is cool, you should see the _Waverider,"_ Cisco poked his head up from where he and Felicity were setting up on the bridge.

"The what?" Evelyn blinked.

"It's a time ship," Winn grinned.

"A _what?!"_

"OK, how about let's not make her brain explode," Oliver held up his hand.

"I have _so_ much to find out," Evelyn murmured, looking like a kid in a candy store.

"Believe me," Laurel chuckled as she and Malcolm came onto the bridge, both dressed back in their suits. "The _Waverider's_ pretty awesome."

"The Legion cruiser's better," Querl argued.

"You haven't even been on the _Waverider,"_ Malcolm frowned.

"He's biased," Mon-El grinned.

"You don't say," Slade snorted.

"Gideon's cool," Lena offered her opinion as she came onto the bridge with Alex, Lena now dressed in a black jumpsuit similar to the one Alex wore at the D.E.O. "But since this ship saved Kara's life, I'm more biased to this one, too."

"Aha!" Querl pointed victoriously at Lena.

"Traitor!" Cisco pouted.

"It's also from this universe," Lena smiled innocently.

Cisco pouted, muttering incoherently and turning around. "Ah, team-ups," Harry rolled his eyes as Jesse stared at everyone in shock. "Never a boring moment."

"Unfortunately, it may be soon," Querl turned around, putting his hands back in their upside down triangle. "I am ready to begin when Supergirl is."

"Great," Lena rubbed her hands together. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we get Sam back."

William fidgeted. "About Sam . . . " Lena raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. "Is Ruby OK?" he asked. "You were the last one who saw her, and we haven't seen you in . . . well . . . however long it's been."

"Weeks," Felicity supplied.

"I don't think that's helping," Dig cleared his throat.

"Right," she ducked her head.

"Yes, she's OK," Lena promised William. "She's safe."

"Good," Oliver sighed in relief.

"What's good?" Kara asked as she walked in.

"Ruby's safe," William answered.

"Good," Kara smiled, then looked at Querl. "How's it coming?"

"Ready," he answered. "But you must know . . . the eclipse is diminishing your strength severely. I can send you into this dark valley, but adding the weight of two more minds to yours will weaken you further." Off to the side, Oliver tensed, Barry and Mon-El exchanging wary glances. "Your biology is impressive, but even you weren't built to be an interdimensional portal."

"That's a fun image," Cisco wrinkled his nose.

" _Not helping,_ Ramon," Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry!" he burst out as Caitlin face palmed. "I get chatty when I'm nervous!"

Kara sighed, turning away from Querl. "Boys," she looked at Oliver, Barry, and Mon-El. "A word, please?" When they were steps away from the group, Kara bit her lip. "If this goes sideways . . . I need you to promise me something."

"Why don't I like where this is going?" Oliver frowned.

Kara fidgeted. "Pull Alex and Lena out, but leave me in until I finish the mission."

"Yep, I don't like it at all," Oliver closed his eyes.

"You heard Brainy," Mon-El frowned. "This could hurt you. This could _kill_ you!"

"This is our only chance to save now or the future," Kara argued. "This is all we've got!"

"What's this about the future?" Barry looked around.

Mon-El sighed, closing his eyes. "Pestilence will evolve into the Blight."

"That thing that you were talking about destroying in the future, that killed entire planets?" Barry's eyes widened.

"That's exactly it."

"Oh, my – " Barry cut himself off, sighing and looking down. "Wow."

"Kara," Oliver began.

"I can do this," she stepped forward, Mon-El and Barry respectfully backing away to give them a little space. "We can find Sam, and we can stop the Worldkillers, all three of them, but that can't happen if I'm pulled out too soon."

Oliver swallowed hard. "The last time you were unconscious on this ship, you were dying because Reign put you in a coma," he whispered. "I don't know if I can watch you almost die again."

Kara reached up and cupped his face. "You won't," she told him. "This will go our way, I can feel it. It'll work. Just promise me."

He closed his eyes in defeat. "I promise," he finally nodded.

Kara stood on her toes and kissed him. "Thank you," she said quietly, giving him a quick hug. She gave Mon-El and Barry looks, and both nodded their agreement. "OK," she walked over to the chairs Imra had been setting up. "Let's do this."

Querl nodded, bending down to attach one of three crowns to her forehead. "Dad?" William swallowed, walking over to him.

"It'll be OK, buddy," Oliver put his arm around his shoulders, watching Kara sit back in the chair, Querl moving to help Alex as she and Lena sat down as well.

"I'll be right here," Kara smiled encouragingly at him.

"None of us are going anywhere," Slade told her.

"You better not," Alex said, trying to find a comfortable position as Querl finished with her crown.

"Oh, Danvers, you couldn't get rid of us if you tried," Max grinned.

"How unfortunate," she deadpanned.

"OK," Querl turned around, making sure he addressed everyone. "Once I induce transmission, your minds will be immediately beamed into this dark valley."

"Is it gonna hurt?" Alex asked.

"The chances are better than fifty percent," Querl answered.

Kara wasn't the only one who grimaced. "That's comforting," Alex muttered.

"Really?" Querl tilted his head. "I didn't think so."

Oliver cleared his throat. "Moving on?"

"Yes," Querl looked at the three on the chairs. "Would you like me to count to three?"

"Will it help?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"No, not at all."

"Let's just get it over with," Kara sighed.

Querl steepled his fingers and bowed his head, and at once, Kara, Alex, and Lena went limp, eyes closing and their heads falling to the side. "Oh," Evelyn blinked. "That was . . . "

"Anticlimactic," Caitlin tilted her head.

Barry sighed. "And now we wait."

Oliver just nodded silently, eyes fastened on the three women, all passed out and completely still. "Now we wait."

* * *

 **A/N: Just a reminder that Lena's already told everyone that she's used Kryptonite, so the subplot with Kara asking James to discover if Lena's hiding any is not being included.**


	86. Trinity - Part Two

**A guest asked a question on the last update, and I have an answer for it - _yes,_ I do plan on expanding this series into Supergirl Season 4 and Arrow Season 7. The Children of Liberty arc and that of Lex Luthor have really interested me, and things have gotten interesting in Star City at times, too. I don't know if I'll do every episode or pick and choose, but you will see more of this series.**

 **I also 100% plan on doing "Elseworlds," and I totally plan on doing it with the Legends as well. The best part about fanfiction is how I can change things up based on what I want, and I want the Legends involved, so count on seeing them in the crossover.**

 **Now, on to continuing "Trinity." Kara, Alex, and Lena venture into the dark valley to find Sam, Oliver has a chat with J'onn and Mon-El each, and speaking of the Legends, where exactly are they again?**

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara heard two gasps mingled with hers as she woke up, and when she did, she saw all black around her, including the sky and trees. She swallowed hard, fighting a shiver. "We're here," she whispered.

Lena slowly stood, looking around. "This is . . . " She completed a circle, trying to find the words to say. "This is impressive," she settled on.

"This is Juru," Kara told her.

There was a cracking noise from behind them, and they turned to see Alex snap a few sticks off one of the trees. "Are those for Sam and Julia?" Lena asked.

"It's for whatever might be around," Alex answered, climbing over a few fallen branches to join them.

Lena frowned, scratching her head. "I don't even know if anything here can get injured."

Alex hummed. "Sorry in advance."

"What?" Lena frowned, then yelped when Alex jabbed her with one of the sticks. "Ow!"

"Yeah, we're good," Alex nodded, smiling as she held up the stick. "This one. I like it. It's mine."

"Thanks," Kara took the stick offered to her, then bracing herself, dragged the stick across her palm. She hissed, making both women look at her. "Yep," she held up her now bleeding hand. "This place bites."

"Ouch," Lena winced sympathetically.

Alex nodded in agreement, then caught sight of something past Kara. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Kara asked, turning to look.

She gasped when she saw the woman lying in the mist. "That's Grace," Alex gulped.

"Who?" Lena frowned.

"She's the human form of Pestilence," Kara answered.

Lena swallowed hard, looking down at her. "She's _dead."_

"Which means that we're running out of time with Sam and Julia," Alex nodded.

Kara looked around, then pointed. "They headed this direction."

Lena nodded, giving Grace one last look before following Kara through the trees.

* * *

 ** _Jesse Wells/Oliver Queen/William Clayton_**

Surprisingly, it was Dig who cracked first and asked one of the questions everyone was wondering. "How long?"

"Fifty-four minutes to totality," Querl answered.

"Jesus," Cisco dropped his forehead onto his clasped hands. "I hate this."

"Not being able to do anything?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly!"

Slade scoffed softly, returning to his pacing. "You're not the only one."

Jesse jumped at a triumphant noise, and she turned to see Evelyn laugh and pull a pile of cards towards her. "Got it!"

"How are you winning this?" William protested.

"I'm good at cards," Evelyn grinned in reply.

"What're you doing?" Jesse asked incredulously.

"War," they answered at the same time.

"Never mind that," Winn frowned over . . . whatever he was working on at his console. "Where did you find the cards?"

They pointed at the same time towards Mon-El, who was looking at a tablet with Imra. As if aware of the eyes suddenly on him, Mon-El looked up, only to blink when he realized what he was getting asked. "What?" he held up his hands defensively. "We still have cards in the 31st century!"

"Well, at least they're still having fun," Laurel sighed, watching William and Evelyn flip over cards.

Malcolm smiled when they shouted "War!" again, making multiple adults around the room chuckle. "It'll be OK," he told her.

She sighed, leaning against him as he put his arm around her. "I hope so."

Barry tilted his head as he watched them, then pointed at them and looked at Oliver. "When did that happen?"

Oliver finally looked up from Kara, blinking in confusion, then turned to look at Malcolm and Laurel. He frowned, tilting his head. "Probably some time after he woke up from being infected by Pestilence."

"Huh. How're you explaining that to Thea?"

"I'm not going to," Oliver smirked. "That's for Malcolm to explain."

Barry whistled. "Good luck, Malcolm." Oliver snorted, but his amusement faded at once when he heard Kara make a noise from where she was laying. He looked down to see her head tossing and turning from side to side, breathing sharply. When she whimpered, he clenched his jaw and turned on his heel, walking off. "Oliver!" Barry called, making the others look up.

J'onn walked away from Alex's side, holding up his hand to stop the others from going after him, but William bit his lip, looking at Evelyn. "I won't look at your cards," she promised.

William put his face down and scrambled to his feet, running after J'onn, Evelyn watching him go in concern. He caught up to J'onn just as he rounded the corner to where Oliver was pacing restlessly. "Oliver?" the Martian asked.

Oliver spared both of them a look before closing his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to try and compose himself. "Kara was in a coma the last time she was unconscious with a crown on her forehead," he said in a tight voice, hands on his hips. "And this time, with the eclipse happening and what Brainy said . . . " He shook his head, looking up at J'onn. If he looked at his son, there was no way he was going to stay composed. "She looks _so_ breakable."

"She's strong," J'onn told him. "They all are."

"I know," Oliver closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But I just want to pull her out _so bad."_

J'onn sighed, looking down. "Yeah, me, too."

"It stings enough that these Worldkillers are Kryptonian and there's no possible way for me to help her except with the one weapon that I know hurts her as much as them," Oliver continued, speaking faster as he went. "And I can't pull her out no matter how much I want to because that diminishes the chance of getting Sam back. I can't pull her out, I can't fight the Worldkillers for her, and all I _can_ do is just stand by and watch her be in pain – " He cut himself off, taking a deep breath. "I _hate_ this," he finally said, his voice cracking.

William moved around J'onn and hugged Oliver tightly. "I don't like it, either," he said in a small voice.

Oliver sighed, crouching down so he could hug his son better. "It's awful," he whispered. "And seeing her like this is why I didn't want you here when she was in a coma."

He felt on a hand on his shoulder and looked up at J'onn, the Martian looking down at them with a kind expression. "She's stronger with both of you there with her," he told them. "She'll come back to you, just like she did then."

Oliver could only take a deep breath and nod, reaching out and clasping J'onn's shoulder thankfully. He did the same thing, squeezing Oliver's shoulder supportively.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor_**

"You don't look so good," Alex frowned in concern.

"I'm just tired," Kara waved it off, though she was breathing heavily. "Brainy said it'd be hard for me to carry both of you in here." She huffed, flicking a strand of hair out of her face. "Is this what it's like when humans exercise? This is terrible! Why would you ever exercise?"

"One foot in front of the other," Alex patted her shoulder.

"Put it this way," Lena came up on her other side, a smirk on her lips. "Oliver wouldn't be in as good shape as he is if he didn't exercise."

Kara stopped short, glaring at Lena even as her cheeks flushed pink. "OK, that's not fair."

"No?" Lena grinned widely as Alex laughed hysterically. "You think it's not?"

Kara fidgeted, then pouted. _"My_ fiancée," she mumbled possessively.

If anything, that just made Alex laugh even harder. "Oh, I wish I had a camera," she wheezed, doubling over as Lena, too, started laughing. "Oh, that's _priceless."_

"I hate you both!" Kara complained.

"No, you don't," Lena grinned.

Kara playfully sighed. "No, I don't," she agreed, joining Lena's giggles. "Could you imagine where we'd be if this happened and I hadn't told you I was Supergirl?"

"Oh, God, I probably wouldn't have told you about Sam at all," Lena grimaced.

"That wouldn't have ended well at all," Alex remarked.

Kara stopped short. "We don't even know how long it might have taken Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel to find me."

That stopped the other two in their tracks as well. "You're right," Alex realized in shock. "Whoa."

Lena swallowed hard. "I'm glad you told me."

"Yeah, me, too," Kara nodded numbly. "Thank Oliver, too, for asking me to help him. I think stopping Prometheus and saving everyone gave me an unexpected confidence boost to tell you."

"I will do that," Lena scratched the back of her head. "God, imagine your reaction if I you hadn't told me and you found out I had Kryptonite."

"Oh, Rao," Kara shuddered. "That would not end well _at all."_

"No," Lena shook her head. "You'd probably want to find out if I had any more Kryptonite aside from what I used on Sam."

Kara sighed. "Overgirl and the Worldkillers who _are_ hurting people, who have been able to go toe-to-toe and/or beat me, have shown me Kryptonite is necessary. I may not like that you have it, but at least if one of them goes after you, you're covered." She cringed. "And the Red Kryptonite fiasco . . . _ugh."_ She threw both hands in the air. "At least there's a method you can use to try and make sure I wouldn't hurt anyone."

"We'd have to find someone to shoot you, though," Alex tilted her head thoughtfully. "I don't think anyone on your team or Oliver's would like having that job."

"OK, can we stop being so dismal?" Lena asked.

"I second that motion," Kara raised her hand. A shriek echoed around them, making all of them look around. A second later, a black-cloaked figure with a pale as bone face appeared, shrieking before poofing away in a cloud of smoke. "Never mind," Kara swallowed.

"What the hell was that?" Lena's eyes widened.

"The reason we have sticks," Alex held hers up.

The next time one of the figures appeared after whipping around them, Alex threw her stick like a javelin. The figure exploded in a cloud of smoke, and Kara swallowed. "That's a Kryptonian demon. I've seen them before." She looked around, then pointed. "That's where they went. We're running out of time."

"I think I see an entrance over there," Alex pointed as well.

Kara jogged in the direction Alex pointed. Sure enough, there was a steel door in the wall, the symbol of the Worldkillers etched into the metal. She pulled it open, poking her head inside to see if there were any other demons. "All right, come on," she held the door open. "Come on."

Alex and Lena hurried inside, and Kara closed the door behind them. They walked through what appeared to be a fortress of stone, and as they walked around the corner, Kara's ears picked up female whimpers coming from further in.

When they rounded the corner, Kara froze when she saw the woman lying against the wall, staring blankly at the wall opposite her. "Julia," she breathed, running over to check on her. "Julia!"

"Julia, it's Supergirl and Agent Danvers," Alex joined her, crouching in front of the woman. "Can you hear me?"

"We're here to help you," Kara said.

Just past them, Lena followed the whimpers, catching sight of scratched words on the wall, all variations of _my daughter's name is Ruby._ When she rounded the corner, she swallowed hard, seeing her friend shivering against the wall, still clad in her hospital gown. "Oh, my God," she ran over.

"I killed them."

Lena blinked, not able to hear Sam's voice, she was barely audible. "What?" she asked, hearing footsteps behind her as Kara and Alex followed her.

"I killed them," Sam repeated.

* * *

 ** _Cisco Ramon/Jesse Wells/Mon-El_**

"You are saying that, when Reign takes over Ms. Arias's mind, Ms. Arias's goes into this dark valley?" Stein asked over the screen in the Legion ship.

"That's exactly correct," Harry nodded.

"Yeah, it's a completely different dimension," Felicity chimed in.

"Astonishing," Stein murmured.

"Well, Kara, Alex, and Lena are in there trying to find Sam and get her to show them where the Worldkillers currently are, and hopefully before this eclipse possibly kills Kara," Cisco nodded, then froze when he felt piercing glares on his back. "I'm being death glared at by Team Arrow, aren't I?"

"Whatever gave you _that_ idea?" Slade scowled.

Cisco gulped. "I'm gonna . . . go over there and find something to do far away from everyone."

"Probably smart," Caitlin nodded rapidly.

Jesse looked at her father in confusion, who cleared his throat. "You learn very quickly that there are certain people who are . . . _much_ more protective of Kara than others," he explained. "For instance, three former supervillains and her fiancé. Hence the heat vision glare without the actual heat vision."

"Oh," Jesse nodded in understanding.

"Are they doing OK, though?" Iris asked in concern.

"If we could talk to them, we'd tell you that," Mon-El sighed, looking over his shoulder at the trio.

Iris clicked her tongue sympathetically. "I wish we could help."

"Actually, we get the Legends are doing their whole saving the timeline thing, but we've tried contacting them and haven't gotten a response at all," Winn scratched his head. "We thought Ray and Lily would be all over this."

"My Lily would be," Stein smiled fondly, which faded as he thought. "But I understand your concern. The last I heard when she and Jefferson stayed, they had just rescued Dr. Palmer after he was kidnapped, retrieved the broken remains of the Fire Totem, and were planning to retrieve Miss Jiwe's."

"Oh, more magic," Max sighed. _"Wonderful."_

"Wally sounded like he was settling in, though," Iris added.

"Good," Barry nodded. "Hope he can keep up with the craziness."

"If having a speedster onboard doesn't drive _them_ crazy first," Iris smirked.

"We're reaching critical," Querl suddenly announced, Felicity peering over his shoulder to see the timer click down to fifteen minutes. "Fifteen minutes to totality."

Oliver tensed, and Barry turned to look at the screen. "We'll be back as soon as we can," he promised.

"Good luck with Sam," Iris wished.

"And the Worldkillers," Stein added.

"Thanks," Oliver finally said.

Mon-El shut the screen down, turning and walking up to between Kara's and Lena's beds, looking down at a pale and clammy Kara, Oliver, holding tightly to her hand. Mon-El looked down at William and Evelyn, who had moved their card game closer to Kara, both occasionally looking up at the unconscious Kryptonian. "Think you can do me a favor?" Oliver asked.

"Anything," Mon-El nodded.

Oliver sighed. "If one of them wants to pull her out . . . you gotta be the one to say no."

The Daxamite blinked rapidly in surprise. "What?"

"I can't tell you how much I'm biting my tongue to stop myself from telling Brainy to get her out," Oliver admitted quietly, running his other hand through his hair. "And if someone tries to pull her out . . . I don't trust myself to stop them."

Mon-El sighed, then nodded in agreement. "OK."

Oliver nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

Mon-El simply nodded, looking back down at Kara. "You're welcome."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"You're here," Sam whispered.

"Of course we're here," Lena frowned. "You think I'd forget about you?"

"Lena," Sam stared at her, then gasped and looked over her shoulder. "Alex . . . Supergirl." Both smiled reassuringly, but those smiles faded when they heard Sam's next words. "I killed you, too? I'm sorry!"

"Sam, no," Alex immediately shook her head.

"I'm sorry!" Sam sobbed.

"No, Reign didn't kill us," Alex bent down. "We're here to help you."

"We're gonna get you out of here," Lena nodded.

"The people I killed are coming," Sam whimpered.

" _Reign_ killed, not you," Kara told her.

"We're gonna make sure Reign never hurts anyone again," Lena promised.

"But Sam, you have to wake up," Kara crouched down. "You have to go back to your body and send us a message, tell us where the Worldkillers are."

"Don't let them in," Sam mumbled, not seeming to see them as she backed up. "They want me. I killed them."

"Hey," Kara shook her head. "Hey, you are _not_ a murderer."

She started to step after her, but before she put her foot back down, she staggered, blinking as a wave of dizziness swept over her.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Querl Dox_**

Back on the Legion cruiser, Kara's body suddenly seized, and Oliver swallowed hard as her hand squeezed his as she gritted her teeth, head thrown back on the bed. "Ten minutes to totality," Cisco watched, chewing his lip.

"She can't take much more," Querl stepped away from the scans.

"Keep her in," Mon-El ordered.

"She's only got minutes!" Querl protested, reaching for the crown on her head.

"I said keep her in!" Mon-El snapped.

Querl blinked rapidly, looking at him in surprise, along with everyone else. Several of them looked at Oliver, who hadn't even opened his mouth, and he only nodded gratefully to Mon-El. The Legionnaire nodded back, watching Kara's stiff form.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor_**

"Hey," Alex crouched by Kara, helping her stand back up. "Hey, we have to get you out of here."

"No," Kara clenched her jaw. "Not yet. Not yet." She took a deep breath, watching Sam scoot back further. "Sam, we don't have much time. Come on, stay with us! Remember who you are!"

"Hey," Lena walked after her, crouching back in front of her. "You are Sam Arias, OK? You're the woman I would trust with anything."

"You're good," Alex nodded.

"You're a friend," Kara pitched in.

"You're a fighter," Lena continued.

"You're a mother," Alex added.

Sam flinched at that, and Lena pounced on the opportunity. "Remember Ruby?" Sam squeezed her eyes shut, looking down, and Lena swallowed. "Ruby, she's waiting for you to come home."

"Sam, you have to think of Ruby," Alex pressed.

"Ruby," Kara insisted.

"Remember Ruby?" Lena asked.

"Ruby!"

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam inhaled sharply, and when she opened her eyes, she wasn't in the valley anymore. No, instead she was in the rocky Fortress she just barely remembered, and with wide eyes, she looked at the two women in front of her, their joined hands crackling with electricity . . . and the black suit she was wearing that belonged to Reign.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

When Sam's eyes opened, they were demonic red, and she surged up, grabbing Lena by the neck and lifting her into the air. "Let her go!" Kara cried, rushing forward as Lena choked.

"I'll break her neck!" Reign threatened, squeezing tightly.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam gulped as she looked around, then carefully removed her hands from the circle. The electricity vanished, but the two other Worldkillers remained frozen. Sam watched them for a few seconds, waiting for any kind of movement. When she saw none, she turned around, searching the Fortress. What had Supergirl said to do?

Her eyes found the console in the center of the Fortress, and like in a daze, she walked over, reaching over to find a button of some kind, then her fingers brushed over a crystal . . . the same crystal she had gotten from the pod Patricia had found.

 _Send us a message. Tell us where the Worldkillers are._

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Take me!" Kara shouted urgently. "Take me instead, please!"

"You," Reign sneered, glaring at her. "You are nothing. You've always been nothing. Only one of equal strength can defeat me. You are driftwood in the face of a hurricane."

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Sam picked up the crystal, examining it. She looked back down at the console, twisting the crystal over in her hand, then reached over and inserted it into a slot in the console.

The crystal lit up blood red, and the lights on the console followed, and Sam gave a small smile for the first time in weeks, her heart racing. Hopefully that was enough.

* * *

 ** _Imra Ardeen_**

Rapid beeping came from one of the screens, and Imra's head shot up as she turned it towards her. A second later, a wide smile formed on her face. "It worked," she announced. "We've got a location."

"Pull them out!" Oliver shouted the moment the words left Imra's lips.

"Pull them out now!" Mon-El reinforced the order, and Querl sprinted to Kara, reaching for the crown on her head.

"Setting a course," Imra rushed to the console of the ship.

"Here we go," Barry took a deep breath, lightning crackling in his eyes as Slade and Malcolm exchanged vicious smirks.

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias/Reign_**

Sam turned away from the console, then froze when she came face to face with the hologram of a woman cloaked in black. "You!" she accused, letting out an echoing roar and scream.

Sam staggered back against the console, grimacing at the noise, then reached over and yanked the crystal free. The hologram vanished, and Sam sighed in relief, looking back at the crystal.

She heard footsteps, then looked up to see the Worldkiller with black hair in blue walk up, her sickening yellow eyes glaring at her. "Human!" she sneered accusingly, then punched her in the face.

Sam collapsed against the console, then stiffened and groaned. A second later, and animalistic growl came from her chest, and she glared up at the Worldkiller in front of her, eyes flaring red as her lips curled upwards. Pestilence smirked in satisfaction, looking down at her. "I thought that might work."

Reign stood up and delivered a swift right hook to Pestilence, knocking her down. "It did," she nodded as Purity joined them. "Thank you. They're coming."

"No," Purity shook her head, looking up. "They're already here."

Reign and Pestilence looked up as well to see the Legion cruiser hovering above the Fortress, weapons humming and ready for battle.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor/Winn Schott/Alex Danvers_**

The last Kara remembered seeing of the valley was Lena fizzling out in shimmers of blue. Then she was opening her eyes on the Legion ship, eyes suddenly seeing blinding white.

She shot upright, gasping for breath, one hand reaching for her chest. Something tightened around her other hand, then Oliver and William were both in front of her, Evelyn hovering behind William in concern. "You OK?" Oliver asked, squeezing her hand tighter.

"Yeah," Kara swallowed hard, nodding. "Yeah, I'm good." Oliver sighed in relief, and she surveyed everyone around her. Aside from William, Evelyn, Harry, Felicity, Max, Lucy, and Winn, everyone was in a super suit of some kind, and hope stirred in her chest. "It worked?" she asked.

"Like a charm," Mon-El grinned.

"Are we still talking about dark magic?" Querl asked, blinking in confusion.

Kara nudged William a bit, smiling at him. "Told you I'd be fine."

"It was still scary," William gave her a small hug.

Kara rubbed his back as she stood up. "Sorry, Will."

"You should rest some more," J'onn frowned at her.

"If it didn't work earlier, I don't think it's gonna work now," Oliver pointed out.

The Martian sighed, but conceded with a nod. "Let's go."

"Team Tech back in action?" Lena asked, accepting Harry's hand up.

"You bet," he nodded, giving her a hug.

"Good," Lena cracked her knuckles, giving Jesse a smile. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Jesse grinned back. "You, too."

"Uh, one quick thing," Winn raised a hand, making everyone look at him. "Can I talk to the human, firearms-shooting people from Team SuperArrow real quick?"

"We're not called that!" Oliver huffed in annoyance.

"Hey, it's quick and it's easier to say than Team Supergirl and Team Arrow."

"I like his thinking," Cisco pointed at Winn as he put his glasses on.

Slade rolled his eye, but he, Dig, and Alex all moved over to where Winn was beckoning them. "We kind of need to go," Alex pointed after the others.

"Listen, this is worth the wait," Winn promised.

"OK," Dig frowned, folding his arms. "What you got?"

"Well, let's see," Winn backed up, rubbing his hands together. "I'm counting what everyone brings to the table in a fight like this, y'know? I mean, J'onn can phase through things, he can shapeshift. Then you got Supergirl, she can laser-vision, freeze-breath, she's massively strong. Then there's Laurel, and she's got her super scream, which Alex has a bit of, though it's not the same as being a meta. Oliver and Malcolm don't really have super powers, but they've got the Kryptonite arrows to at least distract the Worldkillers until someone else can take them out – in this case, most likely Kara and Laurel respectively."

"You really don't know how to give a pep talk, do you?" Slade scowled.

"Yeah, not really feeling the hype," Dig agreed.

"Exactly!" Winn pointed at them. "Exactly, right? So, I'm thinking, 'in a fight against the Worldkillers, what do three of the best, most badass fighters need to take their battle-readiness up a notch?"

Alex eyed the boxes he set down in front of them, and her eyes widened when Winn pointed to the gun at her side. "You didn't," she breathed.

"Oh, girl, I did!" Winn grinned, popping open the box in front of her, showing the customized pair of guns he had inside. "And then some!" He pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves from underneath the guns, holding them up for the trio to see. "What if I told you . . . the future is magnets?"

He pointed the gloves to the side, and a startled yelp came from where Querl was speaking with Felicity. A second later, Querl's Legion ring landed with a smack against the palm of the glove. "Whoa!" Dig's eyes widened in shock.

Alex burst out laughing in glee, even as Querl stormed over. "That ring literally costs more than this entire ship!" he ranted, snatching his ring from the glove and sliding it on. "Also . . . that _hurt!"_

Winn smiled proudly, pointing between Dig and Slade. "I customized your gloves to match your suits," he said as the duo opened their cases. "Oh . . . and the guns?" He smirked. "Wait until you see the bullets."

"What did you give us?" Dig asked, a smile growing on his face.

Winn just hummed, rocking on his heels. "I guess you'll have to shoot the Worldkillers to find out, won't you?"

Slade chuckled, taking the pair of guns in his case and the gloves, Dig doing the same. "Thank you, Winn."

"No problem," Winn gave them double thumbs up. Alex gave him a quick hug and grabbed her own belongings, running after the others. "Good luck!" he called.

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen/Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Those look new," Laurel tilted her head as the trio joined them.

"They are," Alex grinned smugly.

"OK, how do we do this?" Barry looked around. "We're all either going to win this easily or we could just as easily get in each other's way."

"Yeah, let's not do that," Cisco shook his head.

"Some people have unfinished business with Pestilence," Kara glowered.

"Yeah, get in line," Malcolm checked the arrows in his quiver.

"Mon-El, Imra, Malcolm, Siren, and I can move in on Pestilence," Oliver volunteered.

"OK, and Cait, Cisco, Jesse, and I can face Purity," Barry nodded.

"I'll help you," J'onn said.

Kara took a deep breath, looking at Alex, Slade, and Dig. "You three watch my back?"

"You know it," Alex nodded.

"OK," Kara nodded, clenching her hands in fists. "Comms check?"

"Overwatch, right here," Felicity said at once.

"Telle, standing by," Winn added.

"Checkmate, standing ready," Lena pitched in.

"Wells, ready," Harry said.

"Reading loud and clear," Lucy said.

"Loud and clear here," Max added.

"Brainiac 5, standing ready," Querl said. "Structure nearly breached. Prepare for drop."

"Good luck!" William and Evelyn called over the comms.

Kara smiled, looking over at Oliver. "We've got this," she told him.

He nodded in agreement. "I love you."

She smiled back, reaching for his hand. "I love you, too." He squeezed her hand, and Kara looked over at Barry. "Thank you," she told him.

"Any time," Barry nodded.

Kara looked around, then took a deep breath. "Brainy, we're ready!"

"Dropping in three, two, one," Querl announced.

The transport beam activated, and Kara reached out and grabbed Barry's arm as well as the floor vanished under them and Oliver. The trio landed in crouches at the same time in the middle of the Fortress, the rest of their teams following them.

When they straightened, they found Reign, Purity, and Pestilence in front of them, the three in battle stances, eyes glowing ominously. Kara's fingers curled into fists as Barry placed himself in a running stance, Oliver's fingers tightening around his bow.

The two groups of three stared at each other, then Kara flew forward towards Reign, Barry disappearing in a crackle of lightning shortly after. The moment they moved, Oliver drew an arrow and fired at Pestilence, the Worldkiller raising her hand and swatting it out of the air, but she was distracted enough for Mon-El, Imra, and Laurel to charge, Malcolm joining Oliver. Barry's lightning smacked into Purity and knocked her back, allowing J'onn, Cisco, Caitlin, and Jesse to swarm her.

And Alex, Slade, and Dig sped after Kara and Reign as they dueled back further into the Fortress, both throwing vicious punch after punch.

* * *

 **A/N: In case people were a bit confused, this takes place for Team Flash after "Enter Flashtime" but before Jesse returns to Earth-2, and the Legends are currently going through "Amazing Grace" which is why they're not in here.**


	87. Trinity - Part Three

**Well, after an extremely long month of project after project, concert after concert, and test after test, I'm finally on summer break. Took a few days to relax and unwind, and frankly get used to having nothing to do for a while, then finished this episode up. I still won't have a specific updating schedule in mind because I will have much more to do outside of fanfiction and have other projects to work on as well. The good news is I have absolutely no plans to abandon this series, so any delay in updates will mean I'm either working on something else, something away from this is taking up my attention, or I'm burned out and need time to recuperate. Rest assured, this book isn't going anywhere.**

 **It's Teams Supergirl, Arrow, and Flash against the Worldkillers with a surprising outcome, and Team Tech makes a surprising discovery when they return.**

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz/Jesse Wells_**

J'onn staggered back as an uppercut from Purity knocked him off balance, then Cisco flung his hands out, shooting his blasts at her. Caitlin hit her from behind. Purity gritted her teeth, standing her ground, then flung her head back and screamed up into the sky.

Jesse looked up, surprised by the direction, and blanched when she saw Purity had another goal in mind. "Dad!" she called. "Look out!"

* * *

 ** _William Clayton/Harry Wells/Lena Luthor_**

Jesse's warning was lost as the cruiser rocked, making Evelyn yelp as she fell back onto one of the beds, William crashing into the wall. "You two OK?" Felicity called worriedly.

"Yeah!" William managed to call, Evelyn giving her a quick thumbs up.

"What was that?" Harry scowled.

"Main thrusters are damaged," Querl answered.

"How did that happen?" Lucy demanded.

"Some sort of soundwave interference."

Winn groaned. "Purity."

"Of course," Max rolled his eyes.

"It's fine, we have secondary thrusters," Querl waved the concern off.

The cruiser rocked again, sparks flying and the power flickering, and Harry groaned, closing his eyes. "We just lost those, too, didn't we?"

"Actually, to be more precise, they just blew up," Querl cleared his throat, standing from the pilot's chair. "Excuse me a moment."

The group watched him hurry to a nearby panel, and Lena shook her head. "We don't have a moment to waste," she said, walking over to the chair.

"Whoa," Felicity blinked, looking at her as Evelyn helped William up. "You sure about that?"

"You _do_ remember who my copilot during the Nazi invasion was, right?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

Lena grinned smugly and tapped on the chair, two holographic circles with schematics popping up in front of her. As she tapped on them, Querl stood up from his work and immediately glared. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm helping," Lena answered shortly, not looking up from what she was doing.

"No, no, that's not how that works," Querl began as he walked over.

The circles Lena was working with blazed scarlet, and Max smirked. "I think it is."

Querl blinked in surprise. "Yes . . . that's _exactly_ how that works."

"I know," Lena smirked. "Pull up six thousand feet and vent the engines."

Querl gave her an incredulous look, and Harry chuckled. "I'd listen to her."

Querl cleared his throat and turned to do just that, and Evelyn looked at William with wide eyes. "She's _awesome."_

"I know," William grinned proudly.

Lena turned to give them a smug wink, then turned back to continue working on the cruiser.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Alex Danvers_**

Kara punched Reign across the face, and the Kryptonian faltered for a second before snarling angrily. "You are weak!"

She threw a punch towards Kara, and Kara caught her arm, gritting her teeth and trying to hold her back. Reign flew forward and grabbed Kara, flying them backwards. Kara yelped as she was shoved into one of the rocky walls and dropped, Reign storming towards her. She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could, jabbing towards Reign's stomach. The Worldkiller caught her arm with her own, forcing Kara's upwards and punching with her other fist. Kara brought her other forearm to block it, and the next few punches went the same way, each Kryptonian blocking the other.

Until one of Reign's hands curled into a fist and punched upwards, clobbering Kara right in the jaw. Kara retched as she was propelled end over end through the air, landing with a thud on the ground, all the air leaving her in a whoosh.

Reign smirked as she strutted forward, but her boots couldn't cover the three sets of running footsteps behind Kara. She heard a startled noise, then three bright red projectiles soared over her head towards Reign. When they hit the Worldkiller, Kara had to duck her head and cover her eyes, the flares of scarlet energy hurt her vision. She could hear Reign's pained grunt and the thud of her body hitting the ground, and when she looked back up, she saw Reign wincing on the ground.

She got to her feet and turned to see Dig staring at the gun he held in shock, Slade and Alex looking at her. "Little one?" Slade asked in concern.

"I've got this," Kara waved them off. "Check on the others."

Alex nodded, then looked at her gun in surprise. "Red sun bullets . . . "

"Winn outdid himself," Slade remarked, sounding impressed.

"Thank you, Telle," Dig whistled, and the three of them turned and ran back towards the others.

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen/Mon-El/Malcolm Merlyn/Oliver Queen_**

Barry sped after Jesse when Purity punched her away, then the Worldkiller ducked as Caitlin skated down the ice slide above her, firing icicles at her. Purity sneered and smacked them out of midair, shattering them into some pieces that Cisco was forced to either duck under or blast to destroy them. J'onn charged her from behind, knocking her off balance, then the two speedsters rammed into her from the side, making Purity double over.

Across the Fortress, Pestilence lashed out with a clawed hand at Laurel, who just narrowly dodged. Malcolm fired an arrow in response, which Pestilence grabbed out of thin air and jabbed into Laurel's leg. The metahuman cried out in pain, and Pestilence grinned, swiping for her face. Imra reached out with her arm, catching Pestilence's wrist on her forearm and spinning it in a circle, forcing Pestilence away from Laurel as she staggered back. Pestilence snarled and turned on Imra, swinging with her other arm. Imra stepped to the side to avoid it, but she doubled over when Pestilence kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground.

Mon-El took a deep breath, looking at Pestilence as she turned to him, not letting her see Malcolm rush to help Laurel. "I don't think you know what you're becoming," he said.

"I've already become," she sneered. "I am death, and I choose you first!"

Mon-El ducked her swing, then threw a sharp uppercut. Pestilence flew into the air, and Mon-El bent his knees, flying after her. Imra joined him a few seconds later, and Malcom and Laurel looked up to see the two Legionnaires fight Pestilence in the dying light of the eclipse. "Why do the Worldkillers have to be such dramatists?" Malcolm couldn't help but ask as he helped Laurel stand.

"Says the man who keeps insisting on bickering with Slade every time he's goaded," Laurel grumbled.

"He starts it!"

"You continue it!" Slade's voice broke through the discussion.

"We still have one on the ground!" Oliver shouted.

Malcolm and Laurel turned to see Purity regain her balance, then scream at J'onn as he approached. J'onn phased through her scream and punched Purity in the face. Purity's head jerked back, but she snarled and caught J'onn's arm when he tried to hit her again. She kicked him in the back, the stomach, then threw him towards Cisco and Caitlin. The Martian tried to twist out of their way, but he only narrowly avoided Cisco; he crashed into Caitlin, the two of them sprawling out on the ground.

Oliver and Malcolm exchanged concerned glances as Barry and Jesse rushed in, then Oliver looked at Cisco. "Vibe!" he shouted. "Just like the church!"

Cisco rapidly nodded, throwing out both hands. The two archers jumped through at the same time, reaching back into their quivers for the Kryptonite arrows both still had. They fired in unison, and Purity had to use both hands to catch them, distracting herself from the speedsters. Oliver rolled out of the way as Barry sped in first, charging up lightning and punching Purity with it, making her double over. Jesse came from Malcolm's side, and Purity lashed out with one of the arrows, stabbing Jesse in the side with it. She cried out in pain, and Harry's concerned shout came over the comms. "Jesse?!"

Yellow lightning wrapped around Jesse, and Barry sped her away, leaving Cisco, Oliver, and Malcolm to face down Purity. "Oh, I don't like this," Cisco winced.

"Thanks, Cisco, you're a wonderful motivator," Malcolm tightened his grip on his bow.

Purity smirked at them, then paused when a shout came from behind her. "Julia!" She turned to see Alex pointing her gun at her, Dig and Slade flanking her. "You're in there," she continued, walking forward slowly. "I know it." Purity's eyes narrowed, but Alex lifted her head. "Come on," she urged. "You gotta rise up and help us."

Purity smiled, then took a deep breath. "Get down!" Oliver shouted.

As Purity screamed, all three fired their guns at the same time. Sonic scream met three red sun blasts, and the resulting shockwave knocked all seven still standing off their feet, dust fluttering in the air.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen/Malcolm Merlyn/John Diggle_**

Kara and Reign had their heat vision locked on each other, trying to get the upper hand on the other even as their comrades fought not that far away.

But Kara started to falter, her heat vision weakening and Reign's not diminishing in strength at all. Eventually her heat vision cut out, and Reign's heat vision smacked her in the face. When she regained her balance, the Worldkiller was right in front of her, and her next words confirmed what Kara thought had happened. "The eclipse is full," Reign grinned. "No more powers."

Gulping, Kara threw a desperate punch at Reign. She caught her fist easily, then with a smug smirk, started to squeeze. Pain raced up Kara's arm as she felt her bones crack, and with a whimper, she dropped to her knees, trying to stand again. Reign didn't give her the chance, punching her in the abdomen and sending her through the rock wall behind her.

Kara tumbled out onto the ground back among her friends, gasping for breath as she collapsed in a heap. "Kara!" she heard Barry call through her comms.

Kara weakly looked up as Reign approached, then a glowing green arrow struck her in the shoulder, stopping her progress. Yellow lightning filled her vision and she felt herself be moved, and as Reign yanked the Kryptonite arrow out of her shoulder, Kara found herself in Oliver's arms, the archer immediately tugging her to him. "Thanks," she mumbled faintly.

"Always," Oliver squeezed her tightly, looking at Barry. "What more can you do?"

Barry looked back at Reign, the woman snarling as she threw the arrow aside. "Not entirely sure," he admitted, looking at Cisco as the other meta joined him.

Reign sneered at them, then paused and tilted her head. A second later, she sped to Alex just as her gun landed smack in her palm, and she lifted the auburn-haired woman by the throat, Alex retching. "Alex!" Malcolm shouted.

"No!" Kara cried, trying to get to her feet, only to stagger backwards and collapse back into Oliver's grasp.

Reign's head shot to the side as more rattles sounded, then Slade's and then Dig's guns returned to their owners. Reign tossed Alex aside as the two vigilantes aimed and fired, and Reign grunted as she was catapulted back. Alex groaned as she rolled over onto her stomach, Dig getting to his feet to run and help her, Slade much slower in getting to his, though he kept his gun on Reign the entire time.

Until Mon-El and Imra crashed into him, and all three collapsed. Alex and Dig looked up to see Pestilence land by Reign, giving her sister a helping hand up. Reign gave her a pleased look in response, a satisfied growl coming from her lips. "Man, that's weird," Cisco blinked.

"Not the time!" Oliver barked.

Kara slumped back against him, then caught sight of Purity still on the ground. "Julia," she called hoarsely.

"Julia, please!" Alex joined her. "Julia, rise up!"

"Julia, I can't do this!" Kara urged. "You're still strong enough! Help us!"

Barry and Cisco stepped in front of Kara as Reign and Pestilence approached. "Not another step," Barry warned.

Reign sneered at him in response. "It's over."

Barry braced himself for a fight when a voice, this time no longer reverberating, rang out. "What did you say before? That only one of equal strength can beat you?" Barry and Cisco turned to see Purity had gotten to her feet, and before their eyes, her own eyes flickered from white to dark brown. "Well, come at me, witch!" Julia spat.

"Flash, Vibe, move!" Malcolm warned as the two Worldkillers moved.

Barry sped Cisco away as Julia screamed at Reign and Pestilence; Reign tried to brace through the attack, but Pestilence leapt into the air, out of reach. Reign stood her ground for all of two seconds before she was blasted away.

Julia took a few deep breaths, then Oliver's eyes widened when Pestilence landed behind her. "Julia, look out!" he shouted.

Julia spun around at his warning, but she couldn't avoid Pestilence's claws as she dug them into her side. Julia wailed in pain, and Pestilence thrust her claws into her neck as well. "No!" Julia begged. "No!"

"I always knew you were weak," Pestilence snarled.

Julia gulped, then screamed with all her might in Pestilence's face. Pestilence's grip started to falter, her entire body trembling. "No!" Reign cried.

Malcolm felt Laurel grasp his leg, and he looked down, seeing her stand back up, a determined look on her face. He stepped away, and Laurel took a deep breath before unleashing her own scream on Pestilence. Pestilence had to drop Julia, and she collapsed on the ground under both sonic screams, dead before she hit the ground.

Then Julia collapsed, her suit stained dark red, Kara's horrified cry of "No!" ringing out as she dropped in a heap.

Barry sped to check on Julia at once, and he swallowed hard, looking up at Laurel as she tried to join him. "She's not gonna make it," he shook his head.

Laurel closed her eyes, looking away. "Just when she broke through."

Julia's skin suddenly shimmered with white energy, making Barry back up as the energy drifted off Julia's body and into the air. Cisco and Malcolm made startled noises of their own as Pestilence's skin glowed sickly green, the energy twirling to join Purity's. "She did it," Imra breathed as she got to her feet, Caitlin helping Jesse out from where they'd been taking cover. "She did it! Pestilence is dead!"

Dig quickly threw an arm over Alex's head as rubble started crashing down on them, and he looked around to see everyone else trying to avoid being hit as well. "The Fortress is collapsing!" he warned.

"Good riddance!" Slade growled.

"Not with us in it!" Malcolm barked.

The energy in the air dissipated, and Reign took off, flying through the Fortress and out into the sky. "I like her idea!" Cisco pointed.

J'onn nodded in agreement. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Kara nodded, taking hold of Oliver's suit and jumping, flying out into the sky. As Mon-El helped Slade, J'onn Dig, and Imra Alex, Cisco snapped open a breach. Jesse sped Caitlin through, and once Barry got Malcolm and Laurel through, Cisco jumped after them.

When they were all on the Legion cruiser, Lena turned tail and soared away from the Fortress, the sun from the ended eclipse nearly blinding them, the roar of the collapsing Fortress audible over the engines as she flew them away.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"So," Barry took a deep breath as the three team leaders collapsed in the conference room. "Those were all three Worldkillers together."

"Yeah," Kara nodded weakly.

"Suddenly I prefer a villain who can outthink all of us."

"Launch Brainy at him, that might solve everything," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose.

Barry looked at him in surprise. "You think so?"

"I don't know," Oliver made a helpless gesture as he leaned back. "Just a suggestion."

"He's a 12th-level intellect, that has to count for something," Kara said tiredly.

"True," Barry nodded thoughtfully. There was silence in the room for a few seconds, then he asked, "What was that energy that got into Reign before she left?"

Kara nearly fell out of her seat. "What?" Oliver shot upright.

"That energy that came from Pestilence and Purity, or Julia, it got into Reign," Barry nodded, looking between them. "You didn't see it?"

"Great," Kara groaned, putting her head in her hands. "That can't end well."

"Wonderful," Oliver sighed, rubbing his forehead.

There was a knock on the doorframe, and they looked up to see Mon-El giving them sympathetic looks. "Don't start," Barry held up his hand. "We look terrible."

"I was gonna say exhausted, but you said it first," Mon-El chuckled, walking around the table to sit by Oliver.

"Well done, Barry," Oliver gave the speedster a look.

"What?" Barry protested. "That's how I feel, at least!"

"The eclipse is over, the sun's back, and my powers are mostly back," Kara held up her hand. "I'm just tired."

"Hence why I was gonna go with that," Mon-El pointed at her.

"Put me somewhere in the middle, then," Oliver conceded. "God, that was rough."

"But Purity and Pestilence are gone," Mon-El pointed out. "Guess having a bigger team helped."

"Hey, we were happy to help," Barry smiled.

"You may regret that if we need help with Reign," Kara warned.

Barry simply shrugged. "Strength in numbers."

"El mayarah," Oliver smiled warmly at Kara.

She smiled back, then looked up when there was another knock on the door. "Hey!" she smiled at Imra. "Come to join the post battle round table exhaust fest?"

"The _what?"_ Oliver grinned.

"I made it up on the spot, don't judge."

"I actually kind of like it," Mon-El shrugged.

"See!" Kara pointed at him triumphantly.

Imra just smiled widely as she sat down. "We did it. All of us. The future, our friends and family . . . "

"Your sister," Kara smiled. "You saved everyone in the future."

Imra nodded. "We beat Pestilence. We stopped the Blight."

"So it's over?" Oliver looked between her and Mon-El.

Mon-El nodded. "I guess we can go home now."

"I guess so," Imra nodded in agreement.

"Man," Barry sighed, leaning further back in his chair. "Has it really been since November?"

"Feels like less than that," Kara scratched her head. "I don't think I like that."

"Me, neither," Oliver admitted. "I've gotten used to you two, and Brainy."

Mon-El snorted. "And to think you once would have rather killed me rather than say that sentence."

Oliver tilted his head side to side. "Threat still stands, you know."

Mon-El held his hands up placatingly. "So noted."

Kara reached over and squeezed Imra's hand. "I'm happy you'll get your sister back," she said sincerely. "I watched Alex, Oliver, Malcolm, and Winn suffer because of Pestilence . . . I can't imagine what it must've been like when she turned into the Blight."

"It was horrible," Imra whispered, squeezing Kara's hand back. "I can't wait to see her again. Thank you for helping us."

"Of course," Kara smiled. "Any time." She paused. "Well, any time you're in _our_ time."

"Hey, speaking of our time," Mon-El frowned suddenly, "can we even get back to our time?"

"Brainy will figure it out," Imra said confidently. "Otherwise, he loses the nickname 'Brainy.'"

"Ooo," Barry grinned mischievously. "That's a nice threat."

"The only question is _when_ will that happen," Imra pointed out.

"Well, quality over quickness," Kara shrugged.

"I can vouch for that," Barry grimaced.

Oliver snorted. "Welcome to the life of non-speedsters."

"Shut up."

"Well," Mon-El raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair and considering Kara and Oliver. "I guess that means you're stuck with us a little while longer."

"What horror," Oliver deadpanned.

Kara just giggled, looking at Imra. "I still need to show you that all you can eat ribs place, don't I?"

Imra's eyes lit up, and Mon-El sighed. "Why did I ever bring that up?"

Oliver chuckled. "Nice to know things won't change that quickly again."

Mon-El conceded with a nod. "Yeah. Sticking around a little longer won't be too bad."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"I'm sorry, repeat that?" James rubbed his forehead, still comprehending the story he had just heard.

"I don't see what repeating this for the fourth time in a row will do, but sure," Jesse sighed. "The Fortress is gone. It's like it was never even there."

"There wasn't even any rubble," Cisco nodded in agreement. "Stone turned to sand."

"And Reign is gone, too," Alex sighed. "She's untraceable."

"Did anyone else notice that eclipse ended as soon as the Fortress was destroyed?" Lucy looked around.

"Still working on believing that," Max sighed.

J'onn merely nodded in response. "No such thing as coincidences," Malcolm hummed.

"But hey, we got rid of two out of the three Worldkillers," Cisco smiled widely. "Like, that's a win!"

"And we'll find Sam, somehow," Alex said.

Kara nodded in agreement, then cleared her throat. "So, do I need to worry about those guns being used on me any time soon?"

"Yeah, I saw that," Malcolm scowled as Slade grinned, examining the gun he still had. "What the hell?"

"Well, Winn did us a solid," Dig smirked.

"You got the Kryptonite arrows, seems fair we get something, too," Slade added.

"You two teaming up," Malcolm narrowed his eyes. "I don't think I like that."

"Better than having this team split again," Oliver looked at his two friends, a smile on his face.

"Not a chance, man," Dig shook his head at once.

"I keep waiting for Felicity to interject, but she's not here," Laurel frowned.

"Yeah, my dad isn't, either," Jesse looked around.

"Come to think of it," Barry tilted his head, "where _is_ Team Tech?"

* * *

 ** _Harry Wells/Lena Luthor_**

"Wow," Cisco blinked as he righted one of Lena's tables. "Man, being a CEO of a company like this really has its perks, doesn't it?"

"You didn't think to ask me that?" Harry snorted.

"Hey, our S.T.A.R. Labs technically isn't _your_ company!"

Winn looked at Felicity as the two other men bickered. "They really always are like this, aren't they?"

"Think tech-oriented Slade and Malcolm," Felicity nodded.

Winn paused. "That's . . . slightly terrifying."

"Uh huh."

"Thanks for helping out," Lena told them gratefully as she checked one of the monitors nearby. "I would have done this immediately, but then there were all three Worldkillers – "

"Hey, happy to help," Cisco assured her. "Saving the world and cleaning up equipment that probably only we can announce."

Winn tilted his head. "That's really accurate, actually."

Harry noted Lena's look of concentration as she stared at her monitor, and he walked over in concern. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"There was this one file of Lex's that I've been trying to get into," Lena sighed, bracing her hands on the table. "It's locked down tight."

"I can get into it," Felicity volunteered immediately, then blushed when everyone looked at her. "I mean, if you want me to."

"Please," Lena nodded after a moment, stepping away. "If this is some weapon Lex had in mind or anything that could be used for terrorism, I want to know."

"You got it," Felicity cracked her knuckles, then went to work on the keyboard. "Let's see . . . what were you up to, Mr. Luthor?"

Lena gawked as the file opened mere seconds later. "You really _are_ the best hacker in two universes."

"Boom!" Felicity grinned triumphantly, turning around to grin smugly at Cisco's astonished face.

"I'm not arguing with that," Winn held up his hands in surrender.

"So?" Harry folded his arms as Lena stepped up to examine the folder's contents. "What was so secretive?"

"It looks like . . . " Lena squinted. "A formula of some sort."

"A formula?" Cisco parroted. "Like a chemical or something?"

"No," Lena said slowly, her eyes widening in shock. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Harry asked in concern.

Lena swallowed. "More like a substance."

* * *

 ** _Barry Allen/Jesse Wells/Kara Danvers_**

"Where've you been?" Barry raised an eyebrow as the tech team returned.

"Helping Lena in her lab," Cisco shrugged. "Figured someone had to help her clean up."

"We could have helped, too," Kara frowned at Lena.

"It's all right," Lena shook her head. "Everything's back to the way it should be."

"And I guess that means _we_ need to be back where we should be," Barry rubbed his hands together.

"Thank you for your help, Barry," J'onn stepped forward first, extending a hand. "We really appreciated it."

"Any time," Barry smiled, shaking his hand.

"It was good to meet you, Jesse," Kara smiled brightly at the speedster.

"You, too," Jesse accepted her hug, then smiled wider at Lena. "And you."

"Glad to put a face to the name," Lena smiled, accepting Jesse's hug, too. "You're just as badass as your father."

Jesse beamed up at Harry. "Well, you know where I get it from, then."

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, but Lena nudged him knowingly. "Just take the compliment."

"Fine," Harry huffed, but he bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Good luck with Reign."

"Good luck with DeVoe," Lena kissed his cheek in return.

"So," Barry walked over to Kara and Oliver as the rest of his team made their rounds saying goodbye. "Just one more to go."

"One more," Kara nodded.

"Well, like I said," Barry looked between them. "We're happy to help if we're needed."

Kara smiled. "We'll keep that in mind."

"Good luck, Barry," Oliver held out his hand.

Barry smiled, shaking his hand. "You, too." He pointed between the two of them. "And I'm still waiting on a date for the wedding!"

Kara laughed as Oliver sighed in mock annoyance. "You'll know when we know!"

Barry backed up to where Cisco was forming a breach. "We better!" he called one last time before heading through.

"What was that about?" Felicity looked at the duo.

"Wedding date," Kara sighed.

"You still need to figure that out," Alex smirked.

Kara groaned. "Not you, too!"

Before an argument could begin, Lena cleared her throat. "Um, Kara? I need to show you something."

Kara blinked, looking over at her friend. "Sure," she nodded. "What is it?"

Lena swallowed and pulled a tablet out of her bag. "It's, um . . . it's something we found while we were cleaning up my lab. Felicity had to hack into it so I could see what it was. I swear, this was the first time I ever saw this."

Kara frowned uneasily. "Lena, whatever it is, it's OK," she assured her, walking over.

But Lena shook her head. "No, Kara, it's really not. Not considering who came up with this."

Kara swallowed. "You're worrying me now."

Lena took a deep breath, then turned the tablet on. "I found this buried on the hard drive."

Kara frowned, looking at what Lena pulled up. "It looks like some kind of formula."

"It is," Lena nodded. "It's a formula . . . one created by Lex for one purpose only."

Kara blanched when the realization hit her. Created by Lex . . . that meant – "No," she whispered in disbelief.

"Yes," Lena swallowed hard. "This is a formula for Kryptonite. Lex figured out how to make it."

* * *

 ** _Reign_**

Night had fallen over National City, blanketing it in darkness. It provided the perfect backdrop for Reign, who was flying high above the lights, shielded by the clouds. Even the pulsating crystal in her hand didn't allow her to be seen.

" _The human in you must die,"_ the voice of the Fortress's hologram hissed, and Reign looked down at the crystal she held, her eyes hardening in determination. _"The child must die. Ruby Arias must die."_

* * *

 ** _Samantha Arias_**

Locked away in the dark valley, Sam's trembling fingers brushed over Ruby's name. She took several deep breaths, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating.

" _Ruby Arias must die."_

Sam whimpered as the words rang through her head, then broke down and let out a scream of terror, her fear for her daughter making her collapse on the ground, surrounded by rocks, all bearing the same scratched message.

 _My daughter's name is Ruby._

* * *

 **A/N: I think after three Supergirl episodes, it's time for a bit of scenery change. It's back to Star City and Arrow, and "Brothers In Arms" is the next episode to tackle. It'll be a bit different than in canon, especially since the annoyance fest that was Oliver's and Dig's spat is out of the way and resolved.**


	88. Arrow - Brothers In Arms - Part One

**Well, good news - I've got a job for the summer! Unfortunately, that also severely cuts into my writing time. I don't work the same days every week, so it's either a hit or miss for writing time. Add into that time spent with family and friends since it's summer, I have no idea how often I'll write or when I'll update. Please keep that in mind before asking for another update.**

 **With that being said, let's get down to business! Success on Dinah's end is ruined by a corrupt police captain and D.A., and Team Arrow divides to conquer.**

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

The black police surveillance van drove down the street, no other cars in sight in the black of Star City's darkness. Dinah watched the road to make sure when they were coming up on their mark, then turned to the officers in casual clothing she had with her in the back. "The Orchid Bay Night Market runs three blocks east-west along Arguelo," she told them. "About midway down, there's an alley. Now, that's where Anatoli Knyazev has been making his drop. He is not a physical threat, but the two men who will be with him are."

"I've been to this market," Curtis's new boyfriend, Nick, spoke up. "A lot of civilians there." "Hopefully not in the alley," Dinah told him. "We're gonna pin them in, take them out, clean and fast. Any questions?"

One of the officers looked around the single-digit number of officers in the van. "This group's a little light to take on three Bratvas."

"Well, Diaz has God knows how much of the force under his control, including Captain Hill," Dinah told him. "The only cops I'm sure I can trust are here in this van."

"Still be nice to have some backup," another officer muttered.

Dinah resisted the urge to snort. "We're covered, trust me." She checked her watch, then nodded. "All right, two minutes out. Let's get ready."

* * *

 ** _Nick Anastas_**

Nick was browsing through the vegetable stands when he saw an arm encased in a fur-lined coat snag an apple from a nearby basket. He waited a few seconds, then straightened up and turned to make sure who he thought passed him was actually who he was. When he saw it really was Anatoli Knyazev, he reached up to his comms. "Tango's heading into the alley."

"Move in," Dinah ordered.

Nick nodded, walking after Knyazev, two of the other officers on his six.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

The three police officers weren't going unwatched from above. One helmeted figure watched the three walk through the market; the other was watching the alley behind. Both held handguns, ready to fire. "Looks clean so far," Dig reported.

"And we know that can change at any moment," Slade muttered. "Overwatch?"

"Score one for Deathstroke," Felicity said through their comms. "Tricky, tricky, Anatoli. Thermal reads four bogies, east alley."

The two vigilantes exchanged looks. "I'll flank left," Dig finally said.

"I'll take right," Slade nodded in agreement.

Both stood at the same time, pausing only when Felicity's voice came in their ears again. "It's kind of scary how you both seem to think on the same wavelength now, you know?"

Slade snorted loudly. "Maybe Oliver should stop thinking we need to keep pairing up, then we wouldn't be so good at it."

"Soldier knows another soldier," Dig smirked, Slade chuckling in agreement as they moved off in different directions.

" . . . fair point," Felicity conceded.

* * *

 ** _Anatoli Knyazev_**

Anatoli beamed as he walked into the alley, holding up the apple he had snagged. "You should try apples," he advised. "It's good season."

His buyer nodded, and as Anatoli handed him the briefcase, he heard tires squeal behind him. Then the man guarding the street was flung to the side as a black van painted like a florist's crashed into him. Dinah was the first out of the van, gun drawn. "SCPD!" she shouted.

Anatoli started, hearing his men draw guns around him, but a male voice from behind ordered "Easy!" and he winced as a young man with another gun walked right up to him, gun in his face.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

The men in the east alley ran towards the right exit, only to be blocked by the intimidating figure of Deathstroke as he dropped down from the roof above, sword in one hand, handgun in the other. Spartan dropped down from the other end, blocking the other exit. Both vigilantes made quick work of Anatoli's backup with a mix of punches and slices, all four eventually crumpled unconscious on the ground.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

"You are under arrest for possession and attempt to distribute," Dinah announced.

"Ms. Drake," Anatoli began, voice condescending.

"Cuff him!" Dinah ordered.

One officer obliged with a smirk, yanking Anatoli's hands behind his back harder than usual. Anatoli hissed, then smirked. "I see your face. That maybe not so good for you."

"Load them up," Dinah ordered.

Her officers marched Anatoli and his men towards the van, and as Nick joined Dinah with the briefcase, Dinah thought she saw a brief flash of black from the roofs above, but when she looked again, there were no vigilantes in sight.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Oliver Queen_**

"Toss the Three Stooges into lockup for processing," Dinah ordered as they walked into headquarters. "I want Knyazev in interrogation."

She had the immense pleasure of seeing Hill do a double take when they walked into the bullpen. "What's going on here?" she demanded, walking out of her office to meet them.

"Oh, we just got Diaz's right-hand man," Dinah grinned. "Incredible, huh?"

"Why wasn't I informed?" Hill scowled.

"Oh, that was my fault, Captain," Oliver volunteered with a smile as he and Quentin walked in to join Dinah. "I authorized the operation. I figured you wouldn't mind, given the stakes."

"And we also took the liberty of calling in D.A. Armand to expedite the charges," Quentin added. "There's no sense in waiting, right?"

Faced with the smirk on Dinah's face and the innocent looks and head tilts of Oliver and Quentin, Hill plastered a fake pleased look on her face. "Guess not," she said. "Good work, Lieutenant."

Dinah kept the smile on her face until she turned around, when Oliver said, "Thank you for letting John and Slade backstop you tonight."

Dinah did a double take as they walked through headquarters. "John and Slade?" she repeated. "When were they working together?"

"Since our last stop in National City," Oliver answered, waving off the explanation.

"Fine," Dinah narrowed her eyes. "But what, did you think we couldn't have stopped Anatoli otherwise?"

"Would you have been surprised by the four men Anatoli had ready in the other alley to ambush you?" Oliver countered.

Dinah gritted her teeth. "I wouldn't have been, but since Curtis is busy watching Zoe while Rene's in the hospital nursing wounds Slade gave him, it was necessity that made me ask."

"Yeah?" Oliver raised an eyebrow. "The way I've heard it – from _everyone_ on my team who saw that fight – Slade gave Rene _every_ chance to stand down. You guys were going to make a move on our team _in the field,_ and you didn't think three of the best who can turn into a literal _killing machine_ could be the ones you would have to face?"

Dinah's face turned red with anger, and she would have retaliated had Quentin not held up his hands between them. "All right, these things are in the past, all right?" he interrupted them. "Tonight is a good night."

Both gave him blank looks, then Oliver sighed. "Where's Anatoli?" he asked calmly.

"Interrogation," Dinah answered shortly.

"Can you buy me a few minutes with him?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded just as shortly.

"Thank you," Oliver nodded, turning and heading towards interrogation.

Dinah headed towards her office as Quentin sighed, rubbing his forehead.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Anatoli turned towards the door when Oliver opened it. "Oh, how nice!" he exclaimed with a smile. "You come to visit."

"Came to see you locked up," Oliver corrected, walking around the table.

Anatoli hummed, tapping the fingers of his cuffed hand on the table. "Enjoy it kak oni skazali. While you can."

"I know all about Captain Hill, crooked cops on the force," Oliver told him.

Anatoli stared at him for a second, then chuckled heartily. "Oh, you think this is just your police force? This is your _city,_ kapiushon! Your _entire city!_ Diaz has people everywhere, all levels of government."

Oliver frowned, about to ask another question, when the door to interrogation opened and Quentin stepped in, an irritated look on his face. "We got a problem," he told Oliver.

Oliver narrowed his eyes, and Anatoli gave him a smug look as if saying _I told you so._

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor," Armand shook his head once Quentin had led Oliver back to the bullpen, "but Mr. Knyazev wasn't arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant."

He was met with three varying looks: incredulity from Quentin, a blank stare from Oliver, and a furious one from Dinah. "That's crap," the police lieutenant spat. "You know it."

"You're really gonna kick this case on a technicality?" Quentin asked.

"I'm not bringing charges that will only get dismissed the first time they end up in front of a judge," Armand shook his head as Hill walked into view.

"You have made exceptions before, Sam," Oliver frowned. "You're gonna draw the line now on this case?"

"You're under indictment, Mr. Mayor," Armand reminded him as Hill stopped just behind him. "Do you really want to add a civil suit for wrongful imprisonment on top of that?" Oliver's mouth opened and closed before he silently fumed. "Cut Knyazev and his friends loose," Armand ordered, turning on his heel and leaving.

Hill silently watched him go, then nodded at Oliver. "Sorry, Mr. Mayor," she apologized before leaving as well.

"What the hell just happened here?" Quentin asked in disbelief.

"Oh, seems pretty obvious to me," Dinah seethed.

Oliver nodded in agreement. "It's not just Hill who's working for Diaz," he said. "He's got Armand, too."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers_**

"I'm sorry, _what?"_ Mon-El's eyes were wide once Oliver finished explaining back in the bunker; Imra's eyes were just as wide.

"So Diaz has the police captain, the D.A., and – " Dig began.

"Other members of the city's infrastructure," Oliver finished. "Anatoli wasn't specific. He just said that Diaz has people everywhere."

"I'll run background checks on all the city officials," Felicity volunteered immediately.

"That's our best shot," Malcolm nodded from where he was leaning on the back of Kara's chair. "It makes sense to start at the top and work your way down."

"Then I will help as well," Querl turned around, hurrying to follow Felicity up to the computers.

"I'm kind of surprised you're here," Kara tilted her head back so she was looking up at her brother. "I thought you'd be with Laurel."

Malcolm grimaced. "Keeping Laurel in the light instead of out in the field makes it look like she's not Black Siren. It wouldn't help her case if I'm around."

"So she'll sneak out at some point, is what you're saying," Slade smirked.

Malcolm scowled at him in annoyance as Kara giggled. "Well, it seems like there's two problems here," Mon-El folded his arms. "One in the field, where Diaz's men are – "

"And City Hall," Oliver nodded, an annoyed look on his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. "Felicity?" he called, making the blonde poke her head over her computer, Querl's head peeking out around her. "Can you hold tech down here?"

Felicity gasped and placed a hand over her heart, jerking back as if physically punched. "I am offended!"

Oliver rolled his eyes. "I won't spread myself thin this time," he said, looking at Dig, who seemed surprised. "I want Kara and Brainy with me so we can figure out City Hall. Mon-El, Imra, if push comes to shove, I want your help as well. You've been in this city before, but you don't know it as well as the rest of the people in this room."

"Understood," Mon-El nodded.

"John, Slade, Malcolm, Felicity, the four of you cover working here," Oliver looked around the room at the four of them. "John and Slade take point. Malcolm, if Laurel ever needs anything, she's your priority."

"Got it," Malcolm nodded.

Oliver took a deep breath, looking at the two other men he mentioned. "I'm trusting you won't have any problems?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If we do, we'll work them out," Dig promised.

"Clean out City Hall, kid," Slade nodded.

Oliver took a deep breath and nodded. "OK."

"Oliver," Dig cleared his throat as the blond man held his hand out to Kara, who took it as she stood. "Thank you for trusting us."

Oliver nodded back. "I'm trusting my brothers," he told him. "Don't let me down."

Both Dig and Slade nodded firmly, and Oliver and Kara headed for the elevator, Querl peeling off from Felicity to join them.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen/Slade Wilson_**

None of them expected to be back in the bunker the next morning, watching a newsreel reporting the death of one of Dinah's officers. _"Still no suspects in the death of Officer Hurst, a six year veteran with the SCPD found dead last night under mysterious circumstances."_

"Who wants to bet 'mysterious circumstances' translates to 'Ricardo Diaz' in vigilante speak?" Malcolm finally asked.

"No one," Slade shook his head. "Because you'd win."

Oliver sighed heavily, rubbing his face as Kara squeezed his arm. "Need to contact Dinah and have her sequester the other officers involved in arresting Anatoli."

"What about this D.A.?" Imra asked, tapping a picture Querl had pulled of up Armand. "How did he become involved?"

"I'm working on it," Querl answered. "But I believe Felicity is right when she says . . . ah, how did you put it?"

"Cold, hard cash," Felicity answered.

"That."

"Except because Evelyn stole back the money taken from the city, he doesn't have any of that to use," Kara frowned.

"He would have used it all up by now even if he had it," Felicity shook her head.

"So another source," Mon-El concluded.

"Well, according to Curtis, Diaz is involved in an extensive Vertigo operation, and if my math is right – and it definitely is – he'll be pulling in at least a million a day."

Mon-El whistled, impressed. "That explains a lot."

"So that's our job," Dig nodded. "We take out his Vertigo stash, we kill his supply."

"Unless he's got a rich aunt somewhere, yeah, that'll work," Felicity nodded.

"Well, at least we're not blindly covering the entire city to find a way to cripple Diaz somehow," Malcolm clapped his hands. "Wonderful."

"I'll check in with Lyla, see if A.R.G.U.S. can give us any information on this Vertigo operation that can help us," Dig said.

"And I need to get to City Hall and talk come sense into Hill and Armand before somebody else gets killed," Oliver nodded, heading for the elevator.

"Which you'll be listening into?" Slade guessed, raising an eyebrow at Kara.

She raised an eyebrow in response. "You know me so well."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Curtis Holt_**

Dinah sighed in relief, hanging up her phone as she passed by Curtis. "Think I found a secure location."

"To sequester the clean cops?" Curtis perked up, following her. "I'll come with!"

"Oh, no, Curtis," she shook her head immediately. "I'm the one who brought these guys into the fight against Diaz. I'm the reason he's retaliating against them. This is all on me."

Curtis huffed. "Don't be all Oliver Queen on me now." Dinah gave him an annoyed look, and he went on to explain. "If we have to take out Diaz, there's gonna be casualties, and they're not gonna be your fault, Dinah."

"No, they're not," Dinah nodded in agreement, packing a bag of all the supplies she needed. "Because I'm going to make sure there are no more casualties."

" _We're_ gonna make sure," Curtis corrected.

Dinah raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna bring cops to a secure location nobody knows about except my good friend Curtis?"

"I'll be your tech guy!" Curtis protested. At Dinah's dubious look, he sighed, slumping slightly. "Look, I don't like the idea of you doing this without backup."

Dinah smirked. "That, or you want to spend some quality time with your new boyfriend?"

"We've only been on three dates," Curtis waved it off. "But yeah, he's cute, and I don't want him to get murdered, so sue me."

Dinah sighed, picking up her bag. "Fine. Let's go, lover boy!"

Curtis whooped, picking up his jacket and running after her. "Yes!"

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"All right," Lyla walked around her desk, holding up a flash drive. "This is everything A.R.G.U.S. could find on the Vertigo trade in Star City."

"Thanks," Dig nodded, holding his hand out for the drive.

Lyla held it back when Dig was close to it. "It's not free," she tsked. "I need intel in return."

Dig sighed, folding his arms. "What kind of intel?"

"The kind where you tell me what happened the last time you went to National City and you came back with some kind of weight off your shoulders."

Dig blinked; he hadn't been expecting that to be the intel Lyla wanted. But as soon as she said those words, sickly yellow eyes and a suit of black and blue flashed past his eyes, and he flinched, walking past his wife. "Oliver and I figured things out," he answered. "Slade and I did, too. Oliver strung me along for a while, but he told me why, and I understand. Slade and I . . . well, we had a bit more difficulty working out our differences, but we worked them out."

"Which completely explains why the two of you seem to be pairing up much more often in the field," Lyla raised an eyebrow.

Dig flinched more violently that time. "Yeah, that's more recent. It's a long story."

"It's one I have time for," Lyla shrugged.

Dig bit his lip. "After we finish this," he finally said, looking at her. "I can't tell it now, not when I have to be focused on this."

Lyla pursed her lips, but nodded. "Keep your head in the game, John."

"Exactly," Dig nodded back, kissing her on the cheek and heading out of her office. The last thing he wanted to think about now was Pestilence.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

When Armand and Hill walked through the double doors into his office, Oliver was sitting on his desk, watching them with a tight smile. "Thank you both for coming," he said.

"I have to say, Mr. Mayor, I'm more than a little uncomfortable meeting with you without your attorney present," Armand frowned.

"Well, it's not about the case, Sam," Oliver shook his head, eyeing them carefully. "It's about the two of you working for Ricardo Diaz."

To Hill's credit, she didn't confirm or deny the statement; she kept a blank look on her face. Armand, on the other hand, knitted his eyebrows. "Who? I'm not sure I've ever heard that name bef – "

Oliver held up a hand, stopping him midsentence. "You're smarter than this," he said quietly, narrowing his eyes at him. "You're _better_ than this." He looked at Hill next. _"Both of you_ are better than this." When neither of them said anything, Oliver gritted his teeth. "Talk to me," he ordered.

They exchanged uneasy glances, then Hill took a shaky breath. "Less than twenty-four hours after you promoted me to take over Pike's command, I got an e-mail: surveillance photos of my niece, my father, and my sister."

"So he found a way to apply pressure," Oliver concluded.

Hill scoffed, as if she couldn't believe that was all he was saying. "Yeah."

"OK," Oliver nodded, his mind already thinking as he turned to Armand expectantly.

Armand sighed, bracing himself. "My boy has cancer," he explained. "Leukemia, Stage IV." Oliver winced and nodded, remembering that conversation with his D.A. "Even with the city's insurance, we couldn't afford the treatments. I needed Diaz's money."

"All right," Oliver nodded, looking at his two officials. "We can protect your family. We can pay for your son's treatments. The city – "

"The city's money is being used to repair the damage done by Cayden James, which he had taken anyway because of you," Armand snapped, eyes narrowing to slits. "You couldn't protect the city then. How could you protect us now? That idea is a _joke._ The whole force is under Diaz's thumb . . . or were you offering your protection as the Green Arrow?"

Oliver felt as if the temperature in the room dropped, and he narrowed his eyes. _"If_ I was the Green Arrow . . . I don't think you'd want to be in this room right now," he told Armand quietly, looking at Hill as well. "I don't think _either_ of you would."

Hill clenched her jaw. "Are we done here?" she asked.

Oliver looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed, when he felt his desk vibrate under his hands and his phone quietly buzz. He stood up and walked behind his desk, acting like he was going to sit when he was really looking at his cell phone, hidden behind a stack of conveniently placed files. Lit up on screen was a single text from his fiancée: _We have ideas to help._ His eyebrows raised, but when he looked up at his D.A. and police captain, he sighed. One was blackmailed into corruption because her family was in danger; the other risking his job because his boy needed help to get treatments for an illness he may not survive. After nearly dying by Pestilence's sickness, he couldn't blame Armand at all, and he could understand Hill wanting to protect her family just fine.

 _I hope you know what you're talking about, Kara._ "For now," he finally told them, smirking slightly at the confusion on their faces. "You think I can't protect you, or help you. Let me prove I can."

Hill scoffed. "I'd like to see you try."

"I'll do more than _try,_ Captain," Oliver gave her a stern look. "Be glad I'm not firing you. After all my family has gone through, you think I don't understand the want to do anything to protect them?" Hill's mouth closed with a click. "And Sam?" he looked at his D.A. "If this was happening to William, I would do _anything_ to save him." Armand nodded in agreement. "That's why I want to help you with your son. But if you don't let me help you or protect you, and if you keep working for Diaz, then neither of you will work for me any longer." He looked from person to person. "So what will it be?"

Armand was the first to nod. "Prove you can help my boy," he said.

"I will," Oliver promised, then looked expectantly at Hill.

"What can you do?" she finally asked after a few moments of silence.

"I'm not offering the police force or the Green Arrow's help," Oliver answered. "But one of my closest friends is a former agent and the current husband of the director of a government agency I trust. If we ask, we can set your family up with a protective detail."

Hill fidgeted, then nodded. "Show me you can get the details."

Oliver nodded. "Do we have deals?"

"We have a deal," Armand nodded.

Hill nodded as well. "Deal, Mr. Mayor."

Oliver nodded, hoping his relief didn't show too much. "Dismissed." Hill was the first to leave; it was Armand who hung back. "Yes, Sam?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

His friend bit his lip. "I know you're the Green Arrow," he finally said. "Even if you help us, Oliver . . . this is unlike anything you've ever gone up against."

Oliver looked at him for a long time before he cracked a smile. "I say that every time I go into the field against an enemy of Supergirl's. I still come out of it in the end, though."

Armand smiled faintly. "And if this works . . . you won't have any other problems from me."

"Thank you, Sam," Oliver nodded.

He finally left the office, and Oliver blew out his breath in a rush, picking up his phone and dialing Kara's number; she picked up on the first ring. "That sounded like it went well," she said.

"It would've gone worse if you hadn't texted anything," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tell me you have something good regarding Sam."

" _I_ don't," Kara said. "Fortunately for us, though . . . "

* * *

 ** _Quentin Lance/Laurel Lance_**

Quentin was walking into his apartment when he heard the anchor's voice coming from a laptop inside. _"Still no suspects in the death of Officer Hurst, a six year veteran with the SCPD found – "_

"I hate Diaz," Evelyn's voice came from the couch.

Laurel snickered as she closed the screen. "You and me both." She looked up as Quentin closed the door. "Sounds like it's been exciting."

"Yeah, if you call the death of a respected SCPD officer _exciting,"_ Quentin huffed.

"Well, Evelyn's kicking my ass at War, so we had to find something else," Laurel gestured to the card deck on the coffee table. "The news sufficed for a bit."

"You know, you can actually get out now," Quentin told her. "Laurel Lance is no longer dead. You can actually stay in the sun, show yourself."

"I'd rather be Black Siren and working in the city, thank you very much, but people could connect 'screaming blonde vigilante' and 'Laurel Lance is actually alive' and probably get 'Laurel Lance is Black Siren,'" Laurel rolled her eyes.

"Kara walks around in glasses with her hair up, and no one thinks she's Supergirl," Quentin pointed out.

Laurel tilted her head from side to side, conceding the point. "But we saw the news about the officer," Evelyn pointed to the laptop. "That wasn't random, was it?"

Quentin paused, raising an eyebrow. "You know something about that?"

Evelyn's eyes darkened. "I know Oliver said Dinah requested help getting Anatoli, and if Anatoli's working with Diaz, then it's not good. Diaz isn't going to stop at one officer."

"Yeah, we figured that," Quentin nodded. "We sequestered the rest. They're safe."

"Safe where, though?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "How are you sure Diaz can't get to them?"

Quentin made a noise of disbelief. "You really are paranoid, aren't you?"

"I have Diaz after me one way and a police lieutenant after me the other," Evelyn rolled her eyes, standing up and heading to the kitchen. "What am I supposed to be?"

Laurel glowered and muttered "Not that" when Evelyn was out of earshot. "You know, the more you stay indoors, the more people may come looking for you," Quentin told Laurel.

She pursed her lips. "And I don't want to give anyone unwanted a trail to Malcolm or Slade."

Quentin snorted. "Malcolm was a billionaire who dealt with the press by day and was – and still is – a master assassin by night. Slade . . . well, I pity whoever tries to find him." Laurel cracked a smile. "Oliver's working on City Hall," he revealed. "He's got Kara and the Legionnaires with him. Right now, it's just John, Slade, Malcolm, and Felicity while the rest of Kara's team holds down National City." He saw a spark in Laurel's eye before she set her jaw. "They could use your help," he finished. "And Evelyn's, if she's up for it. She worked with Diaz when she was with Talia. She may know more, too." He patted Laurel's shoulder as Evelyn came back with a glass of water. "Think about it, all right?"

Evelyn paused, watching Quentin head for his room, then looked back at Laurel. "Think about what?"

Laurel just gave her a considering look in response.

* * *

 **A/N: Originally my plan was to only crack Armand, but after asking Lauriverfanboy1, I've decided to tackle helping Hill out as well. Thank you for your friendship despite only talking between ourselves for less than a year.**

 **I hope it doesn't take nearly as long to get the rest of this episode out, but I've got a busy summer ahead of me still. Bear with me!**


	89. Brothers In Arms - Part Two

**Kara and her team have a plan, Team Arrow goes on the hunt, and Diaz gives a reminder.**

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson/John Diggle_**

"Huh."

Slade looked up from where he was examining the cartridges for his handguns, seeing Malcolm hang up his phone. "Is that good or bad, wizard?"

"First off, magician," Malcolm pointed his phone in his direction as he walked up the steps to where Felicity was absently tapping on her keyboard. "Second, sounds like Oliver's meetings with Armand and Hill went better than expected."

"Really?" Slade's eyebrows shot up.

"He wants to talk with Lyla to arrange something for Hill's family, who Diaz apparently threatened to blackmail her into working for him," Malcolm nodded, leaning against the table as the elevator doors slid open. "And apparently Kara and the Legion have a plan regarding Armand's sick son."

"His son?" Slade blinked in surprise.

"He has cancer," Felicity nodded. "I saw that, looking through his file. Poor guy. If he needed money to treat Stage IV leukemia, I can see where Diaz nabbed him."

"That's exactly it," Malcolm nodded, looking up as Dig walked out of the elevator. "Oliver just called. He needs to meet with Lyla."

"Oh," Dig blinked. "I'll give her a call in a minute, then. In the meantime," he held out a flash drive to Felicity. "Compliments of the director of A.R.G.U.S."

"Ooo, here we go," Felicity brightened, taking the drive and inserting it into her computer. "Let's see what Diaz can't hide from us now."

"And hopefully we'll finally be able to get out of here," Malcolm grumbled.

Slade smirked. "Rumor has it Laurel doesn't have anything better to do."

Malcolm shot him a nasty glare. "Shut up!"

Dig snickered to himself, letting Slade and Malcolm bicker as usual as he walked over to watch Felicity work. "I have to say," he remarked, looking over at the two vigilantes, "once you stop holding grudges, they're pretty amusing to have around."

"Never a dull day as long as they're arguing about what Malcolm's League name means," Felicity nodded in agreement.

"Did I miss it?"

"Oh, yeah."

Dig sighed in annoyance, then perked up with Felicity sat up straight. "Got something?"

"I think so," Felicity nodded, and just like that, Slade and Malcolm were crowding around, too. "Lyla's got a name for one of Diaz's suppliers – Marshall Katz. I'll start running a location on him now."

"Finally," Malcolm sighed in relief.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver looked up as the doors to his office opened, and he sighed in relief when Kara poked her head in, holding up a coffee cup in one hand. "I love you so much."

"Is that because I come bearing coffee or because I'm just me?" Kara giggled, hurrying inside as Mon-El held the door open for Imra and Querl.

"Yes," Oliver chose to answer, standing up and kissing her before taking his coffee. "So, you have a plan regarding Sam?"

"Yes," Mon-El nodded. "It's a bit of a risk, but from what we heard, it's worth it."

"Oh?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

Kara nodded. "It involves telling Sam that I'm Supergirl."

"What?!" Oliver balked.

"Which he may already know, given that he revealed he knows that you are the Green Arrow," Querl nodded. "That means there is an 81.6738% chance he knows Kara is Supergirl."

Oliver closed his eyes, burying his overprotective feelings. "I'm getting the feeling that means whatever your plan it, it involves something alien."

"More specifically, something from the future, but yes, that too," Querl nodded.

"Oliver, this device, if used for a week, will be able to completely cure his son," Mon-El told him. "No need for treatments – "

"No need for Diaz's money," Oliver finished.

"Exactly."

"Oliver, let us do this," Kara squeezed his hand. "We can help him."

"It might not be a fight, but from what we saw, Sam is – or used to be – a friend," Imra told him. "He just needs to get out of Diaz's hands. This can be it."

Oliver looked around the four aliens, then took a deep breath and nodded. "OK," he nodded. "I'll give him a call and tell him to expect you."

"OK," Kara smiled widely and nodded.

Oliver looked down when his phone chirped, and when he opened the text sent to him, he sighed in relief. "Felicity found a lead on one of Diaz's suppliers. Team's headed out now."

"It is so weird that that's not us right now," Mon-El remarked.

"Yeah, you're telling me," Oliver huffed in agreement.

* * *

 ** _Malcolm Merlyn_**

Malcolm crouched on the rooftop across from Katz's location, reaching up to turn on his comms. "Overwatch?"

"Spartan and Deathstroke are dealing with the guards downstairs," Felicity reported. "Two of them just made it to Katz. Looks like he's got a guest with him, too."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Guest? Or _guest?"_

"You have such a way with words. Guess which one."

Oh, Malcolm could guess, all right. "So I'm on distraction duty?"

"That would certainly help them out. Or are you going to let them have fun on their own?"

Malcolm smirked, pulling an arrow from his quiver. "How about I do both?"

"How do you plan on that?"

Malcolm's smirk widened as he nocked the arrow and drew it back. "Like this. Deathstroke? Spartan?"

"On your mark," Slade answered.

Malcolm didn't answer; instead, he shot the arrow, and the moment it hit the glass windows in Katz's penthouse suite, he hit a button on his arrow, making the arrow explode and take out the glass with it.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

When they heard startled yelps from inside the penthouse, Slade shoved the doors in, and Dig hastily came through, firing darts from his gun, tranquilizing the two guards Katz had with him. Both slumped to the ground, and Slade eyed the woman in a short red dress that was staring at them with wide eyes. "Sit," he ordered, gesturing with his sword. She hastily collapsed onto the chair in the room, and Slade and Dig moved past her, Dig aiming at Katz, who was standing and watching them nervously. "Now _you,"_ Slade pointed at Katz with his blade, smirking under his mask as Katz went cross-eyed to look at the tip. "You are going to tell us where you make your Vertigo shipment."

"And turn on the Dragon?" Katz's eyes bugged wide. "You'll have to kill me, man!"

Slade tilted his head. "I don't think I want to waste a sword or bullet on that." He looked at Dig. "What about you?"

"I could," Dig moved forward.

"You do have more experience with what Vertigo does to people than me," Slade said thoughtfully.

"Exactly," Dig growled. "If this punk is dealing, he deserves it. I'm not nearly as stingy with my bullets."

Slade eyed Katz. "He's all yours, then."

Dig punched Katz, knocking him to the ground. "Where do you ship the V from?" the soldier demanded.

Katz whimpered, holding his hands up. "I'm too high to die, man! Please!"

Slade snorted. "Try again."

Katz shook his head wildly. "You – you wouldn't kill me in front of my lady!"

"I'd have her close her eyes," Slade deadpanned, not entirely bluffing.

"Last chance," Dig warned. "Where's the Vertigo?"

When Katz kept whimpering, Slade turned to the woman in red. "It might be better if you darted her, Spartan."

Dig turned to oblige, and Katz yelped. "Fine!" Both men turned back around, looking at him. "But you got to send me to, like, Mexico, man. Diaz will find me!"

There was a muffled curse over the comms. "Deathstroke, behind you!" Malcolm shouted.

Slade spun around in time to see the woman in red stand, handgun in her hand. He adjusted his position so the bullet she just fired hit his bulletproof armor instead of Katz, and when she gasped and dropped her gun in shock, Dig shot one of his darts into her neck. She crumpled into a heap on the ground, and both men turned back to Katz, who was as pale as sour milk. "Now," Slade snarled. "The location!"

Dig pulled the safety off his gun, and Katz whimpered.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance_**

"Well, if I'm going to be safe anywhere, I guess it's gonna be with you and the two others who kicked Dinah's ass," Evelyn shrugged her backpack on as Laurel checked the lights in the apartment. "And Curtis's. And Rene's."

"Does it count as kicking Curtis's ass if all Malcolm really seemed to do was _breathe_ on him?" Laurel snickered.

Evelyn's eyes widened. _"Really?"_

"Yeah, really," Laurel laughed, opening the door. "That's all he – "

Evelyn shrieked, and Laurel narrowed her eyes when she saw who was standing outside. "She gets to leave," she said sharply.

"Fine by me," Diaz narrowed his eyes at the girl behind Laurel. "It's you I came to see."

"My answer remains the same," Laurel sneered. "Go to hell."

"And my threat remains the same," Diaz raised an eyebrow. "Take a stance against me, and one of your lucky boys gets to join you in the spotlight . . . except they won't get the loving reception you did."

Laurel gritted her teeth. "I don't need to do a thing," she told him. "It's been decided it's not a good idea for Black Siren to be in the field anyway. Laurel Lance being alive plus a blonde in black fishnets and a sonic scream? One and one and one make three."

She made to step past him, and Diaz stepped in her way. "Ms. Lance," he began in a warning tone.

"What?" she asked in a mocking voice. "Laurel can't see what's changed in Star City since she died?"

Diaz glared at her, then reluctantly stepped aside. "Remember what I said," he began.

"I know," Laurel snapped, hurrying Evelyn out. "I make any move against you, and it's a coin toss. I got it the first time!"

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

Dig knocked on his wife's door as he opened it, poking his head inside to see her type at her computer. "Hey!"

"Hey," Lyla looked up, still typing.

"Everything all right?" he asked, walking inside.

"Fine," Lyla nodded. "I've been out of town for so long, I just found the gift you left for me back in December. I wanted to say thank you."

Dig relaxed, returning her smile. "You're welcome."

"Funny, though," Lyla tilted her head. "The same day you delivered it, I also found a security breach on my computer." Dig winced as Lyla closed her laptop and looked up at him. "I guess I now know how Cayden James got ahold of our nanoaluminum amplifier."

"I was gonna tell you about that, Lyla, but the city was at stake," Dig explained, embarrassed.

"Oh, yeah," Lyla sighed, standing up. "Well, the city is _always_ at stake. You don't have to lie to your wife in order to save it."

Dig cringed that time. "You're absolutely right," he nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Lyla squeezed his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "What brings you by?"

"Right," Dig nodded. "Well, I don't know if Oliver's asked you yet, but he wants to know if you could meet with him and Captain Hill – "

"To discuss the protection of her family," Lyla nodded. "That was the e-mail I was just responding to. I'm gonna head over in an hour or so."

"Great," Dig nodded.

"He also said something about having a plan regarding his D.A.?" Lyla tilted her head.

"Yeah," Dig cleared his throat. "Yeah, the reason he's been under Diaz's thumb is . . . " He took a shaky breath. "His son has leukemia. Stage IV. Kara and her team have something that can help."

Lyla frowned. "And why do I get the feeling that gets under your skin more than a corrupt police captain?"

Dig swallowed, sitting down across from her. "I've told you about the Worldkillers, right? Reign?"

"Yeah," Lyla nodded. "You said there were three of them, but you hadn't found the third."

Dig nodded. "Well, the last time we were there, we found the third." He winced. "Actually, the third found _us._ It was Pestilence . . . she infected people, Lyla. She made them so sick, and the only way to cure them was to get a piece of her DNA." He swallowed hard. "She got to Oliver, Lyla. Oliver, Winn, Alex, _and_ Malcolm."

"Oh, my God," Lyla blanched.

"Yeah," Dig nodded miserably. "And before that, J'onn's father had a psychic episode that brought out . . . a lot of bad things all of us wanted to say to each other, and right after I nearly ruined everything, that happened to Oliver?" He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I took a piece out of Oliver, then Slade and I fought, and then Oliver was taken out by Pestilence, and while Laurel was losing Malcolm, Slade was losing both him _and_ Oliver . . . we were _both_ losing our brothers, Slade losing _two._ It just . . . " He shook his head. "It felt _so good_ to see Pestilence die. And when two of you are losing the same brother – "

"A good bonding moment?" Lyla asked softly.

"Wasn't exactly a _good_ moment," Dig said bitterly. "But I got my head out of my ass about those three. Seeing the states Laurel and Slade were in when both Oliver and Malcolm went down . . . "

He trailed off, and Lyla reached over and squeezed his hand. "What's the saying? Dead men have no secrets?"

Dig grimaced. "Except two of them weren't dying, and I don't need to think about what those four looked like dying because of Pestilence." He sighed. "But Slade and I had the biggest issues, and that's why we've been working together in the field more recently. We sorted it out, and we gotta trust each other in the field as well as out of it."

Lyla smiled. "Brothers in arms, right?"

"Exactly," Dig nodded.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"Seriously, thanks for helping us out here," Nick smiled as he and Curtis walked through the hideout Dinah had chosen.

"I mean, anything for Dinah," Curtis nodded. "And maybe I was a little worried about you, too."

"I'll be fine," Nick laughed reassuringly. "Just hate leaving the city to be overrun by a bunch of corrupt cops and vigilantes."

Curtis paused, clearing his throat. "Don't you think there's a little bit of difference between bent cops and vigilantes?"

"None that I can see," Nick shook his head. "They're both criminals, right?"

Curtis smiled weakly. "Yeah," he chuckled nervously, even as his heart dropped into his stomach.

* * *

 ** _Sam Armand_**

" _Ms. Danvers is here to see you, sir."_

Sam Armand looked up from the file he had been stuck reading for the past hour and swallowed, reaching over to his intercom. "Let her in." He already had an idea what this was about.

The door to his office opened, and Kara stepped inside, wearing a teal sleeveless dress covered by black lace, a ribbon sash tied off at her waist. Armand was only slightly surprised that Kara had three shadows with her, and that was because Oliver had told him they were accompanying her: a black-haired man with a beard, dressed in a black leather jacket over an equally dark shirt and jeans; a beautiful dark-haired woman in a purple sweater and dark pants; and a dark-haired man in a dark shirt, leather jacket, and dark pants. "Thank you for seeing us, Sam," Kara smiled, not looking at all like she was speaking to a man who was being paid off by a criminal.

"I don't know how I could have refused," Armand shrugged, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. "But Oliver said you had a way to help me."

" _I_ don't," Kara shook her head as she sat. "My friends, however, do."

Armand eyed them carefully as the other three sat with her. "And how can you help me?" he asked carefully, trying not to get his hopes up. Diaz had told him who to look out for, who to be wary of, telling him _exactly_ what he knew of them. And if Kara was offering _their_ help, knowing who she was . . . that was assuming she _did_ tell him –

Kara held up a finger first, and Armand frowned, confused as he watched her look at the clean-shaven man with an arched eyebrow. He placed his hands together in an upside-down triangle, waited a few seconds, then looked up again. "You can speak freely now," he reported.

"Freely?" Armand repeated, not letting Kara open her mouth. "What did you just do?"

The man blinked at him. "I simply disabled the security cameras placed around your office."

Armand swallowed, then looked at Kara. "You know who we are," she said softly. "If you know Oliver is the Green Arrow, then you know I'm Supergirl."

Armand's eyebrows shot up; apparently she _was_ going to tell him. "You're putting an awful lot on the line by admitting that out loud, Kara."

"There's a lot on the line for you, too," Kara countered. "You knew that when you agreed to hearing what we wanted to say."

Armand swallowed, conceding the point with a nod. "All right, Kara. What can you do for my son?"

Kara gestured to the bearded man with her, and he cleared his throat, leaning forward. "Mr. Armand, since we're all being honest with each other right now, my name is Mon-El. This is Imra, and this is Querl – or Brainy, that's what we call him."

"Brainy," Armand repeated.

"It refers to my, as you say, codename," Brainy nodded. "Brainiac 5."

Armand frowned uneasily. "Diaz said you were . . . blue."

"Oh, yes," Brainy nodded. "My appearance now is caused by an image inducer so I can fit in among humans."

Armand figured his facial expression said "good idea" for him, judging by how Mon-El cleared his throat. "Anyway . . . what I doubt Diaz knows about us is that we are from the 31st century."

Armand did a double take. "What?!"

"Guess not," Imra smirked.

Armand shook his head, leaning back in his chair, putting his face in his hand. "All he said is that you had to be aliens, though he never learned where from."

"Daxam," Mon-El answered.

"Titan," Imra threw in.

"Colu," Brainy finished.

"Krypton," Kara volunteered.

Armand took a deep breath. "OK," he looked back up. "How can you help my son?"

"With this," Mon-El gestured, and Brainy held up a small silver circular device. "This is . . . well, I guess the name doesn't really matter since it's from the future. But it's what it accomplishes that's important, right?" When Armand nodded, Mon-El continued. "Basically, this is a vaccine and booster. It automatically detects hostile cells and deploys antibodies. Your son will need to wear this for a week, but after that, he should be cancer free."

 _Cancer free._ Those words were what rang inside Armand's head as he looked from face to face for any sign of lying. Three faces were completely serious; Kara, on the other hand, was smiling brilliantly. Armand was certain his mouth was opening and closing like a fish, he was so stunned and had no idea what to say. Then he took a closer look at Kara's face . . . and why was the fiancée of the man Diaz was trying to bring down smiling so much? "Why?" he finally voiced his question.

Mon-El, Imra, and Brainy all did double takes. Kara merely blinked. "Why what?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"No, I don't get this," Armand rubbed his temples, closing his eyes. "This . . . this is too good to be true. You're saying that if you give this to my son, he will be cancer free within a week?"

"Yes," Brainy appeared bewildered. "Is that not what Mon-El said?"

"Brainy!" Imra hissed.

Armand swallowed, trying to work moisture back into his mouth as he looked at Kara. _"Why?"_ he repeated. "You know what I've been doing, you know whose pocket I'm in. He's trying to make the city _crumble_ around the man you're going to marry, and you're helping me cure my son?"

"Yes," Kara nodded. "That's exactly what I'm doing."

Armand did his fish impression once again before putting his head in a trembling hand. "I don't think I deserve this, Kara."

"Maybe not," Kara shook her head, scooting her chair closer. "On the other hand, you would do anything to save your son. William isn't mine by blood, but when I marry Oliver, he will be mine, and even now I would do anything for him to live. Parents would do anything for the sake of their children." Armand nodded miserably, and Kara took a deep breath. "And now I know that I would do anything for Oliver. What I'm about to say does not go beyond this office, understand?" Armand nodded, curiosity rising in him as Kara chewed her lip. "There's a reason these three came from the future," she gestured to the aliens with her. "And it was to take down an alien from my home planet, one who would turn into something that would destroy worlds in the future. Her weapon of choice . . . sickness." She took a deep breath. "She called herself Pestilence, and just recently, she spread illness among several people in my city." She ducked her head, adjusting her glasses. "She infected Oliver," she said quietly.

Armand felt the blood drain from his face. "She _what?"_

Kara nodded, sniffing. "I had to watch him pale and cough and lose his breath and hear his heart get weaker. There was no cure, not without Pestilence's DNA. And I promised myself that Pestilence would have _one chance,_ and that was it. She ruined that chance, and I was fine with letting Imra try to kill her to avenge our families."

Armand swallowed hard. "Diaz said that's Supergirl's greatest weakness . . . she's very opposed to killing."

"I am," Kara nodded, tears in her eyes. "But if it meant saving Oliver and getting the cure he needed to live, it didn't matter to me how we got it. If it meant beating Pestilence black and blue, I would do it. If it meant she had to die . . . then she would die. How could I not do whatever it took when it was in my power to do _something?_ And whether I like it or not, your way to help save your son was to take Diaz's money and use it for treatments." Armand nodded miserably, and Kara took a deep breath. "Oliver is alive because we managed to get the cure. We did what we had to do to get it. You have a chance to save your son without resorting to Diaz's money, Sam. The question is are you going to take it?"

Armand looked from Kara's sincere face to the questioning looks of Mon-El, Imra, and Brainy. There really was only one response, wasn't there? "Yes," he answered firmly.

Kara's smile could have powered Star City by itself.

* * *

 **A/N: Surprise new POV at the end there, sort of giving readers a look into what minor characters on the Arrow side think of Kara Danvers. How did you like that being from Armand's view?**

 **Hopefully next chapter will be out next week!**


	90. Brothers In Arms - Part Three

**Oliver tackles Hill with Lyla's help, Kara helps Armand with the Legion, and the remaining Team Arrow members save the day everywhere else. Does that mean everything ends up perfect in the end?**

 **I apologize if I did not represent Armand's son correctly. I have no medical knowledge whatsoever, and I tried not to delve in depth to his son's condition because of it, so I hope his portrayal is OK for this chapter.**

* * *

 ** _John Diggle/Slade Wilson_**

Felicity was still deep in her work when Dig returned from A.R.G.U.S. Malcolm was maneuvering through practice dummies, sword a blur of silver as he moved through them like a dance. Dig watched him for a few seconds before he saw Slade checking over their weaponry. The Aussie looked up as he approached, giving him a nod. "How did it go at A.R.G.U.S.?"

"Good," Dig nodded absently, tapping one fist over the other. "It went good. Lyla's on her way to meet with Oliver and Captain Hill."

"That's a relief," Slade sighed. "The sooner she's no longer a threat, the sooner Diaz has less claws in the city."

"Yeah," Dig nodded, still staring at a blank spot on the wall.

Slade looked long and hard at Dig before picking up a particularly heavy handgun and dropping it down on the metal table. The resulting clang made not only Dig jump, but Malcolm and Felicity as well. "Hey!" Felicity complained.

"Sorry," Slade apologized as Dig blinked rapidly. "Had to snap John out of it."

"Thanks," Dig winced, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

"Something's bothering you," Slade leaned back against the column behind him. "What is it?"

Dig sighed. "Thanks for backing my play with Katz," he said.

Slade did a double take. "That's it?" he asked in surprise.

"That's typically not Oliver's style of doing things."

"Oliver left this in our hands while he's at City Hall," Slade reminded him. "We're doing what we need to do."

"Exactly!" Dig pointed at him. "That's exactly my point! Out at City Hall, he needs to be careful with who he pisses off and who he talks with. Kara's good for that, but out in the field? We do what we've gotta do to keep the city safe. And every person we fail to bring down, that's another person Oliver has to protect the city from. That's another win for Diaz."

"And Oliver can't have that," Slade shook his head.

"Exactly," Dig nodded furiously, taking a deep breath and leaning back against the table. "Wow, I've been sitting on that for a while."

"I know what you mean," Slade told Dig. "Malcolm and I _both_ do. On Earth-38, we don't have a history that could turn civilians against us. We're friends of Kara, we can walk freely. Here in Star City? One picture at the wrong time, and the city will be up in arms calling for our heads. All we can do is fight in the field, try and ease Oliver's burden for him so he doesn't carry everything by himself."

"And I can't thank you enough for that," Dig said genuinely. "I screwed up in how I was thinking of you, all of you. I'm sorry."

Slade nodded. "And I'm sorry for that verbal lashing I gave you."

"I deserved it," Dig grumbled.

"I won't argue that," Slade snorted. "But it could have been more civil." He held out his hand. "Water under the bridge?"

Dig smiled and nodded, clasping the Aussie's hand. "Water under the bridge."

A whoop came from Felicity's station. "Katz came through!" she announced, spinning around in her chair as the three men in the room turned to look at her. "I got the location of Diaz's Vertigo operation!"

"Where?" Dig asked, heading up the stairs.

Malcolm checked the location, then eyed Slade and Dig. "If you two want to keep your bromance moment going, I'll be lookout again."

"Did that _seriously_ just come out of your mouth?" Felicity stared at the assassin.

Slade and Dig exchanged looks, then Dig nodded. "Let's do it," he said.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

" _Mr. Mayor, a Director Michaels is here to see you."_

Oliver broke away from his tense conversation with Hill to answer the intercom. "Let her in, please."

" _Right away."_

Oliver stood from his desk and gave Lyla a very relieved smile as the woman stepped into the office, a tablet in her hand. "Lyla," he greeted. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course, Oliver," Lyla gave him a quick hug. "It sounded urgent."

"It is," Oliver nodded, gesturing as Hill stiffly stood. "Director Lyla Michaels, Captain Kimberly Hill."

"Director," Hill nodded curtly, extending her hand.

"Captain," Lyla returned in the same flat tone, giving her exact opinion of what she thought of the corrupt woman as she shook her hand.

It got a flinch out of the other woman. "As I said, Lyla, this is urgent," Oliver said, directing them to sit in the chairs in front of his desk, himself pulling his out to sit with them. "I'm sure John has told you about Ricardo Diaz."

"He has," Lyla nodded. "Your e-mail asked if I could set up a protection detail."

Oliver gestured at Hill, who nodded. "After I was promoted, I was sent surveillance photos by Diaz; my niece, my father, and my sister were all in them."

Lyla nodded, turning her tablet on. "Oliver informed me of it before I came here. I've pulled together a few different safe houses to go over with you that we can place you and your family in, including protective details."

"Wait," Hill blinked, looking at Oliver. "Me and my family?"

"You wanted me to prove that I could find a way to protect your family," Oliver raised an eyebrow. "What better way to do that than being there with them?" Hill's mouth closed with a click. "Take a leave of absence," he told her. "Be with your family. And when Ricardo Diaz is done, we will discuss your place in the police force."

"My place?" she repeated.

Oliver sighed. "We can make a deal for what you know about Diaz. But you will never be captain of the force again." Hill swallowed hard, and Oliver gave her a look. "I was ready to fire you on the spot before I had second thoughts. I could have easily refused to help you."

"You are very lucky you're getting a chance at all," Lyla added.

Hill lowered her head, taking a deep breath. "I'll clear out my desk," she said quietly. "I'll take the deal."

Oliver sighed in relief as Lyla nodded. "Thank you," he said gratefully.

"Do I get to choose my replacement?" Hill asked.

"Would it be a corrupt cop?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

Hill's cheeks flushed. "No."

Oliver tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. "I already have someone in mind."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

As Armand parked in front of his house, Kara took a deep breath, fiddling with the ring on her left hand. "Will we need to worry about any of Diaz's men?" she asked.

"No," Armand shook his head. "Cameras, maybe. I've worried too much about my son to check."

Kara nodded. "Brainy can handle those."

Armand took a deep breath. "I still can't believe this is happening."

Kara smiled at him. "Believe it."

Armand nodded shakily, stepping out of his car. Kara did the same from the passenger's side, and Mon-El, Imra, and Querl stepped out of the taxi that had followed them. "Ready?" Mon-El asked Kara, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you?" Kara countered.

Mon-El held up Querl's device. "I've got the easy job."

Kara conceded with a nod, following Armand to the front door. The lawyer unlocked his home, and he held it open, gesturing Kara in first. "Rosa?" he called, following her in, the Legionnaires in the rear.

A young woman walked out from around the corner, a nervous look on her face. "Mr. Armand," she smiled in greeting. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, actually," Armand nodded. "This is Kara Danvers, the mayor's fiancée. Kara, this is Rosa, who looks after my son while my wife is at work."

Kara smiled, holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Rosa."

"You, too, Ms. Danvers," she smiled shyly, shaking her hand before looking at Armand. "He's in the living room, Mr. Armand."

"Thank you, Rosa," Armand nodded. "I'll be home for the remainder of the day."

"Very well," Rosa nodded, giving him a quick smile. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Watch your phone," Armand advised.

"I will," Rosa nodded.

Kara saw Querl casually look around the ceiling and the walls as Rosa took her purse and walked out the door. As soon as it closed, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. Kara waited a few seconds until he looked up again. "Brainy?" she asked.

"Handled," Querl answered.

Kara nodded, looking at Armand, who looked much more anxious than he had out at the car. "Ready?" she asked.

Armand let out his breath slowly. "Now or never," he mumbled, heading the way Rosa had entered the room.

Kara watched him approach a young boy no older than ten, who was on the floor and playing with a few LEGO bricks. Kara sank her teeth into her lip, feeling tears sting her eyes as Armand crouched down and spoke quietly to his son, gently placing his hand on the back of his head. The small but genuine smile his son gave at the sight of his father made Kara turn her head, not wanting to witness such a private moment. She could now see, very easily, why Armand had chosen his son over what was right. If that had been William on the floor, appearing very sick with a cancer that could be very difficult to pay for, she honestly couldn't think of a situation where she wouldn't choose the boy she saw like a son.

"I have a few people I want you to meet, Jeremy." She was jolted back to the present by Armand's voice, and when he turned to her hopefully, Kara put a very real smile on her face and walked into the room, tailed by Mon-El; Imra and Querl stayed back by the living room. "They're here to help you," Armand continued.

"Hi there," Kara said quietly, sitting in front of Jeremy with her knees under her. "Jeremy, right?" The boy shyly nodded, and Kara's smile widened. "My name's Kara," she introduced herself.

" . . . hi, Kara," Jeremy mumbled, looking up at her curiously.

"And this is my friend Mon-El," Kara gestured to the Daxamite, who beamed and waved. She giggled at Jeremy's bewildered look. "It's a weird name, isn't it?"

Mon-El huffed as Jeremy nodded. "It isn't _weird,_ it's _unique."_

"Still weird," Jeremy frowned.

Armand and Kara both snorted at that. "Thank you, everyone," Mon-El muttered, but there was a slight smile on his face as he said the words.

"Anyway," Kara bent down so she and Jeremy could see eye to eye. "Mon-El has something for you. Do you want to know what it is?"

Jeremy eyed Mon-El before nodding silently. Kara shuffled to the side so Mon-El could come closer, and the Daxamite did, staying on one knee as he leaned forward to speak to the boy. "So," Mon-El cleared his throat. "I'm gonna need you to keep a secret, OK?" Jeremy frowned, but nodded. "You sure?" Jeremy nodded, more sure of himself this time, and Mon-El bent down further, stage whispering, "I'm from the future."

Jeremy's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "What?" he asked in shock.

"I am," Mon-El nodded confidently.

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!" Mon-El insisted with a grin. "And you know what? I have a way to prove it to you."

"How?" Jeremy asked suspiciously.

"With this," Mon-El held up the silver device. "You see this?"

"What is it?" Jeremy tilted his head.

"It's, uh . . . " Mon-El cleared his throat. "Actually, since it's from the future, I don't think it really matters what it's called. What really matters is that a really, really smart friend of mine made it. A name like Brainy, it's got to work, right?" Jeremy nodded in agreement. "You want to know how it works?" Jeremy nodded again, and Mon-El held out his free hand. "Can I see your arm?"

Jeremy looked up at Armand hesitantly; when his father nodded encouragingly, Jeremy held out his arm, which Mon-El carefully took. "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to put this on your arm, and I want you to wear this for a week, OK?" Jeremy nodded, and Mon-El fastened it to Jeremy's arm. "This is a vaccine and booster. It will automatically detect hostile cells and deploy antibodies." Already, if Kara strained her ears enough, she was able to hear a subtle change in Jeremy's breathing . . . and it was for the better. "And if possible, we would like to check in to make sure that the device is doing as it's meant to," Mon-El finished, smiling kindly.

"It already is," Kara smiled in relief.

Jeremy looked up at Armand with a wide grin, and Armand laughed in disbelief, wrapping his arms around his son. "Thank you," he told the two aliens, looking past them to the other two Legionnaires. "All of you, thank you."

"You're welcome," Mon-El nodded, Imra smiling happily while Querl bowed his head, acknowledging the praise.

"I'm happy for you, Sam," Kara told him.

Armand only nodded, seeming to compose himself as he held Jeremy close. It took him a few seconds to speak again. "I'll hand my resignation in to Oliver tomorrow," he said. "You've done this for me, but if he doesn't want Diaz in the government . . . "

"I'll let him know," Kara promised, putting a gentle hand on his arm. "Spend time with your son." Armand nodded, and Kara stood up, giving both Armands a wave before turning and walking away, Mon-El following behind her. "Let's go," she told them.

Mon-El gave a small wave towards Jeremy, who beamed and smiled back. He turned to follow Kara when he noted Querl stop in his step. "Brainy?" he asked.

Querl just held up a finger. "I think Dinah and Curtis are about to have company," he said.

* * *

 ** _Felicity Smoak/Laurel Lance_**

" _Felicity?"_

Felicity jumped in her seat, spinning around to face her computers when the noise came out of her speakers. "Brainy?" she asked, looking around as the men, finishing with suiting up, looked up. "How – ?!"

" _I am a twelfth level intellect whose primary strength is with technology and intelligence."_

"Right," Felicity cleared her throat, not hearing the elevator open behind her. "What's going on?"

" _Our endeavor with Sam Armand's son was a success. However, upon leaving, I found several men closing in on the location of Dinah Drake and Curtis Holt, as well as the cops that arrested Anatoli Knyazev."_

"What?!" Laurel's voice came from behind her.

Felicity looked back at Dig, Slade, Malcolm, and the two newest additions to the bunker, Laurel and Evelyn, both of whom had arrived in time to hear the message. "Malcolm?" Slade looked at him.

"I can head that way if you give me the location," Malcolm said, looking back at Slade and Dig. "That's assuming the two of you can handle yourselves." They gave two identical snorts, making Malcolm roll his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Not alone!" Laurel protested.

"Laurel, if Diaz hears that you were out there, it's me or Slade on the line, especially if he's a man of his word," Malcolm shook his head.

"Brainy?" Felicity turned back to her computer. "Can you – ?"

"I'll go."

Felicity turned back around in shock, seeing Evelyn shrink under the sudden gazes on her. "Evelyn?" Laurel asked quietly. "Are you sure?"

Evelyn gulped, then nodded. "Diaz was never interested in me since I was Talia's student, but Vince taught me a few tricks. I can back you up. I promise I can."

Malcolm walked forward, bending so they were eye level. "That's the woman who wants you dead because she sees you as Vince's murderer," he reminded her.

Evelyn flinched, but never looked away from his gaze. "That's also one of Star City's last clean cops."

Malcolm slowly nodded, then straightened. "Then suit up."

Evelyn grinned, rushing off with her bag. "Malcolm," Laurel whispered.

"I'll look after her," Malcolm already guessed what she wanted.

She sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Malcolm kissed her forehead in response, looking at Slade and Dig. "Good luck," he wished.

"You, too," Dig nodded, he and Slade heading for the exit.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"So he just drops it casually, 'I hate vigilantes,'" Curtis told Dinah as they walked through the hideout. "Not hate, but _hate,_ like capital letters HATES vigilantes." He sighed, palming his face. "This is Paul all over again!"

"Well, that's kind of a leap," Dinah told him.

"Paul divorced me because I _was_ a vigilante," Curtis reminded her.

"Curtis, you're getting ahead of yourself."

"Yeah, you're right," Curtis nodded. "He's not gonna break up with me."

"That's the spirit," Dinah smiled proudly.

"He's going to _arrest_ me!" Curtis hissed.

Dinah sighed, stepping closer. "I know I'm the last person who should be giving you relationship advice – "

"Yet you're about to give me some," Curtis nodded.

"It's more of a life philosophy," Dinah corrected. "Just live in the moment because you can only see the step that's ahead of you. You don't know what's at the end of the road."

Curtis nodded thoughtfully, then looked down at his tablet, frowning when a message from an unknown person popped up. "Huh."

"What is it?" Dinah asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Someone saying . . . " Curtis blanched. "Incoming." His tablet started beeping rapidly, and he balked as he swiped the message aside. "Someone just set off one of my proximity alerts!" He shook his head rapidly as multiple people appeared on the screen. "Make that some _many!_ All headed toward the front door!"

"How did they find us?" Dinah demanded.

"Who?" Nick rushed over.

"Diaz's men," Curtis answered, gesturing to his tablet. "They're about to hit us from the west, the north, the s – they're about to hit us from _every angle!"_

"I know," a voice accompanied a gun click behind him, and they turned to see one of the officers aiming at them. "I'm sorry, but we can't defeat Diaz. We tried, and we failed."

He aimed at Dinah, but Curtis leapt in front of the shot, taking the bullet that would have struck her. "No!" Dinah shouted, shooting and killing the cop who shot her friend. "You stay with Curtis!" she barked at Nick, running off with the others.

Nick nodded, bending down and carefully pulling Curtis up so he rested against the crates behind them.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

All the men were wearing various forms of masks over their noses and mouths when Slade and Dig found the Vertigo operation. "Thirteen bogies in this den alone, heavily armed," Dig whistled, impressed.

"No Diaz," Slade frowned. "Would've liked to put a bullet in him."

"Race you," Dig offered.

Slade snorted, looking around the tanks. "How much is this?"

"At least twenty million in Vertigo," Dig answered. "He's gonna miss it."

Slade examined the men below, hand tensing on the hilt of his sword. "The only way that we make it out of here is if we trust each other."

Dig looked long and hard at him. "I do."

Slade looked back at him and nodded. "Good to know we're on the same page."

Dig nodded back, pulling his handgun from its holster. "Call it."

Slade nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

One of Dig's guns fired a dart that hit the electronics box in the base, causing sparks to fly and the lights to go out. Grenades fired from the front door as buckets of product were hustled away, and Slade was the first into the factory, throwing a charge that exploded and sent sparks into gunmen's eyes.

He wove through the gunmen on his side, swinging his sword and firing his handgun in tandem. From the opposite side, Dig entered the fray, shock stick in one hand and gun in the other, handling Diaz's hitmen as easily as the mercenary.

When all thirteen were down on the ground, the two walked to join each other, storming the rest of the building side by side.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt_**

"Hold on, Curtis," Nick gulped as he shifted in front of Curtis's body, blocking him from the rest of the room. "We're gonna get you to a hospital, OK? Hold on!"

Curtis suddenly coughed violently, startling Nick backwards. "I'm OK," he grunted, making Nick laugh in disbelief. "Actually, that's a lie, I think my ribs are broken."

"You were shot point blank!" Nick said in disbelief, reaching to unzip Curtis's jacket.

"Wait, no!" Curtis protested, reaching up to stop his boyfriend.

He wasn't fast enough, as Nick unzipped enough to see the uniform Curtis wore underneath. "You're – " he stammered, eyes wide in shock.

"It's not what it looks like," Curtis began. He was cut off by one of his T-spheres whirring into view and electrocuting one of the hitmen coming up behind them. "OK, it is _exactly_ what it looks like." His eyes widened when he saw another man coming up behind Nick. "OK, go!" he lunged.

The gunman took aim, but a very dark green arrow, darker than Oliver's arrows, flew from behind them and smacked into his hand, causing him to drop his gun with a shout. Another arrow hit him again, this time black, hit the man in the shoulder, and he went down for the count.

With a start, Curtis realized he _knew_ those arrows, and he turned in shock. He was just in time to see Malcolm land in a crouch . . . and Evelyn, in her Artemis gear, dropped down behind him, hand clenched tightly around her bow. There was no Canary Cry around her neck this time.

For a few seconds, the two archers stared at the incredulous vigilante and his shellshocked boyfriend. It was Evelyn who finally shouted at him. "Move!"

Curtis obeyed without a second thought, grabbing Nick and yanking him out of the way as Malcolm drew his sword, rushing towards the fight with Evelyn behind him.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

The hitman who decided it would be a good idea to charge Slade head-on came to regret his decision when Slade shot him once in the shoulder, and he fell in a heap on the ground. "The place is bigger than expected," he grumbled in annoyance, looking around. "How many more explosives do we have?"

There was a grunt over the comms, followed by the smack of an explosive on metal. "I'm all out," Dig answered.

Slade huffed. "Then we improvise."

"Vertigo's flammable in its liquid state," Dig volunteered.

"Headed there now," Slade nodded, walking back towards the operation room.

"You won't make it!"

"I wasn't expecting to get there alone!" Slade countered, breaking into a run.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah heard the startled shouts of her officers behind her, but she kept her focus on the gunmen trying to kill them. She heard the familiar sound of what seemed to be ripping cardboard, and she almost dropped her gun in shock when she saw two different colored arrows take down two of the gunmen in the front.

Malcolm seemed to melt right from the shadows, sword going through one gunman's torso, his other hand grabbing one by the neck and slamming him into the wall behind him, knocking him out. She really _did_ drop her gun on the ground when she saw Curtis run behind Malcolm, covered by who had to be Evelyn, the girl firing off arrows when the gunmen were distracted by the assassin. Only when Curtis ducked behind the table Dinah was taking shelter behind did Evelyn race back towards the gunmen, slinging her bow over her shoulder. The gunman she charged sneered, aiming his gun at her. Evelyn responded by grabbing the rifle by the barrel and appearing to trip, hanging on all the while. The gunman was tugged down by her momentum, and Evelyn ripped the gun from his grasp, ramming it into his head until he was unconscious. She blocked the next arm punching at her with both her arms, then used her leg to sweep the gunman's feet out from under him. She finally brought her bow back out to help her grab the next gun thrust into her face, and with a grin at the man's startled look, she shoved both the gun and her bow back into his face, stunning him and allowing her to slam an arrow into his kneecap, bringing him down.

Dinah was staring with an open mouth, making Curtis do a double take. "D?" he asked. "What is it?"

Dinah just swallowed hard. "Vince taught me that move," she whispered. "How does she know it?"

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

Slade found the massive tank holding the Vertigo inside, then rolled one of his charges towards it. It stopped with a gentle clink against the tank, making him smirk.

A gunshot came from his right, and Slade whipped his head to see the bullet fly past him and take out the gunman that was aiming right at him. Surprised, he turned to see Dig had indeed gotten there to join him, and the man nodded at him, lowering his gun. Slade nodded back, picking up his sword to rush out of the factory, Dig at his heels.

* * *

 ** _Curtis Holt/Dinah Drake/Evelyn Sharp_**

Malcolm was drawing half of the gunmen away from the cops, and as Nick rushed past her, Evelyn covered the cop as she backed up to where she could fire off arrows. Curtis watched Nick gun down one of the hitmen instead of Evelyn, and he turned back to Dinah. "He's just like John Wayne. It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all."

"Are we getting out of here or not?" Dinah glowered.

Curtis looked down at his tablet, then thought of another thing. "Artemis!" he shouted over the table. Evelyn gave him a quick glance, then jogged backwards to join him. "How did you get in here?"

"Still not entirely sure," Evelyn shook her head. "It was M – the Dark Archer who got us in."

"Of course it was," Curtis sighed, checking his tablet this time. "OK, there's an opening on the east side of the building!"

"No, no," Dinah shook her head. "There is no opening on the east side of the building!"

Evelyn fired off another arrow, then checked what she had left in her quiver. She bit her lip, seeing only two left. "I can make one," she volunteered.

"Then go!" Malcolm shouted.

"How can he hear everything?" Curtis couldn't help but ask, even as Evelyn took off running.

Dinah followed after her, and Curtis lingered to make sure nothing happened. Evelyn drew the two arrows she had, seeing their explosive heads, then looked nervously at Dinah. "You aren't gonna shoot me once I fire these, are you?"

Dinah looked down at her gun, then at her cops under fire, making a quick decision. "Get us out of here and I won't," she promised.

Evelyn nodded, nocking the arrows, drawing, and firing. They embedded in the wall, and with a press of a button on her bow, the arrows exploded. Sure enough, they took out a good chunk of the wall, easily enough for them to escape out of. Dinah nodded curtly at Evelyn, and the girl ran back to join Malcolm, using her bow like a quarterstaff this time. "You didn't kill her," Curtis smiled.

"Why are you so happy go lucky about her now?" Dinah scowled.

"She saved me and Nick," Curtis shrugged.

 _Of course that was it,_ Dinah thought in exasperation, though she didn't say anything else as she waved for her men. "All right, let's go!" she shouted. "Move, move, move, move, move!"

Evelyn kept an eye on everyone, watching them leave through the hole Dinah had made. Curtis hesitated, giving her a look almost with concern, then Nick tugged at his hand, and he was off again. "They're clear!" she called.

Malcolm drew another arrow and fired into the rafters, extending a hand silently. Evelyn hurried to join him, and he held tightly to the girl as they grappled up, avoiding the remaining bullets.

* * *

 ** _Slade Wilson_**

"Do it," Slade ordered.

Dig held up the trigger, and with a push of a button, Diaz's Vertigo warehouse went up in flames. Both men watched silently, then Dig sighed in relief. "One less burden for Oliver to worry about."

Slade nodded. "And one less win for Diaz." He turned his head to look at his partner. "Thank you for watching my six."

"Any time," Dig nodded, his tone completely sincere.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"That was quite the fireworks show you two put on," Laurel grinned as the two returned to the bunker.

"Glad you enjoyed," Slade said sarcastically.

"Well, good news," Felicity smiled widely. "Judging by the burn radius of the warehouse, looks like we got all of Diaz's stash."

" _Good,"_ Dig sighed in relief, closing his eyes.

The elevator dinged open, and Malcolm and Evelyn came out, the girl practically bouncing on her feet. "Someone's got the post-battle jitters," Malcolm smirked.

"You're both OK?" Laurel moved over to check.

"Fine," Malcolm nodded. "And the cops are, too."

"And Dinah didn't shoot me, so that's a win," Evelyn beamed proudly.

"Good job," Laurel grinned.

"How do you think Dinah and Curtis are gonna like that it was Brainy who gave them the tip?" Felicity wondered.

"Not," Malcolm snorted.

"What he said," Dig pointed.

"Well, I don't care about Brainy right now," Laurel declared, tucking herself into Malcolm's side. "I care about how the rest of you did without Oliver."

"Especially when you split up," Felicity grinned. "This was a good job done."

"Agreed," Slade nodded.

"So how do you celebrate?" Evelyn wondered.

"Not with champagne," Dig smirked, making Slade snort and Malcolm laugh.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver heard the curtains in the bedroom rustle as he finished undoing his tie. He turned to see Kara step through the window, her eyes red. "Kara?" he immediately stepped away from the mirror, walking over to check on her. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Kara took a deep breath, removing her glasses and setting them down with a trembling hand. "Mon-El's device worked. Jeremy is already healing."

"Good," Oliver sighed in relief, then paused when he saw Kara shake her head. "Not good?"

"It's just . . . " Kara swallowed hard. "Seeing Sam with his son . . . how he cares _so much_ for him . . . " She looked up, tears in her eyes. "I can understand why he chose Diaz. Even if it wasn't the clean route, he could get what he needed to save his son. What kind of parent wouldn't do that? I thought _I_ would do that!"

"Kara," Oliver opened his arms, catching his fiancée when she collapsed into his arms, and he sat back on the bed, letting her curl up in his lap as she cried. "I know, angel," he whispered into her hair, hugging her tighter to him and feeling her shake. "I would, too."

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake/Curtis Holt_**

"Thank you so much for helping me get Zoe off to school," Curtis told Dinah gratefully.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Dinah nodded, putting a few plates on the counter. "Just don't understand how a girl so small generates this much mess . . . "

"You know, I actually don't mind tidying up," Curtis kept talking, making Dinah turn to face him. "Kind of like it. Keeps my mind off of things like the fact that my boyfriend's gonna break up with me because he found out I'm a vigilante and he hates vigilantes."

"So he _is_ your boyfriend," Dinah smirked.

"My mind works in hyperbole," Curtis winced.

Dinah raised an eyebrow, picking up a few folders and books from the table. "Ignoring for a second the operational risk of having a cop know your identity, do you regret him knowing the truth?" she questioned.

Curtis opened his mouth, speaking as there was a knock on the door. "Besides the fact that it means the end of our relationship? I don't."

"Well, then it was worth it," Dinah told him, putting her stuff down and checking the peephole. She raised an eyebrow and smirked at Curtis. "Speak of the devil . . . it's Nick."

"Wait, what?!" Curtis's eyes bugged open.

Dinah nodded and opened the door, making Nick do a double take when he saw her. "Lieutenant Drake!"

"Not looking for me, I assume," Dinah guessed, hand on her hip.

"No, but I'm glad you're here," Nick told her. "Hill just cleared out her desk, supervised by Mayor Queen and Deputy Mayor Lance. All three of them said you need to report to City Hall."

Dinah nodded. "That gives me a reason to leave," she reached out to take her jacket. "See you later, all right?" she told Curtis.

He nodded, and as Nick stepped into the apartment, Dinah slipped past him and closed the door behind her. Both men looked at each other before saying at the same time, "Hey." Curtis chuckled nervously, then both gestured and said, "You go first."

"OK," Curtis took a deep breath, bracing himself for rejection. "Look, I know you're not a fan of vigilantes, and so I get it if . . . if you want to step away from this."

"Curtis, I just watched my captain clear out her desk for being dirty, and last night, I got betrayed by someone I thought was my friend in the force," Nick shook his head. "Not to mention . . . those two vigilantes who showed up didn't have to, but they saved us. I haven't been on the receiving end of that before. I can see why people look to vigilantes now. They come when sometimes the force can't. I can't say I'm sure how I feel about vigilantes or vigilantism." Curtis nodded sadly, then Nick sidled closer. _"But_ I _do_ know how I feel about _you."_

Curtis's eyes widened in realization, and a slow smile spread across his face. "Really?" he asked hopefully.

"Really," Nick nodded. Curtis laughed giddily, and Nick smiled at the sound. "Who were they?" he asked. "The two who showed up last night?"

"Uh," Curtis swallowed. "The Dark Archer and Artemis."

"And Artemis was the one who covered us and got us out of that place," Nick nodded thoughtfully. "I haven't heard much about her."

"Yeah," Curtis took a deep breath. "Been a while since I've heard from her, too."

Nick hummed, nodding. "Thank them for me, the next time you see them?"

Curtis slowly nodded. "I will," he agreed.

* * *

 ** _Dinah Drake_**

Dinah rolled her shoulders back and stood ramrod straight before entering Oliver's office. He was waiting for her as she stopped in front of his desk. "Officer Anastas said you wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Yes," Oliver nodded, gesturing for her to sit. "I'm sure he also told you that formerly Captain Hill has stepped down." Dinah nodded, happy to hear that she was gone. "What he might not have told you is that she will be with her family to see that A.R.G.U.S. can protect them. She will never be captain of the SCPD again."

Dinah smiled in relief, but just as quickly frowned again. "That leaves us without a captain."

"Not quite," Oliver shook his head. "I had Hill's successor in mind, and she agreed with me. It was the one time I think we agreed while she was in the room."

He stood up and picked up what Dinah recognized as Hill's captain badge, walking around his desk. When he stopped in front of her and held the badge out to her, Dinah's eyes widened, her jaw dropping. "Me?" she whispered.

"You believe in the badge, Dinah," Oliver nodded. "You organized the op to arrest Anatoli, and when Diaz went after your men, you did whatever you could to protect them. That's the cop I want in charge of the force." He raised an eyebrow. "We may not see eye to eye much now, Dinah, but I want us to see eye to eye on this. I don't trust anyone else with this badge."

Dinah swallowed hard, then reached out and gingerly took the badge from Oliver's hand. To know that despite what had happened between their teams, even what had happened after Anatoli was arrested, that Oliver was trusting _her_ with the SCPD . . . she examined the badge closely, then took a deep breath and stood at attention. "And I won't let you down," she promised, sharply saluting.

Oliver saluted back. "Congratulations, _Captain_ Drake," he told her with a smile. "Star City is lucky to have you."

"Thank you, Oliver," Dinah nodded, a true smile on her face. Oliver nodded back, and sensing she was dismissed, Dinah turned and headed out the door, fiddling with the badge in her hands. She stopped before she left, then cleared her throat and turned around. "Um," she bit her lip. "Evelyn was with Malcolm last night. She personally saved Curtis and one of my officers." She fidgeted, then sighed. "Can you thank her for me?"

Oliver blinked slowly. "I will," he nodded.

"Thank you," Dinah nodded, then turned around and walked out the door. She slowed once she was in the hall, then pulled out her cell phone and dialed one of the numbers in her contacts.

Nick picked up on the second ring. "Lieutenant Drake?"he asked. "Is everything OK?"

"Everything is . . . great, Nick," Dinah answered, looking down at the badge. "Hey, can you go back to headquarters soon?"

"Absolutely," Nick answered. "When do you need me?"

"Whenever you can get there."

"I'll leave in a few minutes." There was a pause. "How did it go with the mayor?"

Dinah smiled. "He, uh . . . he promoted me."

"What?!" Dinah grinned wider, hearing Curtis react the same way. "That's amazing, Lieu – uh, _Captain,"_ Nick quickly amended. "I'm coming right over."

"Good," Dinah nodded, walking out of City Hall, a more confident strut in her stride. "We've got work to do."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver sighed in relief when the doors closed behind Dinah. That took care of Hill's position, which was a relief. He was about to pull up a list of potential District Attorneys when he heard a knock on his door. Curious, he checked his schedule; nothing was scheduled for the morning except for Dinah stopping by. "Come in!" he called.

The doors opened, and he straightened when Armand stepped in, Kara with him. "Oliver," Armand nodded, looking like a weight was taken off his shoulders.

"Sam," Oliver nodded, looking at him in concern. "Kara told me last night that Mon-El's device worked?"

"It has," Armand nodded, giving her a grateful look. "I'm sorry I doubted you could help."

"It's OK, Sam," Oliver told him, walking closer. "I'm just sorry I didn't know how bad it had truly gotten. If I could have helped sooner, I would have."

"I believe you," Sam nodded, taking a deep breath and handing him a folder. "This is my resignation from the District Attorney's position. I don't need Diaz's money now, but I can't work this job now that I've been one of his lackeys."

Oliver eyed the folder. "Sam, right now you are in a better position than Hill," he told him. "I agree that you can't be the D.A. anymore; she'll never be a captain again. But I think we can make a deal if you give us everything you can on Diaz."

Sam blinked rapidly before looking at Kara. At her knowing smile, he cleared his throat and turned back. "That is much more than I deserve, Oliver."

"It is," he agreed. "But you would do whatever it took to get your son what he needed to survive. I would do exactly the same thing."

Sam finally nodded jerkily. "Thank you, Oliver," he said.

"You're welcome," Oliver nodded, taking the folder from him.

Sam turned to leave, only to stop when Quentin barged in. "Deputy Mayor," Sam blinked. "I was just – "

"Actually, you may need to stay and give a legal opinion," Quentin shook his head rapidly. "Oliver, we've got a problem. A _big_ one."

"What's going on?" Oliver asked in concern as Kara hurried to close the doors.

"It's the councilmen," Quentin answered grimly. "They're talking, Oliver, and they're twisting Hill's and Armand's resignations."

"What are they saying?" Kara asked nervously, Oliver's knuckles turning white as he gripped the folder tighter.

"That Oliver forced them to resign," Quentin answered, making Armand blanch. "And he did it to impede the prosecution of his activities as the Green Arrow."

"That's not what happened!" Kara protested.

"But without either of us to say that, it's his word against theirs," Armand swallowed. "They'll see it as a gross overstep of power." He looked at Quentin. "They'll call it an _impeachable_ offense."

"They are," Quentin nodded. "They're calling for your head."

Kara clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her whimpers. Armand quickly pulled a chair over behind her so Kara wouldn't collapse where she stood, and he and Oliver exchanged worried looks at Quentin's words.

That wasn't how any of this was supposed to go _at all._ How far into the government did Diaz's claws actually go?

* * *

 **A/N: Armand's son wasn't given a name in the show, so with the help of Lauriver1fanboy, I gave him one.**

 **Next up, as you can probably tell, is going to be "Fundamentals," and we'll see how much better it goes than in canon. We may even see a face we haven't seen yet, so feel free to guess who that may be.**


	91. Arrow - Fundamentals - Part One

**Well, geez, even though these chapters aren't too long, they sure are AU. I think short of the finale episodes, this episode's gonna be the most AU one yet.**

 **So, as you've probably been able to tell, I'm much, _much_ more busy now. I'm in school, but I'm also working to get back into my other projects: four that I have only on Wattpad, and the Marvel book I started over the summer. There's a lot to write, and it won't just be this. I just ask for your patience in these books. I have a lot of projects to do with no set "this is when I update" time for any of them. Chapters will come when they come, especially if I try and write out an entire episode first.**

 **Team Arrow works on making some plans, but there's a lot to think about in the meantime, especially with what gets revealed at the end.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Bastards," Slade summed up in one word as they watched the newsreel that announced Oliver was being accused of forcing Armand and Hill to resign.

"They can't actually impeach you for the willing resignations of two people on Diaz's payroll, right?" Evelyn's face was as pale as snow.

"They can if they claim I forced them to do it to protect myself," Oliver sighed.

"But surely Armand will speak up for you," Mon-El looked around the circle in the bunker. "You said he was just as shocked as you were!"

"He's promised he will," Oliver nodded. "But without Hill saying the same thing right now, his word won't be enough. That's why, even though Armand has volunteered to provide the evidence of what he has done, without Hill here to do the same, we need rock solid proof that she was working for Diaz."

"That's why you have us," Felicity nodded.

"Perhaps I already have something that may help," Querl piped up. "Potential evidence on how Diaz has corrupted the SCPD."

"What?" Felicity's eyes widened. "How did you get that before me?!"

"What do you have?" Oliver asked, interrupting a potential fight.

"Since Hill's involvement with Diaz was discovered, I decided to check SCPD's internal security feed," Querl answered, turning around to his computer and pulling up videos. "Before Hill was fired, I noticed that every night at 10:13, _this_ happens." The four reels turned to static. "Then forty-five minutes later . . . " The feeds returned. "The feed goes back online. I believe you would call it 'like clockwork.'"

"He's been trying to monitor the cops on his payroll," Diaz realized. "He's got to be."

"I agree," Oliver nodded, a funny look on his face.

"No," Kara immediately said, noticing it.

"What?" Mon-El blinked.

"No, no, no, no," Kara marched over to Oliver, pointing at him. "You are _not_ trying to get into the police station when Diaz visits."

"Brainy _just_ told us where he is every night at 10:13!" Oliver protested.

Querl coughed. "Did I forget to mention that he was there every night _until_ last night, once Hill tendered her resignation?"

Oliver shot him a startled look. "Makes sense," Malcolm admitted. "Dinah's the captain now. Diaz's highest-ranking police mole is out. With Dinah in charge, he'll have a tougher time getting into the station."

"Don't forget she'll have her own clean cops who may still believe in the anti-vigilante bill despite some of our actions against Diaz," Laurel pointed out. "There's too many unknowns here. It wouldn't be safe for any of us, no matter how many of us go in."

Oliver sighed, rubbing his forehead. "If we get Diaz, this is all done," he said heavily. "The investigation, the corruption, the impeachment talks . . . all of it."

"Then we do this the smart way," Dig told him. "We get this to Dinah, show her what happened under Hill. When the impeachment talks come up, she can provide this as evidence that Hill was working for Diaz. How bad's it gonna look for Hill if she doesn't show up and defend herself from that?"

"Pretty darn bad," Felicity agreed.

"All right," Oliver nodded, making Kara sigh in relief. "Do it."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

There were times Oliver really wished Kara was somehow involved in his duties at City Hall; that way, at least she would be a focal point for Oliver when he was getting annoyed during meetings, like the one he was currently having with Councilman Kullens. "Elected officials cannot force the resignations of the very law enforcement personnel investigating them," he was saying. "To do so is the definition of obstruction of justice."

"They were voluntary resignations after I discovered Captain Hill and D.A. Armand were actively sabotaging this city by aligning themselves with Ricardo Diaz," Oliver countered. "I was not obstructing justice; I was serving it."

Kullens raised an eyebrow. "From what I understand, Ricardo Diaz is a second-rate drug dealer who was released from prison on a technicality."

From Oliver's left side, Quentin rolled his eyes in annoyance. _At least I have Quentin here,_ he thought as he raised an eyebrow right back at Kullens. "I fail to see your point."

"The idea that he could compromise a police captain and a district attorney is laughable!"

"I assume that the mayor will get a chance to address the city council, lay out the facts as he sees them?" Quentin asked, narrowing his eyes and stepping forward.

"Preliminary impeachment proceedings begin this afternoon," Kullens nodded, a scowl on his face as he looked at Oliver and stood. "The mayor will have a chance to plead his case, of course. For your sake, Mr. Mayor, and for the sake of your administration, I hope you have something more concrete to offer the council other than unsupported suspicions." Oliver and Quentin exchanged exasperated looks as Oliver stood, but they turned back when Kullens turned around. "And I know we haven't always gotten along, but I do believe in due process, I'll make sure the council approaches this fairly."

Oliver nodded, shaking the hand offered. "I will see you and the council this afternoon with evidence."

Kullens nodded, then nodded to Quentin as well before he headed out the door. When it was shut behind him, Quentin cleared his throat. "Uh, you mind if I ask _what_ evidence, exactly?"

"Brainy's working on it with Felicity," Oliver answered.

"Oh," Quentin smirked. "I guess that's somewhat reassuring."

"On the bright side, if I get impeached, you get promoted," Oliver said dryly.

Quentin snorted loudly at that. "I'm not much of a politician, Oliver."

Oliver huffed. "Well, with Diaz running the city, it's not really politics, is it?"

"It's dirty either way," Quentin shook his head. "You know, I get how much Diaz has gotten on you. He's done a lot against you through Cayden James, he's getting into the city leadership. But you still get out there and bust your hump every night for this city."

"So why is all this happening?" Oliver sighed.

"Cayden James and Diaz, they've done a number, but things will get better," Quentin promised. "You just got to stay the course." Oliver nodded, heading for the door. "Where you going?"

"I'm going to check in with the team, see what progress is being made, and I promised William that I would take him to his science fair," Oliver answered, a dry smirk on his face. "it's not the best timing."

Quentin snickered. "I think schools plan it that way."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"Well, I mean, you outdid me," Felicity shrugged, examining William's project. "For my science fair project, all I did was hack Napster."

Alex snorted in amusement, but William and Evelyn exchanged looks, then asked, "What's Napster?" at the same time.

Felicity groaned. "Wow, I am getting older by the minute."

"Hey, I'm still amazed you cloned a _cabbage,"_ Alex shook her head in awe.

"When I was a girl, cabbage grew in the ground," Raisa observed.

"And where I came from before I was adopted, we didn't even have cabbage," Kara walked into the room, putting her glasses on as she did. "We're both a long way from home, aren't we?"

"That I know," Raisa smiled kindly, holding up the containers she held. "I'll put these in the car."

"Thank you," Kara smiled.

"I just really hope it's better than Sarah Epstein's solar hot dog cooker," William sighed. "She's _really_ been talking it up."

"But she didn't clone a cabbage," Evelyn grinned.

William nodded reluctantly, checking his watch. "We're gonna be late. Where's Dad?"

"Um," Kara checked her phone. "He should be here in – "

"Hey!" Oliver called as he opened the door.

"Finally!" William sighed in relief. "Let's go!"

"Yeah, I know," Oliver nodded. "I just got to talk to Felicity for a second."

"But we're already late!"

"We'll head down, you be right behind us," Kara suggested, gesturing to William.

"That works perfectly," Oliver nodded.

"Good luck," Evelyn smiled.

"Thanks," William nodded, picking up his project with Kara's help.

Oliver waited as they went ahead, and he turned to Felicity and Alex as they walked down. "Council's convening," he said quietly. "I promised them I would show them something."

"Prepare to be happy," Felicity smiled, holding up a flash drive. "Documentation of threats from Diaz to Hill's family and bank statements proving that he paid for Armand's son's cancer treatment."

"That's it," Oliver said in disbelief with a smile. "That's good work!"

"Yeah, it's really good work," Felicity nodded. "And luckily for you, Dinah's agreed to state that this evidence came from her investigating."

"Not to mention it sounds like Armand's willing to come before the council on your behalf," Alex nodded.

"Anything from Hill?" Oliver asked.

"Nothing," Felicity shook her head.

Oliver closed his eyes. "So what are the chances that, without her word in this, the council may still try and accuse me of obstruction?"

"Leave that to us," Alex said when they arrived at the bottom of the stairs. "Just get William to his science fair."

"Thank you," Oliver said gratefully.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"A solar hot dog cooker?" Oliver raised an eyebrow when he saw one of the projects being set up.

"Apparently, she's the one William's most concerned about," Kara nodded, folding her arms.

Oliver snorted. "She didn't clone a living organism."

"That's exactly what Evelyn said."

Oliver sighed heavily, rubbing his temples as he watched Alex help William set up. "I wish I could stay for the entire thing."

"William knows that," Kara turned to him, rubbing his shoulder. "I know that. Just focus on getting that council out of the way, all right?"

"I will," Oliver nodded in relief. "I'm glad you're here."

"Wouldn't miss it," Kara smiled, kissing his cheek. "Just don't do anything idiotic, all right?"

Oliver blinked rapidly at her. "What?"

Kara tilted her head. "You have a team, Oliver," she said. "It's not just you. You don't have to do this all alone."

 _TAP TAP TAP TAP._

Oliver's head whipped towards the bleachers, making Kara frown. "Oliver?"

"Sorry," he frowned uneasily . . . that made it sound like Kara hadn't heard what he just did. "Just thought I heard something."

"Huh," Kara frowned, looking around. "I don't hear anything out of the ordinary."

 _TAP TAP TAP TAP._

"Must be imagining it, then," Oliver sighed.

* * *

 ** _John Diggle_**

"Yeah, I know, but we're working on it. I'll tell him. Thanks."

"Hey," Dig nodded to Quentin as they met up by the stairwell into the bunker. "Who was that?"

"Oh, I was telling Sara what's been going on," Quentin answered as they headed down the stairs. "You know, as if Oliver being under suspicion of being the Green Arrow isn't enough, now his council wants to impeach him."

Dig grimaced. "How many of them did she say she wanted to kill?"

"Oh, there was quite the list," Quentin barked in laughter. "I think I managed to talk her down, though."

"Well, that's good," Dig nodded as they headed down the stairs. "Vigilantes don't need any more damaged reputations." He paused at the bottom when he saw Oliver looking oddly towards the elevator. "Hey," he approached. "You OK?"

Oliver snapped to attention, nodding as he turned to them. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course," Dig nodded. "You, uh, said you needed help?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "The techs got together the proof that Hill and Armand were in bed with Diaz. Dinah will back me up, and so will Armand."

"That's great!" Quentin beamed. "It's great!"

Dig frowned at the concerned look on Oliver's face. "You're thinking otherwise."

"There's a point Alex brought up, and it's one that's worrying me," Oliver tapped the drive on the table. "Armand will speak for himself . . . we don't have Hill here to confirm her side of the story."

"You think without her there, physically or some other way, you could still be impeached?" Quentin asked incredulously.

"Oliver, the evidence against Hill is rock solid," Dig gestured to the drive. "And with Dinah speaking up for you, the SCPD is who found this out, not the Green Arrow!"

"Unless the council somehow spins it that this was just Dinah trying to throw her predecessor under the bus to make herself look good," Oliver pointed out.

"Well, now you're just being pessimistic," Quentin scowled.

"I'm trying to think of how many council members are under Diaz's thumb," Oliver countered. "I want this more solid than . . . " He faltered, thinking. "Whatever the strongest alien metal on Earth-38 is."

"Not quite sure what that is," Dig admitted, "but that's pretty strong." He sighed and nodded, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "I'll call Lyla, see if we can get some kind of video call set up for Hill to make a statement for the council. That solid enough?"

"Hopefully," Oliver sighed gratefully. "Thank you, John."

"No problem, brother," Dig clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I've got your back."

"I've an idea," Quentin straightened. "If Dinah comes under fire, we find someone who can back her up. Samandra Watson. She could help us cover on this."

"The woman who wants Oliver in _prison?"_ Dig asked incredulously. "Really?"

"Hey, she wants justice," Quentin held his hands up, defending himself. "Taking down a crime boss who's overrun a city seems to fit the bill in my eyes. Maybe if we have her, we wouldn't even need to worry about anything from Hill."

Oliver looked at Dig, who mulled it over in his thoughts. He finally sighed and nodded. "If I ask Lyla to back us up, who knows, the council may twist it that the wife of one of your best pals has screwed judgment, as much as I hate saying it," he agreed with Quentin. "I say we go for it."

"All right," Oliver nodded, looking at Quentin. "Call her."

Quentin nodded, standing up. "That council meeting's in an hour."

Dig whistled. "Better get to calling Lyla, then."

"I got to focus," Oliver rubbed his head. "But I'll be there."

"See you back at City Hall," Quentin nodded, turning to the staircase and leaving.

Dig nodded, about to do the same when he saw Oliver's gaze veer to the side. Dig paused and turned around, seeing Oliver look back at the elevator again, then turn back. "You OK, man?" he asked.

"Yeah," Oliver said slowly. "I just . . . think I keep hearing something."

"Huh," Dig looked back at the elevator. "Well, I don't hear a thing."

"Kara said the same thing," Oliver nodded.

Dig pulled out his phone. "I'll call Lyla and see what we can do."

"Thank you," Oliver nodded.

"Of course," Dig nodded back, heading up the stairs.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver watched Quentin and Dig leave, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He _really_ needed to find a way to –

 _TAP TAP TAP TAP. TAP TAP TAP TAP._

Oliver spun around quickly, staring at the elevator as the taps came louder and harder. He finally stood up, heading for the weapons rack and grabbing one of Dig's handguns, unlocking the safety and spinning around to face the elevator.

It finally slid open, and behind the doors was a face that made him falter. "Hello, Oliver," Adrian Chase smirked cruelly. "Long time."

* * *

 **A/N: You really forget how creepy Adrian Chase is, then you rewatch "Fundamentals." There were so many times I wanted to punch the bastard in his teeth.**


	92. Fundamentals - Part Two

**Oliver enjoys some quality time with an old enemy and takes a joy ride on drugs. It's not exactly a fun ride, though, and the impeachment hearing involves a surprise.**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"No," Oliver shook his head in disbelief, lowering the gun and staring at the phantom in front of him. "You . . . Cayden James had you _killed!"_

"Funny thing," Adrian scoffed. "You never did go check for yourself. Guess you were somewhat preoccupied, right? Still . . . seems a little careless." He raised the silver handgun he held and fired, and Oliver yelped as the bullet went through his shoulder, throwing him back. "Come on, man!" Adrian snarled as Oliver grabbed at his shoulder, wincing in pain as he tried to find the gun he had dropped, repeatedly firing all the while. "You've seen people come back from what seemed like certain death! As I recall, you once were stabbed and fell off of a mountain . . . yet here you are!"

Oliver finally managed to grab a silver tray to deflect the bullets fired at him, then swung it into Adrian's face, knocking him back. His gun fell to the ground, and Adrian snarled, grabbing Oliver and tossing him over one of the tables. As he scrambled to get up, Adrian drew his sword and came around the table, swinging it menacingly. Oliver made a grab for his bow as Adrian's first swing hit the rails, and bow and sword clacked against each other before one of Adrian's swings was enough to break it. Their fight moved up to the tech platform, Oliver finally managing to kick one of Adrian's legs out from under him and wrap his arm around his neck, holding him in a chokehold.

The same chokehold from Lian Yu. "Do it!" Adrian growled, trying to wrench free.

"I didn't last time," Oliver gritted his teeth.

"And then I almost killed everyone you loved," Adrian sneered. "I'm not playing games this time. This time, I'm coming for you and Kara and William, and even those bitches Evelyn and Black Siren. Anyone and everyone who's ever been close to you. And there's only one way that you can stop me."

Oliver gritted his teeth, having enough of people threatening his loved ones, and he grabbed Adrian around the middle, wrenching hard and hearing the crunch of bones crack. He dropped Adrian's corpse on the floor, coughing as he struggled to stand up and make his way down off the platform. He leaned against one of the tables, taking a few deep breaths.

There were two quiet metal taps, and he braced himself, preparing to see Adrian get to his feet, but when he turned around, he wasn't there.

"Oh, now wasn't that better?" Slowly, Oliver turned around to see Adrian on his opposite side, a satisfied look on his face. "You know, you might just have to start considering the possibility that I'm just not killable, Oliver."

Oliver stared at his suddenly alive former enemy, then shook his head. "No, Adrian," he turned around. "You're dead, still on Lian Yu or in A.R.G.U.S. custody." He took a deep breath, looking down at his suddenly healed shoulder and completely blood-free shirt. "I'm hallucinating."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver winced as he took a syringe and stuck it in his arm, slowly drawing a blood stick. At least he wasn't completely focused on the pain.

Then again, a chattering hallucination of Adrian Chase probably wasn't the best option of what to listen to. "I knew you'd kill me," he said conversationally. "Or try to. I always was the one person who saw you for the murderer you are." Oliver just sighed, sticking the blood stick into the machine next to him. "What are you doing?" Adrian raised an eyebrow, then looked over his shoulder at where Oliver was looking: one of the computer monitors running a scan. _"Oh._ Oh, you're running a blood test! You think you've been dosed with something." He clicked his tongue as Oliver slid his sleeves back down, walking around to see the results. "You know, there _is_ another explanation, a more likely one in my considered opinion. You're finally going crazy. It's completely understandable, Ollie. You're losing everything. Even the people I couldn't manage to take from you."

Oliver let Adrian say his piece, pinching the bridge of his nose. _I haven't lost everything,_ he thought repeatedly. _I'm not losing everything. I haven't lost Kara or William. I haven't lost John or Felicity or Quentin. I haven't lost Slade or Malcolm or Laurel. I gained Evelyn._

 _You nearly did,_ a traitorous voice whispered. _You almost lost John. How many times could one tiny misstep have made you lose everything?_

"I really like this Ricardo Diaz," Adrian continued. "If he didn't exist, I'd have to think him up myself. He's going about all of this _exactly_ right! Don't hurt the people that you love, just get them all to abandon you. It's actually the easiest thing in the world." He pointed at Oliver as he put his suit jacket back on. "I told you this, Ollie. I told you this, man. Everything you touch _dies."_

 _Rene,_ the same traitorous voice whispered, making Oliver close his eyes. _Laurel's almost died twice – once by Dinah, once by Diaz. Evelyn is still being hunted. Pestilence almost killing Winn, Alex, Malcolm, and himself._

"What you're going through right now?" Adrian stepped forward. "Losing your team, the impeachment – all of it is happening just like I told you it would, and nothing in that blood test is gonna change that." Oliver looked up when the test beeped, and he walked over to take a look. "Well?" Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"Vertigo?" Oliver narrowed his eyes at what he found onscreen. "Absorbed it through my . . . " He looked down at his hands, then sighed and closed his eyes. "Kullens."

"Friend of yours?" Adrian asked.

Oliver sighed, turning around. "Apparently not."

"Don't," Adrian shook his head as Oliver headed towards his phone. "Don't go talk to Quentin! You are not in the state of mind to be talking to him right now. He might have you committed, which would be a shame since by my count, he's probably the only person still left in your corner at City Hall."

"What are you doing, Adrian?" he turned around, finally fed up with what he was saying. "I have more people than you think that are in my corner."

"And what does who you have in your corner say about you?" Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson . . . mass murderers, right? Interesting people to rely on when other good friends leave you high and dry."

"I was never left high and dry," Oliver shook his head.

"Really?" Adrian paced. "You've certainly changed. Maybe you are a better Oliver Queen, a happier Oliver Queen . . . but it has sure made you a worse hero. You have a fiancée, a son, you're the mayor, the latter of which, yes, may be going away, but still, it's a fair assumption. You're stretched too thin, buddy. Two Earths? Really? Maybe you've gotten so good at being Oliver Queen that the Green Arrow's mission is suffering. And you've got two supervillains in your ear to tell you what to get back to." He smirked suddenly. "Hey, what's Vertigo do? Does it show you your worst fear?"

"You're not my worst fear, Adrian," Oliver chuckled darkly, turning around. "You're nowhere close."

"Oh, I know," Adrian laughed as Oliver headed into the elevator. "Your worst fear is _yourself._ Guys like me, Ricardo Diaz, Damien Darhk, Ra's al Ghul, when it comes to destroying you, Oliver, we all come in second place." The smirk was back on the villain's face when Oliver turned to close the doors. "You're the one enemy you can't defeat."

The doors closed, and Oliver sighed, reaching for his phone when it rang. "Yes, Quentin?" he asked.

"Hearing's about to start," Quentin said. "Where the hell are you?"

"Well," Oliver leaned against the wall, "Kullens dosed me with Vertigo, and I have been dealing with it."

"Didn't you say that Diaz was dealing Vertigo these days?"

"Well, Kullens is working for Diaz, apparently. Listen, where are we with Agent Watson?"

Quentin scoffed. "She's _mulling it over."_

"She's got to mull faster," Oliver grumbled. "And John?"

"Working with Lyla, as of a few minutes ago. I'll give Watson another call. Just get down here as fast as you can, all right?"

"I'm on my way," Oliver promised, hanging up and stepping out as the elevator doors opened.

And right into the Queen mansion, he realized in shock, looking around at his warm family home. He shook his head in disbelief, walking around and looking at the restored paintings, the fire going in the fireplace . . .

"Ollie." He closed his eyes, then turned around to see Laurel, the _Earth-1_ Laurel, standing behind him, looking at him with a fond smile before it faded away. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, taking a few steps closer. "Ollie? Are you OK?"

"I don't know," he shook his head.

"You know, if you tell her the truth, she'll just think you're crazy, Oliver," Adrian appeared behind Laurel. "You'll break her heart all over again. Nobody wants that."

"Hey," Laurel stepped closer, almost chest to chest with Oliver. "Hey, you can tell me anything."

"I know that," Oliver nodded, a fond smile on his face even as he closed his eyes. "I need to leave."

"I though the boat left at six," Laurel frowned.

"What?" Oliver did a double take.

"The _Gambit,"_ Laurel answered like it was obvious. "The trip that you're going on with your father. I ran into Sara. She said that you hadn't packed yet. Do you want me to help you?"

Adrian sighed wistfully. "Man, look at how innocent she was, how much she loved you. You destroyed that."

"Ollie?"

"Oh, tell her about her future, man," Adrian grinned. "Tell her about what happens when she becomes the Black Canary!"

"Ollie!" The echoing voice didn't come from the Laurel in front of him, making Oliver's head shoot up as he looked around. "Please, help me!" When he turned around, he was back in the hospital, and there was Laurel, lying in her bed, looking at him with tears in her eyes. "Please, I'm scared! I don't want to die! This is gonna destroy my father! He can't handle this!"

"She's got a point," Adrian nodded from where he sat back by the table. "My question is, why did you let her become the Black Canary in the first place? She's a _lawyer!_ What, after a couple self-defense classes and a few sparring sessions with you, you think she's ready to go handle thugs and killers?"

"It was a mistake," Oliver whispered.

"Yeah," Adrian snorted. _"Your_ mistake."

"Which _I_ had to pay for," Laurel ground out.

"It was a mistake," Oliver nodded, swallowing hard. "But I knew you, and I knew that you would do it with or without me. I thought this way, I could protect you."

"And how did that work out for you, Ollie, huh?" Laurel asked.

Oliver sighed, turning around and preparing his answer when a different voice came from behind this time. "Yeah, Ollie. How'd that work out for her?" He spun back around to see Rene in full Wild Dog attire, gesturing to himself. "For me, not too good."

"Uh uh," Oliver shook his head. "Slade gave you an out. He told you to stand down."

"So, a villain's word on it," Adrian hummed. "Oh, that's too good, Ollie."

"You know," Rene leaned back, "John came to see me in here. Felicity, too . . . but you were nowhere, Hoss."

"He's got a point, Oliver," Curtis's voice said.

Oliver turned to see Curtis and Dinah both there, too, in their vigilante attire as well. "If your conscience is so sparkly clean, why didn't you check on Rene?" Dinah tilted her head.

"You were here," Oliver shook his head. "Rene made it clear. Matter of fact, _all_ of you have made it clear that you don't want anything to do with me."

"Always a comeback for everything," Curtis shook his head, Dinah clicking her tongue admonishingly.

"That's enough," Oliver growled, storming past them. "It's _not real!"_

When he went through the door, he was out of his vigilante attire and back at the loft . . . and when he heard a whimper, he raced around the couch to find Evelyn sprawled on the ground, a knife on the ground and drenched in blood . . . _her_ blood, Oliver realized, seeing the hand she held against her stomach. "You," she choked as Oliver crouched over her, face pale. "You shouldn't be here."

"Evelyn," he croaked, trying to stop the bleeding with shaking hands. "What happened?"

"He was here," Evelyn rasped. "Diaz was here. He wanted me . . . but next . . . "

"Little girl wouldn't go down without a fight," Diaz's voice said, and Oliver looked up to see him approach as Evelyn went limp. "Your fiancée and kid aren't here. They're at some science fair." He chuckled as Oliver shook his head rapidly. "You still think this isn't real?" He reached out, and Oliver grunted when he felt metal slide between his ribs. "Does that feel real enough for you?" Diaz quizzed, letting the knife go and letting Oliver collapse. "I always wondered why nobody just does that – kill you straight. Turns out, it'd be a waste of time." He crouched down, looking Oliver in the eye. "You're more dangerous as a martyr than you are as Green Arrow, but before that happens, there's a lot left of you that I want to _break."_

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

With a groan of pain, Oliver woke up collapsed on the tech platform in the Arrowcave, and with a wince, he checked to make sure he hadn't actually been stabbed. It was relief that he found no stab wound, and he rolled over, grimacing as he got to his feet. _I_ really _hate Vertigo,_ he thought in annoyance as he balanced himself.

He looked at the suits on the wall – his, Slade's, Malcolm's, Dig's, Laurel's, even Evelyn's now – then took a deep breath, taking out his phone and dialing Quentin's number as he headed for the elevator. "Yeah, Quentin, hi," he cleared his throat. "I'm gonna need that hearing delayed. I'll explain everything."

"You have failed this city." Oliver froze, hearing that very, _extremely_ familiar face, and turned around to face his latest hallucination . . . himself in his Hood uniform. "And you know why."

Oliver took a deep breath. He just had to make it through this. "Because I got away from you," he said exactly what the hallucination wanted him to.

"You were never supposed to have partners," the Hood snarled. "There was never supposed to be a John Diggle, a Felicity Smoak, a Team Arrow. There was never supposed to be a Green Arrow. There was never supposed to be a Kara Danvers! There was only the mission!"

Oliver's fists turned white as he clenched them. "I lost sight of that," he ground out, just wishing the damn drug was out of his system.

"You lost your city!" the Hood spat. "And now you know what you have to do to get it back."

* * *

 ** _Quentin Lance/Oliver Queen_**

"It's been over an hour," Kullens huffed, glaring at the trio standing at the head of the table. "Where is the mayor?"

Dinah and Armand exchanged wary looks, wondering that themselves, but Quentin just scoffed. "Well, why don't you ask Ricardo Diaz?"

Kullens sneered, then footsteps on the floors made them turn in time to see Oliver enter. "Apologies for being late."

"Over an hour late," Kullens bit out. "And we certainly hope you've come with something worthy of our time!"

"One minute," Oliver shook his head, taking a few steps back and turning around. Quentin immediately joined him, followed by Armand and Dinah. "The video footage and evidence?" he looked at Dinah.

"Ready," she nodded, an angry look on her face. "This is a low blow, Oliver."

"Well, Kullens is in Diaz's pocket," Oliver huffed. "I didn't expect anything less."

"I can always bring that up, too, if you need," Armand looked at him.

"Thank you, Sam, but I don't think we'll win any battles accusing council members without ironclad proof," Oliver shook his head. "Speaking of which, anything from John and Lyla?"

"You'll never believe this," Quentin scoffed. "They can't get a solid signal to the safehouse where she's at."

Oliver closed his eyes. "How the hell is that possible?"

"Honestly, with Diaz having eyes and ears everywhere?" Armand pursed his lips. "I don't think I want to know the answer to that question."

"Sara couldn't believe it, either, and I tried asking her if there was anything she could do short of getting Hill here," Quentin snorted.

"And Watson?" Oliver asked.

Quentin shook his head. "We're on our own."

Oliver sighed. "All right."

"We've got your six, Oliver," Dinah told him.

Oliver took a deep breath, turning back around to face the council. "All right," he said, making the table hush. "Yes, I promise you, Councilman Kullens, we have something worth your time. Captain Drake?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is all the evidence you need," Dinah held up the flash drive Quentin had given her. "This flash drive contains financial data and correspondence linking former Captain Hill and former D.A. Armand with a known felon named Ricardo Diaz."

"Known by whom?" one of the women asked. "I've never heard of a Ricardo Diaz."

"You probably wouldn't have," Dinah shook her head. "The state supreme court overturned his convictions because of technicalities."

"But I assure you, Councilwoman, Diaz is a threat," Armand looked at her. "He's kept a very low profile just to make sure he is."

"How did you obtain this purported evidence?" Kullens sneered.

"I came forward to the mayor," Armand answered, lying so smoothly that the three in the know had to school their features to not look surprised. "I also told him about former Captain Hill. Captain Drake then investigated the matter herself, coming up with the evidence here, offered by myself and by former Captain Hill."

A few councilmembers around the table were muttering, some of them sounding less certain of themselves. "How much you wanna bet they were hoping you'd play the 'found by the Green Arrow' card?" Quentin muttered.

"All the money Diaz gave me," Armand deadpanned.

"I find it rather convenient that while D.A. Armand is here to share his side of the story, we don't have Captain Hill here to do the same," Kullens said loudly over the ruckus, drawing all attention back to him. "Not to mention you knew nothing of Captain Hill before you promoted her. You consider both D.A. Armand and Captain Drake your friends, Mr. Mayor. How do we know they are not simply obstructing justice themselves?"

Quentin's jaw tightened as Dinah's dropped. "Councilman Kullens," Armand began.

"Not only could we impeach Mayor Queen for obstruction of justice and perjury, but also overturn Captain Drake's promotion for the same reasons," Kullens shot her a glare. "And based on the very fact you are being investigated for being the vigilante, we could impeach you for vigilantism as well, Mr. Mayor!"

"Wow," a dry female voice came from behind, making Dinah reach for her gun. "I heard grasping at straws was possible." Oliver turned around to see a blonde-haired woman in a navy-blue pantsuit step into the room, an amused look in her eyes as she was followed by a black-haired man in spectacles wearing a similar suit, though he looked much more nervous than her. "I didn't realize the straws were practically non-existent."

"And who are you?" Kullens demanded.

"I'm here on behalf of FBI Special Agent Samandra Watson," she smirked, holding up an FBI badge and ignoring Quentin's startled cough as she nodded at Oliver. "Special Agent Ava Sharpe. Apologies for being late, Mayor Queen."

* * *

 **A/N: And so continues my addition of characters that you never think would appear in this. Hi, Ava!**


	93. Fundamentals - Part Three

**Ava's got her girlfriend's father's back, Evelyn is a good friend, and Mon-El reveals something about the future that has everyone up in arms (metaphorically speaking).**

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"I beg your pardon, Agent Sharpe," Kullens began, sputtering a bit.

"Agent Watson apologizes for not being here," Ava stepped forward into the room more, interlocking her hands behind her back. "But after she received calls from both Deputy Mayor Lance and Captain Drake regarding evidence found that two of the city's highest ranking officials were guilty of being compromised by this Ricardo Diaz, she found it important to check out and ensure that it was not, as you say, a case of Mayor Queen forcing resignations because he wants to get rid of those who are investigating him being the Green Arrow. This," she held up a flash drive of her own, "is information Agent Watson felt relevant to share after reviewing what I investigated. I would like to compare it to the evidence Captain Drake has presented to the council."

The woman who had spoken up before glanced at Kullens, who looked like he was sweating, then extended her hand. "I agree."

Ava handed over her drive, and Dinah did as well. As the councilwoman turned her computer to plug in the drives and pull up comparisons, Oliver ever so slightly turned to the woman who had shown up. "Any relation to an Ava Sharpe mentioned by Sara Lance?" he murmured quietly.

"Whatever gave you that impression, Mayor Queen?" the woman murmured back, giving him a smirk.

Oliver bit his lip to avoid smirking at the phantom of Adrian Chase that sat at the end of the table. He wasn't sure how this agent was pulling this off, but was he ever glad she was.

The councilwoman's face suddenly turned to stone. "This data is exactly the same," she announced, turning it around. "But indicts one of our own as well."

"Who?" Ava asked, tilting her head.

The councilwoman glared at the now pale Councilman Kullens across from her. "Councilman, why does this show you accepting money from this Ricardo Diaz?"

"That is fabricated!" Kullens blustered as Dinah and Quentin stared at an innocently smug Ava in shock.

"Councilman Kullens was one of my contacts here at City Hall to report back to Diaz," Armand pitched in.

"And unless you would like to accuse the FBI of perjury," Ava turned to Kullens, "I would suggest you stop talking right now, Councilman. After all," she smirked, "I find it rather convenient that one of Diaz's payments to you was right after the council made its decision known to try Mayor Queen for impeachment."

Kullens' face was as grey as his hair now. "Ladies and gentlemen, am I correct to assume that this motion was put forth by Councilman Kullens?" Armand looked around.

"He was the most vocal for it," the councilwoman confirmed.

Armand's triumphant smirk was vicious. "Fruit of the poisonous tree," he declared. "Ricardo Diaz is a criminal, and while I was working for him, I had my law degree long before Diaz had me. Councilman Kullens put forth a motion from this criminal. That makes him criminal as well. That action in itself is illegal. Therefore, with no evidence against Mayor Queen, my testimony, and evidence provided both by the SCPD and by the FBI . . . quite frankly, why are we still here when there shouldn't be a case at all?"

Kullens had turned so many colors in the last few moments that Oliver was almost worried for his health. "I agree," the councilwoman's voice was ice. "All those in favor of no indictment?" All but Kullens raised their hands, and Oliver could have collapsed in relief. "I believe that concludes this waste of time," the councilwoman nodded. "Captain Drake?"

"Councilman Kullens," Dinah's voice was gleeful as she walked behind the councilman. "You are under arrest."

As the council's voices rose in outrage over Kullens, Ava turned on her heel and left the room, closely followed by Oliver and Quentin, the other agent still nervously hanging back. "Don't worry, Gary, we'll leave shortly," Ava's lips quirked up in a smirk.

"Agent Sharpe," Oliver began, trying to find a way to speak. "How? And why?"

"Actually, if we're using titles, it's _Director_ Sharpe now," Ava told him. "I was promoted after the last director was, for lack of better words, pummeled to death by a gorilla."

"A gorilla?" Quentin repeated.

"A gorilla," Ava nodded. "Don't ask more details, I'm still confused. But as the Director of the Time Bureau, I correspond now more than ever with the Legends. Sara mentioned what was going on, and I thought I'd take a look into it. Imagine my surprise when I found out how many changes in history hinged on whether the mayor was impeached or not."

"My impeachment is that important to history?" Oliver blinked rapidly.

"Mr. Queen," Ava gave him a long look. "You, Ms. Danvers, Mr. Allen, and Sara are all extremely important to history, now more than ever. I was more than happy to help you." She lowered her voice, seeing the council disperse as Dinah led Kullens away. "And not just because I'm Sara's girlfriend."

"Huh," Quentin huffed. "Well, as far as 'meet the daughter's significant other' goes, you didn't do half a bad job making a good impression."

Ava's cheeks flushed. "Thank you, Mr. Lance."

"Please," he waved a hand. "Call me Quentin."

"And it's Oliver to you, Director Sharpe," Oliver smiled. "After what you just did in there, I think you can dispense with the titles."

"Ava, then," she smiled, extending her hand.

Oliver shook it, tilting his head. "So what will you do if the council decides to contact Agent Watson to make sure you're an FBI agent?"

"Oh, we'll be prepared for that," Ava smirked. "Just leave Agent Watson to me. It's the least I can do for all you heroes do for the multiverse." She snorted quietly, scratching the back of her head. "Still weird to believe, and I'm the director of a time travel agency."

"Believe me, I kinda miss the days when it was just vigilantes with medieval weapons," Quentin snorted.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have Kara," Oliver smiled wistfully.

Quentin sighed dramatically. "You and your fiancée."

Ava chuckled. "It was a pleasure meeting both of you."

"It was great meeting you, too, Ava," Oliver smiled.

Ava shook Quentin's hand, too, then turned around. "Let's go, Gary."

The man hesitantly waved, then scampered after Ava as she disappeared down the hall. "Well," an oily voice from behind said, and Oliver groaned as Adrian appeared in his line of sight. "That didn't turn out the way I expected."

Quentin side-eyed where Oliver was looking as Armand came out. "Have you still got that Vertigo crap in your system?" he asked.

"What?" Armand asked sharply.

"Yep," Oliver deadpanned, glaring at Adrian.

"You just went in there and faced the council while on _Vertigo?"_ Armand hissed.

"Blame Kullens," Oliver told him.

"My God, Oliver," Armand shook his head. "You're _insane."_

"What did I tell you?" Adrian smirked.

"You'd get along really well with who I'm hallucinating right now," Oliver sighed.

"You never did have a great track record when it comes to hiring D.A.s," Adrian said cheerfully.

"It's Chase?" Quentin narrowed his eyes.

"Yep," Oliver nodded sullenly.

Quentin nodded thoughtfully. "Here's an idea," he looked at him. "I'll handle things here. You go back and get well. Get that Vertigo out of your system. Who knows? You could hallucinate Kara to punch him for you."

Oliver couldn't help but laugh at that. "I might try that."

"Seriously, Oliver," Armand looked at him. "Get that out."

"I will," Oliver nodded, extending his hand. "Thank you so much, Sam."

"Thank you for all you've done for me," Armand shook his hand. "I didn't deserve any of it, but at least I could help."

"You're on the right track now, Sam," Oliver told him. "Just stay there."

"I will," Armand promised.

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp/Kara Danvers_**

Evelyn was finishing making herself two Monte Cristos when she heard the door to the apartment open. She looked up in time to see William enter, and she perked up. "Hey!" she beamed, hastily pulling down another plate. "How did it go?"

"Second place," William smiled happily, holding up his ribbon.

"Really?" Evelyn grinned. "Great! Who got first?"

"Sarah Epstein," William answered, rolling his eyes.

"That cheater," Alex grumbled as Kara giggled. "I swear I saw that solar hot dog cooker on Amazon on _our_ Earth."

"Well, hey," Evelyn placed one of the Monte Cristos on the plate and bringing both around, holding one out to William. "That makes you the winner to us."

William brightened when he saw what she had made. "You made them with waffles!"

"They're so addictive," Evelyn gushed, grinning as Kara and Alex put their things down. "Seriously, your dad ruined other sandwiches for me once I had these."

She was totally unprepared for William to give her a huge one-armed hug. "Thank you, Evelyn!"

She hesitated for a moment, then smiled shyly and hugged him back. "You're welcome, William."

William beamed at her, picking up a sandwich to eat when he looked around. "Speaking of my dad . . . where is he?"

"I don't know," Evelyn frowned, checking her phone. "I haven't heard anything from anyone . . . "

The door opened at that moment, and Oliver's tired voice came through. "How did the science fair go?"

"Dad!" William perked up, finding his ribbon and holding it up. "Second place!"

"Really?" Oliver smiled, giving him a hug. "Good job, buddy. Sorry I couldn't make it."

"How did the council go?" Kara asked in concern, walking over and winding her arm around his.

"All things considered, pretty well," Oliver nodded. "I'm still the mayor, and Kullens got arrested for being in Diaz's pocket."

"One of the councilmen?" Alex asked in surprise.

"Yep," Oliver nodded, wincing. "The one who called for my impeachment . . . and the one who is responsible for why I'm seeing Adrian Chase holding up a Kryptonite arrow tauntingly."

Kara's face blanched, and she turned around. "Where?!"

"No," Evelyn shook her head desperately. "Cayden James killed him! Talia and I saw it happen!"

"I know," Oliver rubbed his eyes. "Kara, I hate to ask you this . . . but can you punch me out?"

" _What?!"_ Kara gawked at him.

"Please," Oliver swallowed. "I really don't want to have to look at a hallucination of him anymore."

Kara bit her lip, then steeled herself. "Oh, I hate this . . . "

She threw a swift left hook, and Oliver crumpled right onto the couch. "Oh, my God!" Evelyn jumped back, her plate almost falling from her hands.

William was just in time to catch both the plate and the sandwich on top. "What the hell was that?" Alex stared at Oliver in shock.

"I have no idea," Kara swallowed. "But I _really_ wanna know."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

When Oliver came to again, it was to the low murmur of many, many voices around him. He winced and reached up, feeling his head pound, then immediately felt a cool hand on his cheek. "Oliver," Kara said quietly. "Take it easy, OK?"

"Dad!" That was from William, and as Oliver slowly opened his eyes, he saw both his fiancée and his son looking down on him in concern. "Are you all right?"

Oliver blinked a few times, then groaned. "Well, there's no longer Adrian Chase in the room, so . . . that's a plus."

"How long have you been hallucinating him?"

Startled, Oliver almost fell off the couch he was laying on, turning to see who else was in the room. He was stunned to see his entire team, including the three former supervillains, along with Kara's entire team . . . even Barry, Sara, and their teams were there, too. "This place is way too crowded," he muttered.

"Yeah, nice try," Sara snorted. "Dad told me about the Vertigo, and Ava told me how the council meeting went."

"Your girlfriend is a total badass," Oliver admitted, wincing afterwards. "Still love you most, Kara."

"Hey, Quentin updated us," Kara shook her head. "I need to write her a thank you card."

"Seriously, though, man," Barry leaned forward. "Are you all right?"

"I am now," Oliver nodded, rubbing his forehead. "You all didn't have to come."

"Man, you got drugged and almost got impeached," Cisco snorted. "How could we _not_ come?"

"We just wanted to make sure you were all right," Nate nodded.

"Plus, when it was mentioned Kara had to knock you out," Ray shrugged.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Oliver looked at Kara gratefully.

"Just explain better next time," Kara patted his shoulder.

"In the meantime," Oliver winced. "Anyone have a hangover remedy?"

There was general laughter as Felicity held up a glass. "Funny you should ask," she handed it over. "There are oranges in there for Vitamin C, there's almonds in there for Vitamin E, there's avocado in there for Omega-3s – "

"Don't smell it," Dig immediately warned when Oliver raised it.

Oliver blinked, but did as told, wincing at the taste. "Salty."

"Yeah, that would be the fermented fish oils," Felicity nodded, ignoring the mock retching from Jax, Zari, and Wally. "I call it Felicity's party raver hangover supreme cure! Though that might be an insensitive choice of words considering what you just went through, but trust me, it works like a charm. Not that I've used it much. I mean, that was all in the past. Trust me." She cleared her throat, eyeing William and Evelyn. "Drugs are _bad."_

"Vertigo's the worst, from what I've heard," Malcolm looked at Oliver. "You sure you're OK?"

"I will be," Oliver nodded, looking around the room, a smile on his face. Everything Adrian had said, everything that had made him doubt even the slightest moment . . . it was all gone, looking upon the faces of his family, friends, and teammates. "Thank you for coming."

"Any time, man," Barry nodded.

Quentin suddenly came back into the room, a satisfied look on his face. "Well, I think we should turn the TV on."

"Oh?" Alex raised an eyebrow from her seat by Slade as William reached for the remote.

"Yeah," Quentin smirked. "Definitely. News."

William hastily turned it on, and James, Winn, Mon-El, Jax, Lily, and Wally backed away so they could see. _"In a shocking new development at City Hall, the Star City council has voted by a landslide majority to keep Mayor Oliver Queen in office,"_ the reporter announced, making Sara and Alex whoop and Kara and William dive to hug Oliver, who chuckled and hugged them back. _"We now go live to the council's public statement."_

The camera switched to City Hall, revealing the councilwoman who had been the most vocal. _"It is not Mayor Queen's indictment we are here to address, but that of another council member,"_ she announced. _"Councilman Kullens brought this forward based on the word of a known criminal, a criminal who attempted to poison us against a man innocent of the accusations brought before us. Councilman Kullens has been removed from the council, and we sincerely apologize to Mayor Queen for the actions of one, not all of us."_

"Suck ups," James scowled.

"We have those in the 31st century, too," Mon-El nodded.

"Politics never change," Quentin said dryly.

"Looks like you're still stuck with me," Oliver smirked up at him.

"Oh, what horror," Quentin huffed.

"I'm glad you're still the mayor, Dad," William smiled.

"Diaz is gonna be pissed," Laurel snorted.

"He'll be more pissed when he finds out Dinah's plowing through his cops," Quentin said. "She's reworked entire rotations. There's not a single dirty cop that isn't on duty with one she trusts. Diaz won't find a way into the station any time soon."

"Good," Oliver sighed. "One last suicide mission for me."

"So," J'onn leaned forward. "What now that this impeachment business is over with?"

Oliver considered. "Right now," he tugged Kara and William closer, making Kara giggle and William beam. "Stay right here."

"Hey, you know what _did_ change in the 31st century?" Mon-El piped up, making everyone look at him. "No musicals."

"What?" Kara shot upright, eyes wide.

"Oh, God," Cisco closed his eyes.

"That is a tragedy!" Barry declared loudly.

"We are not seriously about to have a musical marathon, are we?" Evelyn looked around incredulously.

"Yes!" Winn whooped, tugging James to sit down on the floor. "Musical marathon!"

"Are we actually?" Imra looked around in confusion.

"Legends, we do not go into work until we get in the temporal zone," Sara declared, sauntering over to the couch and plopping down at Kara's feet. "We watch!"

"Yes!" Ray and Nate high fived.

"We're actually having a musical marathon," Slade shook his head.

"Oh, spend a night with the Danvers sisters some time," Alex snorted. "You'd get musical after musical, and sometimes, it would be the same one two times in a row."

"We're not nearly prepared enough!" Barry protested, looking around.

Wally suddenly disappeared, and streaks of gold lightning whipped out and in the loft, and soon there were bowls of popcorn, various wine bottles, and blankets and pillows everywhere. "Now we are!" Wally declared.

" _Yes!"_ Barry cheered.

Oliver rolled his eyes fondly. "I guess we're actually having a musical marathon."

"Start with _The Wizard of Oz!"_ Kara called.

Protests immediately rose from others about the best musical to choose, but Oliver was distracted by Dig and Felicity pulling their chairs up behind their couch. "Not a bad life, huh, man?" Dig smiled knowingly.

Oliver looked around the teams, smiling as Kara cheered victoriously as Mon-El agreed to watching _The Wizard of Oz_ first, various people sprawling out together on the floor and furniture. "No," he agreed, smiling wider as William patted the spot on the couch next to him for Evelyn to join him, the dark-haired girl doing so with a pleased look. "Not a bad life at all."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I wonder why our four favorite team leaders are _so_ important to history, according to Ava? In case you're wondering where the Legends are in their timeline, they're about to dive into "Necromancing the Stone," and it's just before "Run, Iris, Run" for Team Flash. I figured that since everyone celebrated with Team Flash when Barry was released from prison, a team celebration after Oliver wasn't impeached was a good reason to bring them all together again. Plus . . . musical marathon.**

 **If you've been a fan of Evelyn and William, you'll be happy to hear they'll get more appearance time next chapter - next episode on my to-do list is Supergirl's "Shelter from the Storm!"**


	94. Shelter From The Storm - Part One

**The Legion heads off, Alex visits Ruby with a few extra guests, and Kara meets Patricia Arias.**

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp_**

"I can't believe your dad and Kara let us walk through National City by ourselves," Evelyn was giggling as she dug into the frozen yogurt she was carrying.

William grinned back up at her as they walked down the streets. "I think they know we haven't even gone three blocks from Kara's apartment complex."

Evelyn snorted. "This is . . . what, my fourth time in National City? I don't even know where we are."

"That's what I'm here for," William smirked. "And you're keeping me in check."

"Am I?" Evelyn pointed her spoon at the much larger frozen yogurt cup he was holding.

William looked down at it, then shrugged and looked up at her. "Are you telling Dad?"

"Kara's probably listening in right now and will tell him instead," Evelyn rolled her eyes fondly.

"Hey, this isn't even half of what she typically gets," William stabbed his spoon into the frozen yogurt. "Compared to her, I'm having a small portion."

"Uh huh," Evelyn smirked.

"I am!"

"Tell your dad that!"

William grumbled, but he went back to eating his frozen yogurt. "It's just good to have a break from Star City now that my dad isn't getting impeached."

"Agreed," Evelyn nodded.

"Hey, what time is it?" William suddenly asked, looking at his phone. Evelyn was about to point out he had his watch right on his wrist, then realized she had no idea if Earth-38 ran on the same clock as Earth-1 did, and William perked up. "Come on, we need to see the Legion off!"

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

"I went to the market yesterday, Father," J'onn told M'yrnn, stepping into the living room where he was mediating. "I bought some of those cocoa beans. I thought we could mix them up with some of those Sidamo Guji beans you like so much. On this planet, they call the mixing of the two brown waters a mocha."

M'yrnn turned to look at him, brow furrowing. "Please leave me be, Rokar."

J'onn did a double take, then walked forward, sitting across from M'yrnn. "It's not Rokar. It's J'onn, Father." M'yrnn looked at him, a small expression of surprise on his face. "But I still have a little time before seeing the Legion off. Perhaps I could help you with the Ta'ar Kar'iq, continue the preservation of your memories."

"I haven't the energy today," M'yrnn looked down.

"I think it would be good for you," J'onn began.

"I have not the energy," M'yrnn insisted, and J'onn nodded in acceptance. "Maybe if you could turn on the vinyl discs, that would be nice."

"Sure," J'onn nodded, giving M'yrnn a smile. "Of course."

He stood up, walking over to the player, and when he turned on the music and the first jazz notes came forth, M'yrnn smiled softly.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Chameleon was the first Legionnaire to fall," Imra gestured to one of the cryotubes, showing the team. "Stricken by the Blight. Six more quickly followed."

"So you put them in stasis to save their lives," Kara deduced.

"It was Brainy's idea," Mon-El nodded. "Keep them on ice until we can find a cure."

"I was wondering why you hadn't woken them up to join the fight," Alex nodded.

"We couldn't risk exposing your timeline to the sickness," Imra explained. "Couldn't risk causing the very thing we were trying so hard to prevent."

"Considering how bad it was with just Pestilence and not the Blight, thank you for that," Oliver grimaced, William rapidly nodding in agreement.

"But we _did_ prevent it," Mon-El smiled proudly. "And with Pestilence defeated in this time, they were never infected, so their vitals are back normal."

"It is imperative that Imra return to the future," Querl spoke up. "We don't know that the Titan Alliance will have held given the change to the timeline. Every second we waste could bring us closer to intergalactic war."

"Yes, please avoid intergalactic war," Felicity nodded quickly.

"Well, with the Legion's help, we defeated two Worldkillers," Kara smiled fondly. "I think we can handle Reign from here on out." She flapped her cape intentionally. "Especially with my new cape tricks."

"Well, I guess it's back to the future, then," Mon-El nodded.

Several people blinked. "Uh," Dig held out. "He _does_ know – "

"That it's a movie title?" Mon-El finished, smiling sheepishly. "I know. I just like saying it."

"Yes," Querl nodded in agreement. "What time traveler doesn't?" He extended his hand, deepening his voice dramatically. "Back to the future!"

Mon-El and Imra looked at him incredulously, and Querl's head whipped towards Felicity, Evelyn, William, Malcolm, and Laurel when they stifled snorts of amusement, though Oliver and Slade exchanged amused looks.

* * *

 ** _Winn Schott_**

"When I first got here, I assessed you as a first-level intellect," Querl told Winn as they walked through the cruiser.

"Thank you," Winn nodded in recollection.

"As reference, I'm a 12th."

"Oh, yes," Winn just barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Yes, you've mentioned that."

"But now that I've gotten to know you, I realize that you're actually more accurately categorized as a 1.42-level intellect."

Winn stopped short, looking at Querl, who looked very pleased with himself. "Wow," he settled on saying. "Thank you."

"It is I who's expressing gratitude for all of your help," Querl shook his head, pulling a jar out from behind his back. "With this gift."

Winn blinked, then carefully took the jar from Querl. "What's this, space dirt?"

"Earth dirt," Querl corrected. "But it _is_ from the 31st century."

Winn stared at him in shock. "Are you serious?" he stammered, pointing at it. "This is future dirt?"

"Yes," Querl confirmed.

"How did you – ?" he sputtered. "Did Mon-El tell you about my dirt collection?"

"No," Querl shook his head. "I ran a diagnostic of your personality and calculated with a 98.7% certainty that you either collected dirt or New York Mets baseball cards. And judging by the last 783 uninterrupted Major League seasons, I figured dirt was more likely to hold its value." Winn pondered that as Querl raised his hand to his head, undoing the human appearance, returning to his Coluan form. "Shall we embrace?" he asked.

Winn blinked rapidly as Querl extended his hands, approaching him. "What are you doing? That's – oh!" He stopped Querl before he came any closer, pushing his arms out. "We're gonna bro-hug. So, this way," he adjusted his arms. "And then you wanna – yeah, I'll go – " He sighed when Querl didn't move his arms the way Winn wanted him to, then let Querl hug him, going the opposite direction. "Yeah, that's good. Yeah."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers/Mon-El_**

"The worst moment of my life was watching my sister die," Imra smiled warmly at Kara. "But now, because of your help, I have faith that I'll see her again."

Kara smiled back, then Winn ran around the corner. "Hey, Alex!" he shouted, making Alex look over from where she was talking with Slade. "You gotta see what Brainy just got me! Space dirt ain't got nothing on this, baby."

"He got you _what?"_ Felicity's jaw dropped, running over. "Let me see!"

"Oh, the nerd-fest beckons," Alex rolled her eyes fondly, making Slade chuckle as she walked over to see what Winn was waving.

"Mon-El's changed a lot," Kara told Imra, smiling as they watched Felicity bombard Winn with questions, Evelyn peering over her shoulder. "He's become a great man, and I'm certain you have a lot to do with that."

"Thanks, Kara," Imra beamed.

"Hey," Mon-El walked over to join them. "I think it's time to buckle in."

Imra nodded, looking back at Kara. "I'll help Brainy with the preparations."

Kara gave Imra a quick hug, the Saturnian giving her a wide smile before hurrying off. Mon-El watched her go with a fond smile, then turned back to Kara. "Well, you would think that we would be experts at goodbyes now."

Kara laughed, shaking her head and looking down at the ground. She took a deep breath, then looked back up. "It's no secret that I struggled when you got here."

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded, seeing Oliver walk around the corner with Dig. "You weren't the only one."

"But I can honestly say now, truthfully, I'm really happy I got to see you again," Kara smiled at him. "Witnessed the man you've become."

"It meant the world to me to be back here with you, and with everyone," Mon-El told her. "To fight by your side."

"I'm really gonna miss your friendship," Kara smiled widely.

Mon-El nodded in agreement, looking at Oliver as he walked over. "And I'm really gonna miss being threatened daily by your people," he joked.

"They don't do it _daily,"_ Oliver rolled his eyes, then cleared his throat loudly. "Unless there's something I need to know?"

"Hey, we did our job right the first time!" Laurel held up her hands. "Haven't threatened him since."

Mon-El laughed. "I'm just glad we managed to get along."

"Well, you're not half bad," Oliver smiled at the Daxamite, extending his hand. "Thank you so much for all of your help in Star City."

"Of course," Mon-El nodded, shaking his hand. "I'd do anything to help my friends, including in other universes."

Oliver nodded, then looked past him when Felicity made a startled noise. "Felicity?" he asked, making the others look and see Felicity gawking at her phone.

"Lena's penthouse was attacked," she looked back up.

Kara balked, and Mon-El made a hasty gesture at her. "Go," he urged.

Kara nodded, rushing past him, she and Alex rushing for the exit. "Sorry," Oliver apologized quickly, backing up after them.

"Go help Lena," Mon-El waved him off. "She's more important right now."

The rest of the team followed behind Oliver, William and Evelyn running after them as well, leaving just Winn looking at him. "Man, J'onn's gonna be sad he missed you."

"Yeah, tell him it's OK," Mon-El shook his head. "I'll see him in a thousand years."

Winn stared at him, unable to tell if he was joking, then laughed and headed out. "OK!"

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Why would Reign go after Lena?" Kara wondered, looking at the shattered window remains on the floor.

"Well, Lena _did_ imprison Reign," Winn pointed out.

"And then, you know, experimented on her for a little bit," Felicity smiled nervously.

"But Reign's never done anything for revenge," Slade frowned, looking around the broken window. "It's not her MO."

"I agree," J'onn nodded.

"You're right," Lena rubbed her neck, thanking William when he handed her a bottle of water. "Reign wasn't looking for me. She was looking for Ruby."

"Ruby?!" William's eyes widened.

"Is she – ?" Alex began, looking just as worried.

"Reign won't find her," Lena assured her. "Ruby's safe, I promise."

"And are _you_ OK?" Kara asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Lena nodded.

"So Reign is after Ruby, and she started with Lena," J'onn summarized.

Lena nodded in confirmation. "Where else would she look?" Oliver asked.

"Maybe other family members?" Dig suggested.

"Sam's mother, Patricia," Lena offered. "She's got a farm outside the city."

"Kara, Oliver, and I will go get Patricia to safety and then wait for Reign to attack," J'onn nodded, looking around. "Siren, do you think you can help?"

"Definitely," Laurel nodded.

"Is there anything we need to stock up on?" Malcolm asked. "Anything we could use for trick arrows?"

"Electricity," Lena answered after a moment of thought. "It was how I was able to wake Reign up and force her back down."

"Ooo," Winn's eyes brightened. "I can retrofit something."

"I'll help," Felicity volunteered.

"Guess that's where we'll be," Dig looked at Malcolm, who nodded in agreement.

"But what about Ruby?" William looked around. "What if Reign manages to find her?"

"That's where I'll be," Alex answered.

"Alone?" Evelyn's eyebrows shot up.

"Not alone," Slade shook his head. "I'll go with her."

"Slade," Alex sighed, turning to look at him.

"The more protection Ruby has, the better," Slade argued, giving her a firm look. "Besides, I get the feeling you're taking at least one extra person with you."

"Yeah," William nodded rapidly. "I want to visit Ruby."

"That may not be a good idea," Oliver cleared his throat.

"Dad, it would probably help Ruby if she had a friend," William looked at him with wide eyes. "Please?"

"I'll go, too," Evelyn volunteered, looking at Oliver. "I mean, I'd like to meet her, and I can try and protect Will as best as I can."

"And that's why it's better for you to have backup," Slade gave Alex a pointed look.

Alex couldn't help but smirk. "And you're fine with being backup?"

Slade snorted loudly. "You can handle yourself just fine, Danvers. I'll just help where I'm needed."

Lena fidgeted. "The less people know where Ruby's safe place is, the safer the place will be."

"There's nothing wrong with being too careful, Lena," Slade looked at her. "Especially now that we know Reign is definitely looking for her."

Lena sighed, nodding in acceptance. "Where Ruby is, Reign will never find her. It's not on any maps. You can't see it from space. Nobody knows about it except for me and my brother."

"And how does Lex know about it?" Kara frowned uneasily.

"Because it's his mansion," Lena answered.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

Slade looked up from the car's GPS when it beeped, putting the brakes on. "These are the coordinates," he said as he put the car in park.

Alex unlocked her door and stepped out, walking up to what looked like a lamppost electrical box. She flipped it open, aware of William and Evelyn watching curiously as she punched in the code given to her by Lena. The air warped past the fence, and she watched in satisfaction as a large mansion shimmered into view. "Whoa," Evelyn's jaw dropped.

"Cool!" William grinned.

Alex walked back over to the car, getting in and shutting the door. "Let's get to Ruby."

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Kara Danvers_**

"Nice house," Laurel remarked as the quartet walked up towards the Arias residence.

"Looks like," Oliver nodded in agreement.

Kara, still in her Supergirl suit, knocked on the door while Oliver and Laurel still looked around. "Patricia Arias?" she called out. "We need to talk to you."

After a few moments of silence, she looked at J'onn, who nodded at her. "Let's go." Kara nodded back, and J'onn opened the door, stepping inside the house. "Mrs. Arias?" he shouted.

"Francis Pierce," a woman's voice shouted from nearby, making Oliver and Laurel crane their necks to see where she was, "I told you that the next time I caught you in my house looking for pills, I was gonna put a hole through your thieving hand!"

When Patricia Arias came out of the kitchen, raising and cocking a rifle, Oliver immediately reached for the gun he had holstered on his waist, Laurel tensing. Kara stepped in front of J'onn, narrowing her eyes; the moment Patricia saw her, she lowered her gun, stopping where she stood. "Supergirl?" she asked in shock.

"We're sorry if we startled you, Mrs. Arias," Kara apologized, then gestured behind her. "This is Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, and John Jones, FBI."

J'onn was the only one who held up his disguised ID, which was enough for Patricia, who nodded faintly. "We have reason to believe that Reign is on her way here," he told her.

"Which means this house isn't safe," Oliver nodded. "We need to get you out of it."

Patricia swallowed hard. "She's her, isn't she?" she asked, voice wavering. "My Sam is Reign."

Laurel did a double take as Kara stared at her. "How do you know?" the Kryptonian asked. If Patricia had known, why didn't she come forward earlier?

Patricia just beckoned to them, and they followed her up to the second floor, towards one of the bedrooms. "I never told her where she was from," she explained. "I just wanted her to be normal . . . and then, when she was ten, she started doodling all over her books. It was like something inside her just needed to get out, and . . . I punished her for it. I grounded her, and I tore up the pages."

She took a deep breath, then walked over to the wall and ripped off chunks of the paper. Laurel balked when she saw the inked drawing underneath. "The Worldkiller coat of arms," she whispered, recognizing the crest drawn in black.

Patricia sighed, turning back to them. "So she drew it on the wall to spite me. When I saw the same mark all over the news, I knew." Kara nodded sadly, and Patricia closed her eyes, turning around and walking towards one of the dressers. "Oh, Jesus . . . all I ever wanted to do was to protect her. That's all I ever wanted." She looked at a picture of a young girl with dark hair, then turned back around. "When we bury things . . . and I should've known this, but when we bury things, they come at you even harder."

"What Sam's become has nothing to do with the way she was raised," Kara shook her head.

"I was an awful mother," Patricia argued. "I kicked her out. I've never even met my granddaughter."

Laurel flinched, and J'onn cleared his throat. "Uh, we need to get you out of here before she comes."

"No," Patricia said firmly. "If she's coming here, I wanna be here when she does. I kicked her out when I should've helped her. I am not gonna turn away from her now."

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Evelyn Sharp/William Clayton_**

Ruby's sitter took a deep breath as they turned down the umpteenth hallway in the mansion. "Not much further."

"I'm fine, Mrs. Queller," Alex assured her.

"I've hiked worse," Slade grumbled, thinking of Lian Yu.

"Even Cayden James's warehouse wasn't as big as this place," Evelyn hissed to William as they looked at everything they came across.

"Really?" William's eyes widened.

"Yeah," Evelyn nodded. "It didn't take this long to get from one side to the other."

"Geez."

"Oh," Mrs. Queller smiled anxiously. "Of course you are. I mean, you're in much better shape than me. You don't have these knees I have to contend with. Do you know, it took me a week to get used to the distances in this place? The step count from wing to wing? Five thousand. Slightly bigger than my townhouse."

"Well, I'm in a studio, so," Alex shrugged.

"At least it looks better than Lian Yu," Slade eyed the expensive furniture.

"I think the décor's creepy," Mrs. Queller said, stopping in front of a painting. "Oh, especially this one."

Slade immediately narrowed his eyes at the woman in the painting, and Evelyn noticed William inhale sharply when he saw it. "Um," she pointed at the painting. "Who – ?"

"Lillian Luthor," William answered, whispering her name like it was a curse.

"Oh," Evelyn's eyes widened in understanding. "The woman who – ?"

"Yep."

"And your dad and Slade – ?"

"Yep."

Evelyn exhaled. "OK."

"Worse than the Mona Lisa," Mrs. Queller clicked her tongue. "Her eyes follow you everywhere, not in a good way."

"Can I shoot that painting before we leave?" Slade growled quietly to Alex as they turned to follow Mrs. Queller.

Alex considered. "Do you think Lena would mind?"

Slade snorted loudly. "But, you know," Mrs. Queller continued as if she hadn't heard them, "if you can overlook some of the furnishings and the fact that the owner was a serial killer . . . luckily, we haven't found a body yet, and the amenities are really quite fantastic."

Evelyn looked at William incredulously as they walked on. "Is she serious?"

"Lex Luthor was Superman's greatest enemy before he was imprisoned," William eyed Lillian's portrait as they went on. "I think she is."

Evelyn let out a deep breath. "This family is messed up."

Mrs. Queller rounded the corner, and Alex couldn't help but smile when she saw the brunette girl with headphones working at the table. "Ruby doll!" Mrs. Queller called, getting her attention. "Look who's come to pay you a visit!"

Ruby looked up, and as William and Evelyn finally came up behind Alex and Slade, she shot up immediately. "William!" she yanked her headphones off, running forward.

"Hey!" William grinned, hugging her tightly. "It's good to see you!"

"You, too," Ruby beamed. "It's been _forever."_ She perked up when she saw who else was there. "Aunt Alex? Slade?"

"Hi," Alex smiled, giving her a hug as well. "Oh, I'm so glad you're OK."

"Hi, Slade," Ruby smiled at the Aussie.

"Hi, Ruby," Slade chuckled, giving her a fistbump when she offered it. "It's good to see you."

"And this is Evelyn," William gestured to the dark-haired girl, who shyly waved. "Dad and Kara have been looking after her."

"Hello," Evelyn held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you," Ruby shook her hand.

"And she makes _really good_ Monte Cristos," William added.

Evelyn blushed fiercely. "Oliver makes them _so_ much better than me."

"She's modest," William added conspiratorially.

Evelyn punched him in the shoulder, and Ruby giggled. "Thanks for visiting." She looked up at Alex, a hopeful look on her face. "Is my mom here, too?"

Alex sighed, shaking her head. "No. She's still sick."

"What's wrong with her?" Ruby asked, speaking quickly. "She won't tell me, and Lena won't tell me. Do you know?"

"None of us do," Slade shook his head.

Ruby slumped. "I haven't heard from her in _days,"_ she said miserably. "And on the news, there are stories about the Pestilence outbreak. Is that what this is? Was my mom infected?"

"No, Ruby," Alex shook her head. "No."

"I'm twelve years old, Alex," Ruby insisted. "I can handle anything. Just tell me what it is."

Evelyn leaned down to whisper in William's ear. "I get why you like her."

" _Evelyn!"_ William's eyes widened, cheeks flushing.

Alex ignored the two behind her, even as Slade gave Evelyn a smirk, and she took Ruby's hands. "I would if I knew," she said. "But I don't."

Ruby deflated, then William stepped forward. "Can you give us a tour?" he asked hopefully.

Ruby looked at him hopefully. "Are you staying a while?"

"I think so," William looked at Alex and Slade.

"Go," Alex chuckled.

"Yes!" both Ruby and William whooped.

"Come on," Ruby grabbed both William's and Evelyn's hands, tugging them off. "Did Mrs. Queller tell you there's an indoor pool?"

"Really?" William asked in genuine curiosity, Evelyn's laughter following them as they ran off into the house.

"Think you could have kept an eye on all three by yourself?" Slade chuckled, seeing Alex look after them.

Alex sighed, rolling her eyes. "Thank you for tagging along, Slade."

He patted her on the shoulder, taking his duffel off his own. "My pleasure, Alex."

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

"Everything is set," J'onn announced, walking into the kitchen.

"So are we," Oliver nodded. "Patricia's in the safe room."

"She also said we can grab anything out of the fridge if we want," Laurel said, closing the refrigerator door. "I can confirm when she said there's pudding."

J'onn made a face. "No thanks."

Kara giggled, walking over to join J'onn at the counter. "Mon-El and everyone missed you this morning."

"Uh, yeah, I'm sorry about that," J'onn sighed. "I was dealing with my father. Since the incident at the D.E.O., he has become increasingly depressed. Irritable, if I push him."

"Oh, no," Laurel frowned in concern.

"Can Alex prescribe something?" Kara asked.

"I'm giving him Martian medicine, which helps," J'onn shrugged. "But the reality is, with the psychic dampener on, there isn't really much he can do." He sighed, leaning against the counter. "Yeah, I know I needed to protect him – protect _all_ of us – but I still wish there was some way I could make him feel useful. There are moments when he doesn't seem to remember who I am. Thinks I'm someone from his past."

"I'm sorry, J'onn," Kara whispered.

He nodded, accepting her words. "It's funny how his past memories are so clear to him, yet his present thoughts are so chaotic."

"Hey," Kara walked forward, hugging him tightly.

Oliver averted his eyes, wanting to give them a moment, and his eyes landed on the flower vase by the window . . . the flower vase with flowers that were currently _wilting,_ he realized, his eyes widening. "Oh, my God," he whispered.

"What?" Laurel peered past him, and she did a double take, seeing the flowers. "What the hell?"

He pointed at the flowers, looking at J'onn and Kara as they turned to see. "Pestilence," he said in confusion.

"How?" Kara asked in shock.

"Positions?" Laurel guessed.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded, grabbing the gun Winn had manufactured for him and rushing off, the others running to their places as well.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara could hear the downstairs door creak open, then Reign's warped voice echoing through the house. "Patricia?" A second later, her voice had evened out, becoming Sam's, albeit harsher. "Are you home?" She heard footsteps up the stairs, then her voice was just a few feet away. "Ruby? Sweetheart, it's Mommy. I know you're scared, but I've come back for you. Did you miss me?"

She opened the closet doors, and Kara plastered a smile on her face, holding up the gun Winn had made. _"So_ much," she deadpanned, firing at Reign and launching the electric ropes at her.

Reign was flung out the window and onto the lawn below, and Kara flew out to land in a crouch, J'onn phasing through the house to join her, Oliver and Laurel rushing out from behind the house, guns drawn. With a loud shout, Reign broke the electric ropes binding her, landing on bended knee . . . and then she let loose a sonic scream, overwhelming all four of them instantly. Kara fell to the ground, clutching her head, hearing Laurel's cries of pain and Oliver's yells behind her. J'onn removed his hands from his ears to see his hands covered in blood, and another scream from Reign flung him back. She turned to Oliver next, eyes glowing red; Oliver barely managed to fling himself out of the way of her heat vision in time, the tree behind him lighting on fire when she hit it instead.

Kara looked up weakly at Reign as the Worldkiller approached, and she balked when she saw Reign's fingernails lengthen into claws just like Pestilence's. The only thing that stopped Reign from approaching further was the sound of a door slamming behind her. "Sam!" Patricia shouted, and Reign turned as the woman rushed up. "Sam, I know you're in there! I know my daughter's in there! And I need her to understand . . . " She took her glasses off, allowing Reign to see her tears. "You are not this monster! You are kind and good! You are everything that I wasn't! you are not this! Honey, if you're listening, if you can hear me, I need you to rise up! Not for me! Not for me, Sam. This is for Ruby!" She held up a picture frame, revealing a picture she had of Sam and Ruby, the glass cracked. "For your daughter."

Reign stared long and hard at the picture, then looked at Patricia, lips curling. "What did you do for _your_ daughter?" she asked, then thrust her hand forward.

Her claws sank into Patricia's chest, and the woman gasped in pain, eyes widening. "No!" Kara cried desperately, Laurel staggering to her feet, hand still clutching her head.

"I love you, Sam," Patricia gasped out weakly. "I forgive you."

Kara yelled in anger, firing her heat vision and hitting Reign in the chest, making her drop Patricia. Laurel screamed as hard as she could, knocking Reign away from her foster mother, and Kara flew forward, grabbing Reign and throwing her into the house. She panted, watching the house go up in flames, then hurried to join Laurel as she checked on Patricia, J'onn assisting Oliver in standing. "She's dying," Laurel told her sadly.

"How does Reign have _all_ the Worldkillers' powers?" Oliver asked in disbelief, still disoriented from the scream.

"I don't know," J'onn shook his head. "But we need to get her out of here. We gotta go."

Kara took a deep breath and nodded, grabbing Oliver and picking up Patricia with her other arm, J'onn taking Laurel's arm, the two aliens flying off and away from the Arias house.

* * *

 **A/N: I felt really bad for Patricia at the end. I would have liked to see her meet Ruby.**

 **Speaking of Ruby, like how she met Evelyn? I knew when I saw this episode that William was going to be involved, and then Evelyn tagged along for the ride. I also figured Slade would be the best to accompany Alex. They'll be an interesting pair to explore since I haven't really written much about them aside from in one group.**


	95. Shelter From The Storm - Part Two

**I find it hard to believe I only have four Supergirl episodes left to write before the finales book for this season, and only two for Arrow because I'm not doing "The Dragon" and "The Ties That Bind" will go with the finales . . . man, where has the time gone?**

 **Mon-El is concerned, Kara is worried, Oliver is a good fiancé, Malcolm is a good brother, Imra is a good wife, and have some ship teases to go with.**

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

Mon-El had a feeling that if he had started a timer some time ago, he would have found he'd been staring at Earth for at least two hours or so.

He'd looked at the planet so many times while on the Legion cruise, while on missions with his team in the future. Still, there was something about realizing he was leaving Earth, the Earth from his former present, again that made him fidget and wish he had something to do. _I don't have anything from there anymore,_ he thought, a small frown on his face. He'd left Earth back then and left a girlfriend and friends behind. Now he was leaving behind the girl who'd grown to be his sister in arms, and Oliver was like another brother, one he never thought he would have. _It's even harder to leave this time than last time,_ he realized.

"Ah, yes," a voice behind him startled him out of his stupor, and he quickly placed his hands in his pockets as Querl joined him in looking out at Earth. "This view _is_ beautiful."

"How long till we reach the disruption?" Mon-El asked, ready for a distraction.

"Five hours, twenty-two minutes, sixteen seconds," Querl answered promptly. Mon-El sighed, then nodded, resolving himself for having to stare at the planet for even longer, then Querl stiffened next to him. "Oh," he said blankly. "That's a shame."

To someone who didn't know Coluans, Querl wasn't sincere. Mon-El knew otherwise. "What's a shame?" he asked, looking at his friend.

"I was calculating the odds of Supergirl, the Green Arrow, his team, and the D.E.O. defeating Reign now that her power has tripled," Querl answered.

" _Tripled?"_ Mon-El repeated.

"It appears she absorbed the powers of Pestilence _and_ Purity," Querl nodded.

Mon-El's head was reeling, and he shook his head, trying to come to terms with what he just heard. "Wait, how do you know this?"

"I bugged the D.E.O.," Querl admitted. "In the dirt I gave Winn." He snorted. "And he thinks he's a 1.42-level intellect."

"Why would you bug them?" Mon-El asked.

"I grew quite fond of Supergirl and her compatriots," Querl shrugged. "I wanted to keep tabs."

Mon-El steeled himself. "Tell me the odds."

"On their own, they have a 51% chance of success," Querl recited. "If they gain the aid of the Flash, Captain Lance, and their compatriots, that jumps to 62%. Ironically, if only one Legionnaire had stayed behind, their success rate jumps to 88.8%." Mon-El looked back out at Earth, processing his friend's words. "Technically, the odds are in their favor."

"Wait," Mon-El thought of something else. "But if Reign absorbed Pestilence's powers, then she could still become the Blight."

"Negative," Querl shook his head immediately. "I checked the vitals of our sleeping Legionnaires. No Blight, that's a certainty. The _only_ certainty."

"We have to help them," Mon-El murmured.

"Supergirl's fight is not our fight," Querl said. "Besides, we have to get Imra home. Supergirl is stronger than any Legionnaire. I have faith in her."

Mon-El gritted his teeth. "So do I." _That doesn't mean she couldn't use help._ He caught sight of Imra watching the two of them, then shook his head. _Focus._ "I'm going to check the stasis chambers for re-entry into our time," he announced, walking past his wife, well aware of her eyes on his back as he went.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

A pained noise from the bed next to J'onn made Kara look away from the Martian, and as Laurel looked up from J'onn's other side, Kara hastened to join Oliver by Patricia. "Patricia," she quietly called, sitting next to her. "Patricia?" The woman's eyes blearily opened, and Kara reached out, taking her hand. "Hey," she whispered. 'Stay with us."

Patricia swallowed, looking at her. "When you see Sam," she said quietly. "You'll tell her that I'm sorry . . . that I should have held her close. And tell Ruby . . . tell her that her grandmother loved her." Kara bit her lip hard, nodding as Patricia cried. "Promise me!" the woman rasped.

"I promise," Kara nodded, squeezing her hand.

Patricia nodded, then her face twisted in pain and her head fell back on the pillow, her eyes closing. The monitors beeped a flatline, and Kara looked down at her hands, watching Patricia's go limp in her palm. She swallowed hard, bowing her head and crying at the loss of the adoptive mother of a friend, and Oliver quietly slipped an arm around her shoulders, pressing his lips to the top of her head supportively.

* * *

 ** _Maxwell Lord/Lena Luthor_**

"I wonder what everyone thinks when the three of us get together," Max said in a cheerful tone as he walked into Lena's office at L-Corp.

"Oh, we're conquering the world, of course, and giving CatCo an exclusive about it as long as they don't go to the cops," Lena smirked sarcastically.

"You know, it's actually kind of terrifying that the two of you bounce off each other like that," James looked between the two of them warily.

"Well, good," Max sat down. "We need to terrify someone now that neither of our companies are in the villain business."

"I never was," Lena snorted.

"Potato, potato," Max shrugged, then raised an eyebrow when he saw Lucy look at her phone and stiffen. "What happened?"

Lucy sighed, looking up. "Patricia Arias is dead," she answered, rubbing her forehead. "And Reign killed her.

"Sam?" Lena blanched as James sighed and hung his head.

Lucy nodded miserably. "And she absorbed Purity and Pestilence's powers, so she's now more dangerous than ever."

Max quietly swore as Lena buried her face in her hands. "I guess we can plot to stop Reign instead of conquering the world," James looked between Lena and Max.

"Because we all know how well I do when I plot to take down a Kryptonian," Max looked at Lena.

Lena took a deep breath. "There's a formula Lex had in his archives on how to make Kryptonite," she admitted, making everyone in the room do a double take. "I had it in a bottle next to my bed. That's how I was able to get Reign to leave, I manufactured some that I could keep with me just in case."

"That's it," James gestured. "You can make Kryptonite that the D.E.O. can use against Reign!"

"But if I take it to the D.E.O., it's close to Kara," Lena argued, looking at him. "I can't hurt my best friend like that, James! I know how much it hurts her!"

"But it hurts Reign, too," James reminded her. "Lena, this is our world's biggest enemy right now, who happens to have the same weakness as Kara. You know she accepted using Kryptonite against Overgirl. It's the same thing here. She knows you would never intentionally hurt her. You are her ally in this, and you have something that can help her."

Lena swallowed hard, then nodded jerkily.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers_**

"War!" Evelyn and Ruby shouted at the same time gleefully as they flipped their cards over.

"You are just as obsessed with this game as these two are," Alex laughed, shaking her head as she watched the girls scramble for their cards.

"Oh, I'm playing you next," Ruby grinned at William.

"Bring it," William nodded eagerly.

"You'll beat him like I did easily," Evelyn giggled.

"You did _not_ beat me!" William scoffed. "You cheated!"

"I did not cheat! I didn't even cheat when you went to talk to your dad!"

"Wait, when was this?" Alex blinked.

"Two weeks ago or so," William thought back, trying to think of something that wouldn't clue Ruby in. "You know, when that weird eclipse thing was going on."

"That was _really_ weird," Ruby wrinkled her nose.

"Trust me," Alex put a hand on her shoulder, "that was weird even by my standards."

"And you work with _Supergirl,"_ William sniggered.

"Hey!" Alex pointed at him in mock anger, making Evelyn laugh. "You watch it, young man!"

William and Ruby burst out laughing, making Alex smile, happy Ruby's mind was off her mother. The smile was gone, though, when Slade looked around the corner, phone in hand. "Alex," he said in a tone that meant no nonsense. "A word."

Alex quickly stood up and headed after him, Slade stepping back so she could head into the living room first. She stood in front of the fireplace, looking at him as he said something into his phone, then walked to join her. "That was Oliver," he explained, walking over to join her.

"An update?" Alex asked hopefully.

"Not a good one," Slade said heavily. "Patricia Arias is dead. Reign killed her."

"Oh, my God," Alex balked, jaw dropping, and Slade quickly grabbed her arm, backing her up to the couch nearby. "That's horrible!"

"He and Kara are fine, and so are J'onn and Laurel," Slade continued. "J'onn and Kara are going to keep working on the alien level while Oliver and Laurel help Malcolm and John."

"Anything on that front?" Alex asked.

"Something worked very briefly on Reign, but not for long," Slade sighed. "I don't know how good of an answer that is."

Alex sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Oh, God."

"Alex?" Ruby appeared around the corner, and she and Slade looked up, seeing her worried face. "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded quickly. "Yeah, Ruby, it's fine."

Ruby scowled, and Slade quickly held up a hand. "It was something Oliver called about," he said. "Nothing related to your mother."

Ruby bit her lip, still not looking convinced. "Hey," Alex stood up, forcing a smile on her face. "Why don't we go watch a movie? Mrs. Queller told me that they have Young Frankenstein, which just so happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies."

"You haven't shown me that one yet!" William's head poked around the corner.

"Great!" Alex took her cue and ran with it. "Let's go! I'm gonna go talk to Mrs. Queller, and she'll hook us up with popcorn and ice-cold soda and Gene Wilder. I mean, come on, this is gonna be _amazing."_

Ruby still looked unconvinced, but she nodded. "Now, come on!" Evelyn bounded into view. "The movie theater's this way!"

"Um, no," William shook his head. "Ruby showed us it was _this way."_

"William, I remember better than you!"

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do!"

"It's this way!" Ruby finally grabbed William's hand, tugging him in the direction between the two.

Evelyn scampered after them both, and Alex sighed, slumping where she stood and looking gratefully at Slade. "You are a lifesaver, you know that, right?"

He chuckled, patting her shoulder as they headed after the kids. "I'm just helping where I can."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

Kara stared hard at where Patricia had been lying in the medbay, not even turning around when she heard familiar light footsteps behind her. "You couldn't have known Reign absorbed the powers of the other Worldkillers," Malcolm told her quietly.

"Barry noticed it," Kara said glumly. "The rest of us didn't, but that should have tipped us off."

"And what's happened since then?" Malcolm leaned against the glass next to her. "Hill, Armand, the impeachment, the Vertigo. You've had so much going on that hasn't been on this Earth, Kara. You did the best you could for Patricia."

"But it wasn't enough," Kara hung her head.

Malcolm sighed, rubbing her back. "And eventually, we find a way to live with that."

"Did that work after the Undertaking?" Kara bit out. Malcolm did a double take, a flash of hurt and his eyes, and Kara buried her face in her hands. "Malcolm, I'm sorry – "

"Not really," Malcolm sighed, shaking his head. "But I'm still here, aren't I?"

Kara conceded with a nod, looking up at him. "I'm sorry about that."

"You're worried about Sam and Ruby and Diaz and God only knows what else," Malcolm held out his arms, and Kara gratefully snuggled into him for a hug. "You're forgiven, almas."

Kara smiled, leaning against her brother, then frowned when J'onn walked up. "You should be resting."

"I need to be on my feet," J'onn shook his head. "Lying down is just so boring."

Kara sighed, closing her eyes. "I told Patricia I'd give a message to Sam, but I don't know if I'm ever gonna see Sam again," she mumbled, and Malcolm raised his hand to stroke her hair. "Even with everything I've learned from Mon-El, Reign has me outmatched on every level. How am I gonna fight her?"

"Usually, your secret weapon is your heart, Supergirl," J'onn answered after a moment. "But I didn't see even a glimpse of humanity left I Reign that you could reason with."

Kara tilted her head thoughtfully. "White Martians are as soulless as Reign," she mused. "When you battled them, were you ever able to get through to them?"

"Besides M'gann, no," J'onn shook his head. "But I just used my skills as a warrior, like you." Kara closed her eyes defeatedly, leaning more against Malcolm, then J'onn tilted his head. "But there _was_ one amongst us who thought they could reason with them . . . and he did. He got them to spare his life."

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Father?" J'onn carefully approached M'yrnn at their home, Kara and Malcolm lingering behind him.

M'yrnn slowly turned to look at them, then he saw Kara and his face hardened. "Ursula, you should not have come," he glowered. "When I told Kemler I didn't agree with his position on the Eradicator project, I wasn't looking to be persuaded!"

Kara blinked, and Malcolm sighed. "That better not make me the Little Mermaid."

Kara giggled, patting him on the arm. "I'm sure Laurel would agree with me when I say you are definitely more of a Prince Eric."

Malcolm grinned smugly at the compliment, even as J'onn gave them a warning look. "Father, this is not Ursula. This is Kara, my friend, and her brother, Malcolm."

"Of course, you are," M'yrnn nodded in remembrance.

"We came because we could use your help."

"I'm of no help to any being," M'yrnn shook his head. "Please leave me be."

"Father, I just need to," J'onn began.

"I said no, J'onn!" he snapped.

Kara and Malcolm exchanged worried glances, and J'onn sighed, walking forward and crouching in front of him. "Dad, look, I know you cannot journey through your mind like you once did, I know that. But your memories are still intact. None of it has been lost since you've been doing the Ta'ar Ka'riq. You just need help to access it."

"I can do nothing for you," M'yrnn shook his head. "I've had enough failure."

J'onn gritted his teeth and stood up in frustration, walking around the couch. Kara cleared her throat, walking forward tentatively. "Um, J'onn told me that when the Greens chose to fight the Whites, you pleaded with those in charge to have open talks," she sat down by M'yrnn. "Is that right?" M'yrnn thought for a moment, then nodded. "Everyone else just saw their aggression, but you saw something you could reason with. What was it?"

M'yrnn shook his head. "I don't remember."

Malcolm saw J'onn suddenly morph, and instead of his Green Martian form, he was suddenly much taller and a different color. "Father," J'onn said.

Whoa," Malcolm's eyes widened. "So that's – ?"

"A White Martian," Kara nodded. "Yeah."

When M'yrnn looked up, he blanched. "Do not play tricks on me!"

"Just look at me in this form, Father!" J'onn said. "Like you did when you saw Ursula. You remembered exactly your past conversation. Now look at me and tell me why you think you can get through to me!"

"Get through to you?" M'yrnn repeated, then barked in laughter as he stood. "You're as stubborn and righteous as Phobos. I can't persuade you of anything you don't already believe in."

Kara stood up, taking her chance. "Whites kept you alive. Why?"

"Because I knew that the sacred scrolls were important to them," M'yrnn answered promptly. "And inside my mind, I held all the knowledge and secrets of those scrolls."

"And if they killed you, that knowledge would be lost to them forever," Kara nodded slowly.

"You appealed to their beliefs," Malcolm put it together, stepping forward. "You appealed to their code, just like Oliver did, appealing to the League of Assassins' code when he had to."

"And Reign has been pretty clear about her code of justice," Kara grinned.

J'onn morphed back into his human form, smiling widely as he walked up to M'yrnn. "Father, you might just have saved us today."

M'yrnn blinked in honest surprise. "I have?"

Kara and Malcolm laughed as J'onn chuckled proudly. "You have."

* * *

 ** _Mon-El_**

"We're approaching the disruption," Querl announced.

Malcolm nodded absently, continuing his worried pacing, only stopping when Imra cautiously approached. "Mon-El," she said. "You need to go back."

"What?" he looked up in surprise, stunned Imra was suggesting it more than anything. "No. No, despite Brainy's odds, I'm sure they'll find a way to defeat Reign. I'm going with you to the future. We're near there."

"You're saying that because you think it's what you need to do for me, out of duty," Imra shook her head. "But this time needs you, Mon-El. You need to help them. And you need to go back so you can put your heart at ease."

"I'm with you, Imra," Mon-El insisted.

"I risked our lives and our marriage to stop Pestilence," Imra told him. "I still believe it was worth it. I hoped that once we left, you'd put your feelings behind you."

Mon-El balked, wondering if Imra really believed that was what he was thinking of. "Imra, not once since I learned of Kara and Oliver have I – "

"You've done nothing wrong," Imra assured him quickly. "You never did anything like that. You behaved honorably."

"You must know that I would never do _anything_ to dishonor you," Mon-El whispered.

"I know," Imra put a hand on his cheek. "And I know you have chosen me. But I know how it feels to leave those you care about behind. I'm returning to those I care about the most now, but I'm leaving friends in this time as well, including someone who is like another sister to me. But you? This was your time once, and you are leaving them – your _family_ – again." Mon-El closed his eyes, nodding miserably. "Go back," Imra insisted. "Help them fight Reign. If you stay, then that's your destiny. If you return, you will always be welcome in my time."

Mon-El slumped in relief, turning his head and kissing Imra's palm. "Thank you," he whispered.

Imra smiled and nodded. "Give them our best."

Mon-El nodded back, giving her a quick kiss and rushing out the door, Imra watching him go with a fond smile.

* * *

 ** _Laurel Lance/Lena Luthor_**

"You know, I wonder if we should just get every speedster we know and somehow find a way to collect _their_ lightning," Laurel mused, she and Dig looking through the D.E.O.'s inventory. "That's got to be enough to take down Reign, right?"

"I'm pretty sure when the Dominators invaded, Barry tried a lightning strike against Kara," Dig told her. "Didn't do a thing."

"Damn it," Laurel sighed.

A throat cleared behind them, and they turned to see Lena, Max, and Lucy walked in, Lena holding a case. "I've got something that may," she said.

"Oh," Laurel tilted her head. "Well, the others just – " There was a whoosh of wind, and Laurel closed her eyes as suddenly J'onn, Kara, and Malcolm were back in the room. "You know what? Never mind."

"Oh, what?" Malcolm grinned, sauntering over to her. "Did we steal your moment?"

"More like my words," Laurel griped, though she leaned against him when he slid an arm around her waist. "Missed you."

"Missed you, too."

"Aww," Dig smirked.

"Shut up," Laurel half-heartedly swatted at him.

"How'd it go with your father?" Oliver asked as he came down the stairs, checking things over on a tablet.

"We have an idea," J'onn nodded.

"And I've got a weapon," Lena held up her case. "Please don't worry about it, it's in a lead-lined case."

Kara paused, looking long and hard at the case. "It's lead-lined."

"Yes," Lena nodded.

Kara swallowed hard. "Is that Kryptonite?"

"For one reason only," Lena nodded. "To help you fight Reign."

Kara let out her breath shakily. "I know you said Lex had a formula to make it . . . but to know it actually _works_. . . "

"Kara, I swear, this formula is staying with me and I'm never going to even think about giving it to someone else," Lena let out in a rush.

"I never even got a peek at it," Max added helpfully.

"Because you have such a shining record with Kryptonians," Lucy snorted.

"As I have mentioned before!"

Kara slowly walked over to Lena, eyeing the case as if it could blow up any second. She finally extended her hands, and Lena handed it over to her. Kara carefully held it, looking more relaxed now that she was holding the case and nothing was happening to her. "It's yours?" she clarified again.

"It's mine," Lena nodded. "And I supercharged it just for Reign."

Kara gulped, nodding. "Guess I shouldn't be holding it when we use it, then."

"I didn't want to make it because it could hurt you," Lena told her. "That's the exact reason I gave."

"But we needed it at first to fight Overgirl," Kara took a deep breath, seeming like she was telling herself that. "We need this for Reign." She looked at Lena, biting her lip. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lena nodded, a worried look in her eye. "Still friends?"

"When did we stop being them?" Kara smiled.

Lena smiled in relief. "So do we still need to do an inventory?" Dig looked at J'onn.

"I think we have what we need now," J'onn shook his head.

* * *

 ** _Oliver Queen_**

Oliver found Kara in one of the conference rooms later, still staring at the case of Kryptonite on the table. "You know," he said in a light tone, "you actually need to use your heat vision if you want to stare at it and set it on fire."

Kara didn't look at him. "Have I ever told you?" she asked. "Have I ever actually told you what Kryptonite feels like to me?"

Oliver sighed, closing the door behind him and walking over to sit next to her. "I've only been able to imagine, seeing you affected."

Kara swallowed hard. "I walk into a room, and I feel like my skin is going to be seared off my bones," she said in a small voice. "I walk into a room, and it feels like nails are running through my blood."

Oliver cringed just listening to it. "And you were around that day after day when you were held by Cadmus," he said, anger in his voice.

"I was," Kara nodded, biting her lip. "I was around pounds of it, maybe even tons. I'm terrified of it." She eyed the case. "But this . . . _supercharged_ Kryptonite . . . it's probably the only thing we have that can subdue Reign."

Oliver scooted closer. "There are times I wonder what it's like to be so terrified of one simple thing," he admitted, making her look at him. "Then I think . . . there are thousands of things that can kill us simple humans. There's fire, but we don't ban bonfires or candles. And cars can kill people every day, but we still use them." He spread his hands, looking at the case on the table. "Then I remember there's only _one_ element on this planet that can kill you and your cousin, and it terrifies you because it is so lethal that even encountering it by mistake could kill you."

"It's awful," Kara said, her voice trembling. "I want it gone. But that's not realistic. I can't make it be gone. I think about the Kryptonians who have tried to take over Earth before. I think about how Clark and I have been affected by Red and Silver Kryptonite, and if we can't fight, how can mere humans protect themselves? I think about Overgirl . . . and I think how terrible I would be if I was the only one in control of this. Would I even be able to make the best decisions on how to manage it?" She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "It scares me to think about that."

"You think about it, and you decide to be better than that," Oliver hugged her. "That's what makes you who you are. That's what makes you strong. You aren't a god, Kara."

Kara cringed. "Overgirl said I should be."

"Overgirl was a Nazi who wanted to take the one thing from you that makes you the best Kara in the multiverse," Oliver deadpanned. "And she's dead, so where did being a god get her?"

Kara giggled. "Solar radiation poisoning and a nuclear explosion."

"Exactly. And you aren't anywhere near that, so I say you win."

Kara laughed that time, curling up into Oliver. "I love you," she declared, looking up at him. "Have I told you that?"

Oliver pretended to think. "Not today."

Kara moved to sit on his lap, then kissed him. "I love you."

Oliver smiled against her lips, one hand sliding into her hair as the other one wrapped around her waist. "I love you, too."

* * *

 ** _Ruby Arias_**

William and Evelyn were scouring the theater to find the movie they wanted, and Ruby could see Slade bent over the projector, Alex pointing out things for him to try. Ruby bit her lip, eyeing where William and Evelyn had tossed their phones, then picked one at random and rushed out of the room as quickly as she could, making a beeline for outside.

When she was able to take a deep breath of fresh air, she clicked on the phone app, dialed her home phone number, and raised it to her ear. _"Hi, you've reached the voicemail of Sam and Ruby,"_ the message they had come up with together sounded, and Ruby swallowed, hearing how happy they sounded. _"We can't get to the phone, so leave us a message!"_

"Mom, please pick up," she begged. "I need to see you. Where are you?"

* * *

 ** _Reign_**

" _I just wanna talk to you. Please pick up or come get me. I need to see you. Please pick up!"_

Reign's eyes flew open as she hovered above National City, and with a smirk of triumph, she dove through the sky, following Ruby's voice.

Finally, she knew where the human girl was.

* * *

 **A/N: So I was looking at the remaining amounts of time I would try and separate the episode into for each chapter, and I thought to myself "how the hell am I going to make the word count from the first chapter keep fitting?" This lesson must get drilled into my head: "never underestimate the power of original content."**

 **So, addressing a ship tease . . . I really enjoyed writing Alex/Slade in the "Seven Years" one-shot I wrote for my Emerald Steel/Scarlet Canary collection, and the general consensus I got from the main writing platform I'm on supported the idea of them here, too. Alex's sexuality would be the same as in that one-shot (though the other crackships I came up with would not be), but if I lose readers over this, I understand.**

 **Just one part left! And something for you to think about . . . what's going to happen with Ruby when it's done? Tune in soon to find out!**


	96. Shelter From The Storm - Part Three

**Alex, Slade, and Evelyn prepare to fight Reign, help arrives in the form of a time traveling Daxamite, and Ruby is in for a nasty shock.**

* * *

 ** _Evelyn Sharp/Alex Danvers_**

"Hey," William smiled when Ruby came back into the room. "We were wondering where you were. Those idiots finally got the projector working."

"Excuse me!" Alex's jaw dropped as Slade's head shot up. "We are _not_ – !"

"Is that my phone?" Evelyn interrupted suddenly, pointing at the device Ruby was sneakily trying to put back down. Ruby froze like a deer in the headlights, and both Alex and Evelyn were suddenly by her. "What were you doing with my phone?" Evelyn demanded, tapping in her passcode.

"I'm sorry," Ruby burst out, tears in her eyes. "But nobody's telling me anything, and I thought maybe – "

"Ruby," Slade narrowed his eye. "Who did you call?"

"Sam," Alex swallowed, recognizing the number. "She tried calling Sam."

William dropped the DVD case he was holding. "But doesn't that mean – ?"

Alarms started blaring through the building, and Ruby flinched, holding her hand over her eyes as red lights flashed. "What is that?"

"That's Reign," Alex answered, looking around. "Get downstairs, now. Go!"

" _Reign?"_ Ruby paled drastically.

"Come on!" William grabbed her hand, yanking her off.

Evelyn snatched her duffel and took off, and Alex and Slade exchanged looks. "Please tell me you brought your suit?" Alex asked hopefully.

"I didn't plan on taking chances," Slade nodded, and Alex sighed in relief as they both rushed to find their own bags.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"Winn!" Felicity shouted, drawing everyone's attention towards the tech area.

Winn swallowed hard, seeing the satellite images pulled up. "It's Reign," he turned to face the others. "She's at Lex's mansion."

"Which means she knows Ruby's there," J'onn grimaced, rubbing his shoulder.

"With Alex and William," Kara paled.

"And Slade and Evelyn," Oliver nodded.

"I can use the Kryptonite," Laurel volunteered, looking around the circle. "The rest of you have physical weapons you need to use against her."

"I'm injured, but I could use it," J'onn pointed out.

"Or I could!"

Kara and Oliver turned around quickly, and Kara laughed gleefully when Mon-El strode into the room, clad in his Legion suit. "Mon-El!"

"The future – !" J'onn began as Kara ran over.

"The future's fine," Mon-El shook his head, hugging Kara when she made it to him. "Brainy and Imra are still on the way."

"Then why did you come back?" Oliver asked, walking forward as well.

"To help you with your fight against Reign," Mon-El answered with a smile. "And if he's still around before that's ended, Diaz, too."

Oliver blinked, then chuckled and extended his hand. "It's good to see you back."

"It's good to be back," Mon-El shook his hand. "So . . . Reign?"

"At least there's another person to give people a lift, too," Max smiled.

"Not helping," J'onn sighed as Kara grabbed Oliver's and Malcolm's quivers, Dig and Laurel joining Mon-El.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Slade Wilson/Mon-El/Laurel Lance_**

"But Evelyn was – !" Ruby tried to look behind her shoulder.

"She went another way!" William shook his head. "Come on, we need to hide!"

"There's nothing past this room!" Ruby insisted.

Footsteps rounded the corner, then Alex hurried after them. "Then good thing backup's on its way!"

Ruby almost tripped over her own feet. "You're – ?" she sputtered.

"The Black Wolf?" Alex checked the suit she was wearing, grimacing. "Yeah, that's me. Hurry!"

The ceiling collapsed inwards just as they reached the door at the end, and Alex shoved the kids through, turning and closing the door as Reign's heat vision fired. She sighed in relief when the heat vision hit the door instead of her. "How long will that door hold?" Slade asked, he and Evelyn walking forward, both fully suited without their masks.

"It's a Kryptonian Worldkiller, Slade, I don't know," Alex shook her head.

"Both of you?" Ruby's head looked like it was on a swivel as she looked between Slade and Alex.

"Ruby, we'll explain," Slade crouched down, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Right now, you and William need to stay back, all right?"

"Promise?" Ruby gulped.

"I promise," Slade nodded, pointing. "Hide back there."

"Got it," William nodded, following behind Ruby.

"Evelyn, stay with them," Alex ordered.

Evelyn nodded, tightening her grip on her bow and running to join them. "Deathstroke and the Black Wolf?" Ruby's eyes were comically wide.

"It's a _really_ long story," William winced, then blinked when he saw the black collar around Evelyn's throat. "Isn't that – ?"

Evelyn nodded, tapping her Canary Cry. "Every weapon I can use, right?"

William smiled nervously. "Brainy wouldn't have given it back if it could hurt you again."

Evelyn nodded, shifting on the balls of her feet. "That's what I keep telling myself."

Slade listened to the traps outside activating, he and Alex pulling out their guns. "Just noticed," he looked at her, "no claws."

"If I get close enough to Reign where I need to resort to those, I'm already dead," Alex shook her head.

Slade snorted. "Not on my watch."

Alex shot him a quick look. "You may be dead, then, too."

Slade barked out a laugh. "I never imagined myself going out against a Kryptonian. I don't plan on it today."

The steel suddenly dented in the shape of a fist, and Alex tensed, tightening her grip on her gun. "Drinks on me if we get through this."

Slade smirked. "You're on, Danvers."

The door suddenly flew towards them, and both took a step back, letting it clatter at their feet. As Reign stepped into the doorway, nails extending into claws, a rotating gun dropped down from the ceiling and started peppering Reign with bullets. She stumbled back into the doorway, and Slade and Alex started firing their red sun bullets at her, too. They followed Reign jumping over the walls, then Reign screamed at them, and Slade grimaced, dropping to one knee and pressing his hands over his ears. He heard the others cry out in pain as well, but a creaking noise above him distracted him enough to look up and see what was wrong. "Alex!" he shouted. Alex looked up as well and barely managed to roll out of the way before the rotating gun crashed down on top of her and into the ground. _"Alex!"_

"I'm good!" he heard her respond and look up, extending her gloved hand, reaching for the gun that had clattered away from her.

The magnets kicked in, and the gun started moving towards her, but Reign kicked it out of the way and turned to sneer Ruby's way. The brunette whimpered and William wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back as Evelyn clenched her jaw and placed herself between the Worldkiller and her friends. "Evelyn," William whispered.

Evelyn just reached back to find an arrow, but just as Reign's eyes started to glow red, several pairs of feet landed on the ground at the same time. "Reign!" Kara shouted, zooming forward.

"Get away from them!" Oliver roared at the same time, he and Malcolm reaching for arrows simultaneously.

"Supergirl!" Ruby cried in relief.

"Dad!" William called at the same time.

"Your _dad?!"_ Ruby stared at him.

Kara crashed into Reign, knocking her to the ground, and as Dig ran to help Alex, Mon-El looked at Laurel, who was holding the case in her arms. "Ready?" he asked.

She nodded, and without further ado, Kara flung Reign across the floor towards them. Laurel flipped the case open, aiming the Kryptonite down at Reign, who groaned in pain, trying to rise to her feet. She aimed a punch at the case, but Mon-El caught her fist and punched her in the stomach. Reign stumbled back, then backhanded Kara away from her and fired her heat vision at Laurel. The metahuman tried to evade, but she caught the heat vision in her back, and with a shout of pain, she collapsed to the ground, the Kryptonite clattering away from her. "Siren!" Malcolm spun around.

Reign turned to him next, but Mon-El slid in front of her, Kara getting to her feet and blocking Reign in from behind. They kept Reign between them, trying to keep her away from Oliver, Dig, Slade, and Alex, all of whom were trying to find a shot as Malcolm checked on Laurel. "Anyone?" Oliver ground out.

"No!" Dig shook his head.

"None of us have a shot!" Alex barked.

"Artemis?" Oliver turned.

She rose to her feet, too, but shook her head. "Nothing!"

"Not without hitting one of them!" Slade added.

Malcolm looked over his shoulder, seeing the three aliens duke it out, then put a hand on Laurel's shoulder as she tried to raise herself up. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Laurel gritted her teeth, "but I'd rather face Diaz right now."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow, then saw Laurel's eyes brighten. "What?"

"The Kryptonite," she pointed. "Get the Kryptonite!"

As Malcolm ran for the case, Kara blocked a blow from Reign, then Mon-El lashed out with his cape, wrapping it around Reign's wrist. With a sneer, Reign tried to punch him as well, and Kara whipped her cape around her forearm. At a nod from Mon-El, she did a flip over him in midair while Mon-El somersaulted on the ground, spread-eagling Reign so she was wide open for Alex and Slade to take their shots, their bullets emitting golden energy nets, dropping Reign to the ground.

Laurel turned to Malcolm as he collected the case. "Get it to Mon-El," she urged, pointing to the gun. "Physically hit her with it!"

Malcolm's eyes widened in understanding, and he nodded as Laurel raced to join the others. Just as Reign burst out of the energy nets, Laurel screamed at her, making Reign grit her teeth and try and raise herself up. Oliver fired off the Kryptonite arrow he had, and when it sank into Reign's shoulder, she howled in pain, her veins lighting up green. Slade, Alex, and Dig continued firing their red solar bullets, peppering Reign and trying to keep her down. As Kara slowly inched away, green showing in her veins as well, Mon-El took the Kryptonite from Malcolm and crushed it in his hands, turning the rock into smaller pebbles the size of bullets. "Ready?" he shouted.

"Hurry!" Oliver shouted back as Reign yanked the arrow out of her shoulder.

Mon-El hurriedly put the bullets into the chamber of the rotating gun, then aimed it at the Worldkiller, firing as quickly as he could. With each Kryptonite bullet to the chest, Reign's face paled and she collapsed to her knees, gasping for air. Slade, Alex, and Dig came in closer, firing the remaining red solar bullets in their guns, Laurel screaming at her. At a raised fist from Oliver, all of them finally stopped and looked down at the unconscious Worldkiller on the floor . . . her mask knocked off and on the floor.

And a strangled gasp from the kids' hiding place made Alex and Slade immediately turn. _"Mom?"_ Ruby croaked, eyes wide in horror.

"Ruby," William whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"That's my mom!" Ruby sobbed, scrambling backwards as far as she could, though she didn't fight William when he carefully hugged her. In fact, she curled into him, clinging tightly to him as William looked up at his father with a surprised look on his face.

Alex swallowed and walked over, Evelyn backing up, an uncertain look on her face as the vigilante crouched down. "Ruby," she whispered.

"That's my mom," was all Ruby seemed able to say as she hiccupped.

Alex rubbed her back, and Oliver sighed, looking down at the unmasked Reign. "Let's get her to Lena," he said softly.

Mon-El only nodded, bending down to pick her up as Oliver walked over to check on Kara, who was still leaning against the wall she had ended up against.

* * *

 ** _Kara Danvers_**

"How are you feeling?" Lena asked as she looked Kara over nervously, peeking over her shoulder as Mon-El carefully put Reign down in the chamber Lena had made.

"Like a boulder of green rock punched me in the gut," Kara answered, rubbing her chest. "But I'll be fine. All the Kryptonite was used on Reign."

Lena sighed. "There's something about using Kryptonite to help a friend . . . but it also hurts the other one, too."

"Hey, in a way, you were helping me help Sam," Kara smiled at her. "It's what we needed."

"That only makes me feel slightly better," Lena huffed.

"Better some than none," Kara shrugged.

"I still can't believe you said you'd rather face Diaz than Reign," Malcolm was saying when they tuned into the conversation happening.

Laurel snorted loudly. "Because who wouldn't want to face a regular human being than a Worldkiller?"

"I don't know," Dig tilted his head side to side. "Diaz basically playing a game of cat and mouse against a Worldkiller who prefers to go all out and taunts 'beat me if you can?'"

"Thank you!" Malcolm nodded pointedly.

"Just get me to Diaz and I'll gladly punch him for you," Mon-El offered.

"That's seriously very tempting, considering Reign is handled for now," Oliver admitted.

"Great, back to Star City, then?" Dig guessed.

"Yeah," Oliver sighed. "Back to Star City . . . and I may have thought of a way to appeal to Anatoli. I want to keep chipping away at Diaz's resources. Something's gotta give at some point."

"Let's hope the give doesn't take you with it, brother," Dig clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll meet you at the D.E.O.," Laurel smiled.

"Thanks," Oliver nodded. "We may be bringing an additional guest."

Malcolm merely raised an eyebrow. "Copy that."

Mon-El watched the trio go, then looked back at Oliver and Kara. "You think Ruby will be with you for a while?"

"A break from this Earth may be good for her," Kara admitted. "And another Earth? I hope that'll distract her. Alex, Slade, William, and Evelyn are pitching it to her, I think."

"Ruby doesn't stand a chance," Mon-El chuckled, then looked at Lena. "There you go."

"Thanks," Lena nodded, tapping the button that put the forcefields in place. "Now I'm gonna go work on a cure."

"You've got this," Kara smiled encouragingly.

Lena smiled back, walking off, and Oliver turned to Mon-El, raising an eyebrow. "So . . . how you came back?"

"Ah, yes," Mon-El winced. "Well, it seems that Brainy might have put a nanny cam in Winn's dirt."

Kara blinked rapidly as Oliver barked in laughter. "That's . . . upsetting."

"So Brainy ran some calculations," Mon-El rocked on his heels, "and mathematically, the odds of you beating Reign in her new form exponentially increased if one member of the Legion comes back to help."

Kara giggled. "As always, I am thankful for Brainy's calculations."

"It looked like you didn't need me, though," Mon-El began.

"Oh, you definitely helped once we started using Kryptonite," Oliver assured him. "Considering our other super strength player was out with an injury. We needed you."

Mon-El smiled, bowing flamboyantly. "Well, I am yours to command until your missions are complete."

"And we are ever grateful," Kara smiled warmly at him.

Mon-El nodded. "So . . . Star City?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded.

"But with one stop to make first," Kara's smile faded.

* * *

 ** _J'onn J'onzz_**

J'onn closed the door behind him, walking through the living room, then looked up when M'yrnn came in from the kitchen, a wide grin on his face. "I have discovered the most incredible thing today!" he beamed. "Did you know, if you grind the coffee beans with the cocoa beans, you get the most delectable mixture? It makes the flavor sensors of my mouth smile!"

J'onn chuckled, nodding. "It's called a _mocha,_ Father."

"Mocha," M'yrnn tested it out slowly. "Hmm . . . I would have thought 'choco-coffee.'"

J'onn tilted his head. "'Choco-coffee,'" he repeated thoughtfully. "You know, that does kind of have a ring to it." He smiled, walking forward and patting him on the shoulder. "It's so good to see you up and around, Father. You should know, your advice about the White Martians was extremely helpful, but we found a way to catch Reign after all."

M'yrnn's face was completely blank as he looked at J'onn. "I have no recollection of what you're talking about."

J'onn slowly nodded. "Well, all you need to know is that you helped."

M'yrnn nodded, then perked up. "J'onn, did you know, if you grind the coffee beans with the cocoa beans, you get the most delectable mixture?"

J'onn slowly shook his head. "I did not know that, no," he said, heart sinking. "I'd like to try it." M'yrnn extended his mug eagerly, and J'onn smiled. "Thank you."

M'yrnn chuckled gleefully, returning to the kitchen, and J'onn's smile faded as he looked down at the mug. His father's memory was getting worse.

* * *

 ** _Alex Danvers/Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen_**

"That was her face," Ruby whispered, curled up on the couch at Alex's apartment. "I saw her face."

"It looks like her, we know," Alex nodded. "We know. But I promise you, that's not your mom."

"Why should I believe you?" Ruby sniffed. "You promised she was gonna be OK."

Alex sighed, closing her eyes. "You're right. I didn't tell you the truth."

"Ruby," Slade said quietly, drawing the brunette's attention to him. "Years ago, I lied to my son as well."

Ruby sniffed, looking up at him. "You have a son?"

"I do," Slade nodded. "You know who we are after today, right?"

Ruby nodded shyly. "The Black Wolf. And Deathstroke."

"Years ago, I was an agent for an organization called ASIS," Slade told her. "Think of it like the Australian CIA. And I went on a trip with my son, and I promised him it would be the two of us, nothing for work. He didn't know I worked for ASIS. He thought I worked for an airline." Despite the seriousness of the story, Ruby raised an eyebrow, giving him a dubious look. "I know," Slade smirked, making her giggle. "Bad lie. But the worst part of the lie was . . . he saw what we were really doing on that trip. And it changed his view of me." He sighed, looking down. "That mission I was on led me to meeting Oliver for the first time, and when we parted . . . we weren't on very good terms."

"That's a bit hard to believe now," Ruby said quietly.

"Let's just say never take a drug when you don't know how it'll change you," Slade warned, and Ruby's eyes widened before she nodded quickly. "That drug . . . _drastically_ changed me. It took all of my bad qualities and made them worse. That was when I saw Joe again, after Oliver and I parted ways. He had joined up with ASIS, just like I had. And I was fine for a few years. The serum I had taken had simmered down; I was almost back to normal. Then my hallucinations began again, and I got steadily worse." He closed his eye, Alex swallowing when she saw the pure pain on Slade's face as he recalled what happened. "I was at a point where I wanted nothing but revenge on the man I once saw as my brother in all but blood," he confessed to Ruby, her eyes wide as she listened. "The man I was then . . . he was a monster. That's not who I am, but that was what something turned me into. I lost my son because of that. He wanted to become who Deathstroke used to be, and who Deathstroke used to be, that's not me. Everything that happened with Joe is because of a lie that I thought would protect him. We thought we could protect you, too, which is why we didn't tell you the truth. That was wrong. But just like who I used to be with that serum isn't who I really am, Reign is _not_ your mother. Do you understand?"

Ruby slowly nodded, and Alex scooted forward, putting her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby," she whispered, "I give you my word that we will do everything within our power to keep you safe. And from here on out, we will always be honest with you."

"That will include _all_ of us," Slade added. "Can you trust us with that?"

Ruby sniffed, but she nodded, then she looked up at Slade. "What happened to your son?" she asked timidly.

Slade stiffened, and Alex looked at him, worried he wouldn't answer. "I don't know where he is right now," he finally said slowly. "I found him one time last fall with Oliver, Kara, and Malcolm. But because of what happened between us . . . he's gone. I'm hoping I'll find him again." He looked at William and Evelyn, who were pretending not to listen as they looked at something on William's phone, then at Alex. "But until I have even a vague idea of where he is, my family here needs me more right now."

Ruby nodded. "I'm sorry for what happened."

"It's not your fault," Slade shook his head. "Why are you apologizing?"

Ruby shrugged. "I felt like I needed to say something."

Alex smiled at her honesty, then looked up when the curtains rustled. "Ruby?" Kara asked quietly.

Ruby's head shot up, and Slade silently stood up to join Alex as the other two walked over. "You're Supergirl and the Green Arrow," she said almost inaudibly.

"Yes, we are," Kara nodded, crouching down in front of her. "And neither you nor Sam knew because – "

"To protect us?" Ruby asked expectantly.

Kara blinked, and Slade cleared his throat. "That may have been mentioned already."

"Yes," Oliver nodded, sitting down across from Ruby. "The more people who know who we are, the more people we care about that are in danger. In fact, where I come from, I am currently under investigation for being a vigilante."

Ruby frowned in confusion. "I thought that would be in the news."

"It's been _very_ big news," Oliver nodded, gesturing to himself, Slade, William, and Ruby. "Back on our Earth, anyway."

Ruby blinked. _"Your_ Earth?"

"Our Earth," Oliver nodded.

"Wait," Ruby looked around. "Like . . . parallel universes?"

"The multiverse," Kara confirmed.

" . . . that's _real?!"_

"It's real," Oliver nodded. "Slade, William, Evelyn, and I, along with several of my friends, are from the universe known as Earth-1."

"And our humble abode is Earth-38," Kara added.

Ruby frowned. "Why is _your_ Earth labeled number one?"

Slade laughed loudly at Oliver's grimace. "Bet you weren't expecting that as her first question, kid!"

"This is why Barry and Cisco explain the multiverse," Oliver grumbled.

"Apparently their universe is in the center of the multiverse," Kara rolled her eyes playfully.

"Oh," Ruby nodded. "That makes sense." Then she grinned. "You're gonna marry someone from another universe!"

"Yes, I am," Kara grinned widely. "And I'm very happy with that decision." Ruby giggled, still seeming awed by the thought of a multiverse, and Kara licked her lips, mentally apologizing for what she was about to say. "Ruby . . . there's something you need to know about your grandmother, Patricia."

Ruby blinked, looking up at her. "Mom never talked about her much," she said, confused. "Is she OK?"

Kara swallowed. "No, Ruby. She died early in the evening."

Ruby froze, her eyes the size of dinner plates. "It was Mom, wasn't it?" she asked, voice trembling violently. "My mom killed her?"

"It was _not_ your mom," Kara shook her head, sitting on the couch and scooting close so she could hug Ruby. "Reign _is not_ your mother. And we are going to help her, I promise." Ruby whimpered, and Kara closed her eyes. "Before she died, she told me to tell you she loved you. She really did."

Ruby buried her face in Kara's shoulder, and Oliver carefully sat on the coffee table in front of her. "Ruby," he said quietly, "would you like to come back to our universe with us for a while?" Ruby peeked over Kara's shoulder to look at him, and Oliver smiled encouragingly. "I know it won't make what happened here go away, but it could provide you with a chance to see where we come from and just take a break from what's happened."

Ruby sniffed. "Well, I don't want to stay at that mansion again."

"I still need to shoot Lillian's portrait," Slade said thoughtfully.

"Really, there was a picture of _her_ in there?" Oliver wrinkled his nose.

"It's the _Luthor_ mansion, Oliver," Alex pointed out.

Oliver sighed. "Still awful."

Ruby looked like she was trying to hide a smile. "I would be able to stay with you?"

"Yes," Oliver nodded, looking past her at William and Evelyn, who looked hopeful. "Think of it as an extended sleepover with William and Evelyn."

Ruby peered over at them, and finally, she started to smile. "I'd like that."

"I think they would, too," Oliver stage whispered.

"Yay!" William bounded over, Evelyn giggling and following.

Ruby let go of Kara, giggling as well as both Evelyn and William hugged her. "Thank you so much," she smiled at Oliver.

"Anything that helps you," Oliver promised. "Because any family of Kara's is family of mine."

Ruby beamed, then gasped. "Oh, my God, I need to pack!"

"Well, let's go!" Kara grinned, standing up. "Want to fly?"

"Oh, yes _please!"_

Kara extended her hand. "Hey, be careful!" Alex called.

"I'm _always_ careful!" Kara retorted as Ruby grabbed her hand, and the girl yelped as Kara flew out the window.

Oliver shook his head with a chuckle. "Guess we're meeting them in Star City!"

"We'll meet you at the D.E.O.," Alex nodded.

Oliver nodded, heading towards the door. "What do you think, Ev?" he asked, his son and the dark-haired young woman following. "Think you can share with Ruby?"

"Definitely!" Evelyn nodded, following him out the door. "I like her!"

"Bye, Slade!" William managed to call. "Bye, Aunt Alex!"

Both adults waved, then Slade chuckled, shaking his head. "Teenagers."

"Oh, man," Alex snickered, heading for the kitchen. "I need a drink after that." She turned and walked backwards, pointing at him. "I promised, didn't I?"

Slade snorted. "Drinks here may be better than a bar."

"How about this is part one, then we definitely get drunk somewhere else?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Slade shook his head in mock disappointment. "You drive a hard bargain, Danvers."

"We got Reign and we avoided being killed," Alex counted off on her fingers. "That is two victories for us."

Slade conceded with a nod. "Pick your poison."

Alex got two wine glasses down from the cabinet, taking a bottle. "I know I initially wanted to argue with you about you helping out," she said as she poured their drinks, "but really . . . thank you for being stubborn and coming with me."

Slade chuckled, taking the glass she handed him. "Of course. Family watches each other's backs, right?"

Alex nodded. "I'll drink to that."

They clinked their glasses together and drank at the same time. "I'm just glad the others arrived in time," Slade said.

"Me, too," Alex looked down. "If Reign had actually killed Ruby . . . "

"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," Slade shook his head. "The guilt the parent would feel after they killed their own child . . . "

Alex watched him down another drink, and she bit her lip. "Talking from experience?"

Slade grimaced. "I assume you know most of what happened while we were in Kasnia?"

Alex quirked an eyebrow. "A wise man once told me 'assumption is the mother of all failures.'"

"Touché," Slade tilted his glass in her direction. "Well. What do you know?"

Alex thought back. "Joe was the leader of the Jackals and planned on blowing up part of the water supply. You and Kara fought him while Oliver and Malcolm went after the rest of the Jackals. Joe dropped the bombshell about Grant and escaped." She eyed Slade when he sighed. "What am I missing?"

Slade silently extended his glass, and getting the message, Alex refilled his glass. "What hasn't appeared to have gone past the four of us is what happened before the water supply was attacked," he said grimly. "Joe had Oliver captured and wanted me to kill him. An eye for an eye, he said. The worst part? For a few seconds, I was tempted to do it."

Alex's eyes widened. "Kill Oliver?" she repeated, and when Slade nodded miserably, she sighed and took a drink of her own, swallowing hard. "Wow."

"After telling Ruby that wasn't who I was?" he chuckled bitterly. "I know."

"The Deathstroke you described while on mirakuru definitely isn't who you are now," Alex assured him. "What I just heard? Sounds like a father who found his son."

"I did," Slade nodded. "And Oliver mentioned William, and it snapped back. Joe had changed." He closed his eyes. "And I thought there was only one way to stop him from what he wanted to do to Kasnia."

Alex's jaw dropped. _"Damn."_

"It didn't end that way," Slade nodded. "But to have that thought even cross your mind while it's you in control and not some monster of yourself . . . "

"It didn't happen, Slade," Alex leaned across the counter towards him. "Joe is alive. Maybe it wasn't a win when Joe refused to go with you, but you can find him again. And we stopped Reign from killing Ruby. We had a good day today. Concentrate on that."

Slade slowly nodded, then pointed his glass at her. "Much better option than saying all this to a bartender."

Alex barked out a laughter. "Are you kidding? The bartender would send us to an insane asylum."

Slade tilted his head side to side. "Not entirely positive we don't belong there."

"Well, hey," Alex extended her glass. "At least we'd be committed together. We made a pretty good team, we could get through an insane asylum together."

Slade chuckled, clinking his glass against hers. "That we did."

Alex smiled fondly, taking a drink. "Why haven't we done that more often?"

Slade considered. "Because previously there haven't been many individual team split-ups where I haven't been at Oliver's back."

"Point," Alex nodded. "You can never beat a sibling team-up, can you?"

"Never," Slade shook his head. "Must be why we made a good team."

"Yeah," Alex nodded in agreement, though her smile faded a little as she poured more wine into her glass. "Must be."

Slade finished his glass, setting it down. "I should head to the D.E.O. and get ready to go back to Star City."

"Yeah, go ahead," Alex nodded quickly. "Thanks for the drink." She blinked rapidly. "I mean, having one here."

"Thanks for the offer," Slade nodded. "See you there."

Alex nodded, giving him a small wave as he left, then blew out her breath in a rush when the door closed behind him. She and Slade _had_ made a good team at Lex's mansion, and . . . yeah, they pretty much were siblings, considering both Oliver and Kara saw Slade as their brother.

So why didn't that last exchange feel . . . right?

* * *

 **A/N: Supergirl was a short little break. Next time, it's the final two Arrow episodes before the finales book! Next time I update (not sure when it'll be), get ready for "Shifting Allegiances!"**


End file.
